Mold in Walls & Drywall in Spring, TX

Spring's creek-side history

Spring is an unincorporated community of about 62,500 in north Harris County, around 19 miles from downtown Houston, that grew after the 1970s as subdivisions spread north from the city around Old Town Spring. Many homes were built in low areas along Cypress Creek. In the April 2016 Tax Day flood about 1,700 homes along the creek flooded, and some flooded again that May. In Hurricane Harvey more than 8,700 homes along Cypress Creek took on water; Inverness Forest and Northwood Pines were damaged, and Ponderosa Forest, Westador, Champion Forest and Wimbledon Champions were among the hardest-hit Spring-Klein neighborhoods. Walls in those homes may have been rebuilt more than once. Away from the creek, the causes are the ordinary ones for this climate: an attic air handler whose drain line clogs, a shower valve that drips inside the wall, or rain finding a gap in window trim during a summer downpour.

Do it yourself or hire it out?

Signs inside the house

• A line of discoloration at roughly the same height in several rooms
• Laminate or vinyl plank lifting along a wall
• Musty air when the AC first kicks on
• Paint peeling around outlets on exterior walls

Timing and permits

EPA's flood guide says to assume mold growth in a home that could not be dried within 24 to 48 hours. In a Spring summer, that window closes fast. If you hire the work, the mold assessment consultant gives you a written protocol at least one calendar day before removal, and the consultant later does the post-remediation assessment. Rebuilding is permitted through the Harris County Office of the County Engineer; no demolition permit is needed to tear out damaged material in the unincorporated area.