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Found mold after a leak? Talk through what to do next.

If a patch showed up after a leak or a humid week, find the moisture first. Then talk through what to clean with one or more mold companies that serve your area. Asking is free.

Request a call See what happens after you ask
  1. Bathroom Tile, grout, and the wall behind the tub
  2. Basement After a flood or a slow leak
  3. Attic A roof leak that sat wet
  4. Crawl space Dirt, plastic, and trapped air
An empty bathroom with peeling paint and a freestanding tub under a small window.

Talk through the mold you are seeing

Tell us where the house is. Mold Wise Home and one or more mold inspection or remediation companies that serve your area may call and text you to talk through the moisture you are seeing.

Mold Wise Home is an independent guide. Asking for a call does not hire anyone or file an insurance claim.

Start here if any of this is happening

A musty room after a leak is a moisture problem first. These are the moments a call with a mold pro is meant for.

Close-up of peeling paint on a pale interior wall.

  • You can see a patch on tile, grout, or drywall

    The EPA says to clean mold promptly and fix the water problem. If you clean the patch and leave the leak, the growth usually comes back.

  • The house stayed wet longer than two days

    The EPA says wet materials dried within 24 to 48 hours usually do not grow mold. After that window, hidden growth becomes more likely.

  • The water came from outside or from a drain

    Flood water and sewage are treated as contaminated. The CDC says to throw away porous items that stayed wet with flood water and cannot be cleaned.

  • You would rather talk to a person than guess

    On a call, you can ask what they would measure, what they would remove, and what they need from your insurer.

What you can clean, what an inspector does, and what a remediator does

Those three jobs get mixed up on a musty morning. They are separate, and none of them decides an insurance claim.

What you can clean

What it is
The EPA says a moldy area under about 10 square feet, roughly a 3 foot by 3 foot patch, is work many people can clean themselves once the leak is fixed.
What it costs to start
The agency pages we cite do not charge you to follow them. Soap, water, and a fan are whatever you already own.
Worth knowing
Keep indoor humidity below 60 percent, and ideally between 30 and 50 percent, once the room is dry.
When a small patch is yours

A mold inspector

What it is
An inspector looks for moisture, may take a sample, and writes what they found. In Texas that work is a licensed mold assessment.
What it costs to start
We do not print a testing price we cannot source. Ask what the fee includes before anyone takes a sample.
Worth knowing
Asking for a call through this site does not hire them. The EPA says that when you can see mold growing, sampling is usually unnecessary.
When a test helps

A remediator

What it is
A remediator contains the area, removes or cleans damaged material, and dries what can stay. Licensing depends on the state and the size of the job.
What it costs to start
We do not print a cleanup price we cannot source. Ask for a written scope and price before work starts.
Worth knowing
The price, if you hire, is between you and that company. A crew cannot decide your insurance claim.
How to judge a company

What happens after you ask for a call

  1. Send the short form

    Your name, phone, email, state, and city. It goes to one or more mold inspection or remediation companies that serve your area, not to your city or your insurer.

  2. A company may call you

    Expect a few questions: which room, when it got wet, and whether the water looks like a clean supply leak or sewage.

  3. You choose

    If a company's plan sounds right, you can hire it. You can tell any of them no.

Where the moisture actually sits

What you see on the paint is only the face of the wall. Moisture also sits in the paper, the cavity, and the bottom of the drywall.

Cross-section of a damp interior wall with a moisture-meter pin Paint and paper-faced drywall sit over a cavity. Moisture wicks up the paper. A pin meter reads the wet zone behind the baseboard. Paint and paper Wet drywall Cavity moisture Baseboard Floor and subfloor
Paint and paper
The face you can see. A small patch here is the EPA's 10 square foot cleanup, if the water source is already fixed.
Wet drywall
Paper-faced drywall wicks water up the wall. Sewage or flood water on drywall is a reason the CDC gives to remove it.
Cavity moisture
The space between the drywall and the next layer. A pin meter reads this before anyone opens a large hole.
Baseboard
The trim hides the gap where water meets the wall. Crews often pull it so the bottom of the drywall can dry.
Floor and subfloor
Carpet pad and the subfloor hold water. The CDC lists carpeting and padding among the items to throw away if they cannot be cleaned and dried quickly.

Have these nearby when the pro calls

You do not need any of this to ask for a call. Having it close makes the first conversation more useful.

  • Which room you first noticed, and about when it got wet
  • Whether the water looks like a clean supply leak, washer water, or sewage
  • Whether you already fixed the leak or it is still running
  • Your insurer's name, if you have already opened a claim
Close-up of water droplets on a green plastered wall.

Questions people ask before they call

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Is Mold Wise Home a city health office?

No. We are an independent guide. Any company that calls you is a private inspector or remediator, and it is not a health department.

Does it cost anything to ask for a call?

No. Sending the form does not hire anyone. If you decide to hire a company, its fees are between you and that company, so ask about them on the call.

Can a company promise the house will be mold free by a certain day?

No one on this site can promise that. Drying time depends on how much moisture is left, what got wet, and whether the leak is still running.

What happens after I send the form?

Mold Wise Home and one or more mold inspection or remediation companies that serve your area may call and text you at the number you entered, as the consent box explains. You can tell them to stop at any time.

Do you need my insurance policy number?

No. The form never asks for it, and you should not type it into any field on this site.

Read before you call

A full first-step guide, short answers, and a checklist for choosing a company. Each one is sourced to an agency or a public record and dated.

All guides

Written by Mold Wise Home editorial staff.

Talk to someone about the moisture in the house

It is free to ask, and you decide what happens after the call.

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