Drying the moisture that causes mold, and checking the New York license before any mold work begins.
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Mold after water damage grows on materials that stay wet, so the first step is to dry them. In New York, Labor Law Article 32 requires state licenses for mold assessors, mold remediators and abatement workers, administered by the state Department of Labor. Schenectady Water Damage Restoration serves Schenectady County and dispatches a crew as fast as one is available.
Mold needs moisture to grow, and a building that was wet has moisture to give it. The drying work that follows a leak or a flood is the first defense, because material that is dried to the dry standard does not give mold what it needs to take hold. Drying does not remove mold that is already growing, and that is a separate job.
The two jobs are often confused. Water damage drying is done by a restoration crew that measures moisture and removes wet materials. Mold assessment, which means looking for and sampling mold, and mold remediation, which means removing it, are regulated trades in New York. Those trades are licensed by the state, and a person doing them must hold the right license for the work.
Schenectady Water Damage Restoration dispatches a local crew to water damage in Schenectady County as fast as one is available, and phones are answered 24/7. The crew records readings and photographs for every wet area. If the readings or the look of a room suggest mold, the crew will tell you to ask for a licensed assessor or remediator before any mold work begins, and it will not start that work itself.
Do not touch, scrub or disturb visible mold, and do not run fans that blow across it into other rooms. Wear a respirator and gloves if you must enter a moldy room, and keep children and anyone with breathing problems out of it. Do not cut into a wall to look for mold without a licensed assessor. If anyone in the house has breathing difficulty, seek medical advice promptly.
Mold on a painted wall, a tile grout line or a hard surface can often be cleaned once the surface is dry. Mold work of that kind falls under the license rules, so ask a licensed remediator to assess the area before any work starts. Drying the room is still needed first.
Mold can grow inside a wall cavity, under a floor or behind trim that stayed wet. It is found by opening the material, which should be done with a plan and a licensed assessor. The restoration crew records the readings that suggest hidden growth and does not open a cavity to look for mold itself.
Carpet and pad that stay wet for a long time can grow mold on the underside, where it cannot be seen from above. Pad that held water for long is usually removed. The crew records the condition of the pad and the carpet and notes where growth may have started.
Wet insulation and framing in an attic or crawl space can grow mold that spreads into the rooms below. The crew checks these spaces with readings and photographs, and it advises a licensed assessor when visible growth is seen. Access to these spaces must be planned for safety.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent mold after water damage, send the form and we'll call you back.
Yes. Under New York Labor Law Article 32, mold assessors, mold remediators and abatement workers need state licenses, and the rules took effect on January 1, 2016. The state Department of Labor administers them. Ask for the license before any mold work begins, and check it against the state's records.
The license requirement is about the work of assessing, removing and abating mold. Drying a wet room to the dry standard is a different task. A restoration crew can dry the building and record its readings without a mold license, but it cannot assess or remediate mold without one.
If someone offers mold work and cannot show a license for it, ask for that person's license number and check it with the state Department of Labor before anything begins. A license that is not for the specific task is not enough, so ask which one is held.
A drying crew can show you moisture readings and visible signs, but a visual look or a meter reading does not identify mold or measure how much of it there is. A licensed assessor does that work, and the assessment is separate from the drying.
Moisture meters measure water in materials. They do not identify a species of mold, and they cannot show whether growth is present in a cavity. A stain or a smell is a reason to ask an assessor to look, not a diagnosis.
The crew records what it sees and what it reads, and it marks where it saw growth or where the readings were high. That record gives the assessor a starting point and saves time on the assessment.
The area affected, the materials involved, whether the growth is on the surface or inside a cavity and the access to the space all shape the work. The licensed assessor and remediator set their own scope. The restoration stage is explained and approved before it starts, and no figure is given on this page.
Surface growth on a small area of hard material is a different job from growth spread through a cavity, insulation and framing. The licensed professional decides what is needed, and that decision drives the scope and the cost of the remediation work.
Drying a wet room before any mold work is part of the restoration stage, and it is priced separately. The crew explains the drying stage and its readings before the equipment is set, and it names the points where a licensed professional needs to take over.
Do not scrub, sweep or vacuum visible growth, because that spreads spores into the air. Do not seal the room and run a fan that pushes air into other rooms. Keep the area closed off, keep people out of it until it is assessed, and call a licensed assessor and the crew.
