Post-Flood Mold Removal in Friendswood, TX

We flooded in Harvey. What's different about flood mold here?

Scale and repetition. Friendswood, founded as a Quaker colony in 1895 and incorporated in 1960, sits in northwestern Galveston County with part in Harris County, about 24 miles from Houston, and Clear Creek runs right through it. Harvey's rains caused 500-year flood events along Clear Creek all through the city, and a preliminary estimate put about 3,000 Friendswood homes under water. The city issued 1,787 permits for Harvey repairs in 2017. Homes that flooded once can flood again, and owners who rebuilt should expect the consultant to check behind newer drywall as carefully as the old.

Can't the remediation company just tell us what to remove?

Not on a hired Texas job. The law bars one company from doing both the mold assessment and the mold remediation on the same project. A mold assessment consultant inspects and writes the protocol: the rooms, the quantities of drywall, insulation, flooring and cabinetry to remove or clean, the methods, the protective equipment and the clearance criteria. A separate remediation company then writes a work plan to match. That split keeps the company doing the removal from also deciding how much removal you need. When the work is done, the same consultant runs the post-remediation assessment, and a pass leads to a Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation.

What does the city need from us?

Building permits and inspections fall under the City of Friendswood's Community Development department, which issued repair permits after Harvey; check with it before closing walls back up. The mold removal itself is regulated by TDLR, not the city. Renters dealing with substandard or dangerous conditions can reach Friendswood Code Enforcement through its Submit a Concern form. The Galveston County Health District lists mold among complaints outside its jurisdiction.

One more local note

Drying comes first and is its own job, separate from mold work. EPA's disaster guidance says to assume mold is growing when a flooded home could not be dried within 24 to 48 hours. In Friendswood's humid summers, that window closes fast, so get air moving and photograph everything while you wait for the assessment.