Dry brushing or using a household vacuum on mold releases spores into the room and the house's air. Those spores are the reason the work is done under containment by a licensed professional. Stay out of the affected area until it has been assessed.
Do not paint over suspected mold before it has been assessed and dried. A coat of paint hides the growth and can trap moisture under the finish, which makes the problem harder to find later.
Mold coverage depends on the policy and on the cause of the water. Many policies limit or exclude mold, and the insurer decides under the wording of the policy. This page describes the general pattern only and does not state limits or deadlines.
Some policies treat mold that results from a sudden covered event differently from mold that grows from long-term leakage. Read your policy and ask the insurer to explain how mold is handled. Keep the crew's readings and the assessor's report, if one is made.
Questions about how an insurer handled a mold claim can be taken to the New York State Department of Financial Services, which is the state regulator for insurers.
The technician measures moisture in the wet materials and the air, and notes any visible growth, staining or odor. The crew does not sample or identify mold, because that is the work of a licensed assessor. The readings and the notes are recorded.
Mold has to be stopped at its water supply. The crew confirms that the leak is repaired, or flags it to a plumber or roofer, because drying in a room that still gets wet only feeds the problem.
Porous materials that stayed wet too long, such as carpet pad, saturated insulation and soft drywall, are removed. The crew records what was removed and why, so the decision is visible to the owner and to any assessor who later looks at the building.
Air movers and dehumidifiers bring the framing, the subfloor and the air down to the dry standard. The readings are taken at the same points until they reach the target, and the crew does not stop while the materials are still wet.
If the crew sees visible growth or the readings suggest hidden growth, it writes down where and how much, and it advises the owner to ask a licensed assessor to look. Mold remediation, when it is needed, is done by a licensed remediator under the state's rules.
Mold in Schenectady follows the same rule as anywhere else in New York: it grows where a wet building stays wet. The license requirement under Labor Law Article 32 applies in the city as it does in the rest of the state, so the first question to ask any mold worker is the license for the task.
River water soaks into framing and insulation, so a flood house is a case where mold risk can remain after drying. A licensed assessor should look at any area that still shows staining.
Cellars and cavities in older houses, including in the Stockade, can hold moisture longer than newer construction. The crew reads those spaces and does not treat a dry surface as the end of the job, because the question is whether the framing behind it is dry.
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Air movers and dehumidifiers that take moisture out of walls, floors and framing until readings show dry.
Moisture readings that decide whether wet carpet, pad and hardwood can be dried in place or must come out.
Moisture readings in cellars and crawl spaces after water events, before floors and walls are closed back up.
The photographs, readings, logs and invoices that make a water damage claim file complete.
New York Labor Law Article 32 requires state licenses for mold assessors, mold remediators and abatement workers, with rules effective January 1, 2016, administered by the state Department of Labor.
Hiring a water damage contractor in New York means asking for a written scope, a drying log with readings, and a clear answer on which licenses the people doing the work hold.
A wall is dry when moisture readings in its framing, plaster and cavity reach the dry standard set at the start of the job, not when the surface looks dry.
Mold assessors, mold remediators and abatement workers each need a state license under New York Labor Law Article 32, administered by the Department of Labor. Ask which license the person holds and whether it covers the task. Check the license before any work starts.
Not unless its people hold the license the task requires. The crew dries the building and records what it finds. Mold assessment and remediation are separate work, and a licensed professional should be asked to do them.
Drying to the dry standard removes the moisture mold needs to keep growing. It does not remove mold that is already there. A licensed assessor can look for existing growth and say whether it is active or dead, and the crew's readings show whether the materials are dry.
No, but it is a reason to check. A smell can come from wet materials, from a drain or from a closed room. The crew reads the materials and records the readings. If a smell persists after drying, ask a licensed assessor to look.
Home test kits do not identify mold or measure its extent reliably. A licensed assessor is the right person to decide whether sampling is needed. The crew can tell you which areas to ask the assessor to look at.
Keep the crew's readings and drying log, the photographs of any growth or staining, the assessor's report if one is made and the licenses of the people who did the work. These papers help the insurer and any later contractor understand what was found and what was done.