Mold Removal in Lakeland, FL

The drywall under the bedroom window has a gray band along the sill, and the paint below it has lifted in a blister the size of your hand. It only happens after a storm with wind behind it, so for a year you blamed the curtains. The window flashing on a 1970s block house in south Lakeland has been letting a cup of water into the wall every time the rain comes from the east. This site connects you by phone with an independent local provider who does mold removal in Lakeland and across Polk County.

Reading the wall under the window before the first cut

The meter goes on the wall before any saw does. A pin meter on the drywall and a non-invasive meter on the block tell the crew how far down and how far sideways the water went, and in a block house on a slab that is usually farther than the stain shows. They mark that line on the inside, check the closet that shares the wall, and look at the sill from outside.

Then containment goes up. Plastic seals the bedroom door, the supply and return grilles in that part of the house are taped over, and a HEPA air scrubber is ducted out the window so the room runs under negative pressure. Dust from the demolition stays inside the plastic instead of riding the air handler through the house.

Keep the AC on, take photos, and leave the drywall alone

Set the thermostat to cool and the fan to auto, and leave it there. Photograph the window, the sill, the wall, and the floor below it. Do not pull the baseboard or the drywall yourself; a wet board sheds spores when it tears, and without containment they end up in the return. Skip the bleach, which wets the paper face of the board and leaves the growth in the gypsum behind it.

If the stain is on an inside wall instead of under a window, check the bathroom or the kitchen on the other side for a wet cabinet floor or a weeping supply line. If it is on a ceiling, the question moves to the attic.

Wet board out, block and framing cleaned in place

Wet drywall, insulation, and baseboard come out to a set distance past the meter line and go into bags inside the containment. The block, the furring strips, and the slab edge stay if they read dry after cleaning; a furring strip that has been wet for a year sometimes gets replaced, and the crew tells you that before they do it.

After demolition every surface inside the containment is HEPA vacuumed and wiped. Air movers and a dehumidifier run until the block and the framing read dry, which in Lakeland's humidity can take most of a week. Growth that has reached the ductwork is HVAC mold cleaning; a stain that leads to the roof is attic mold remediation; several rooms at once is whole-home mold remediation. Putting the wall back falls under mold damage repair.

Sideways rain, sandy ground, and two Florida licenses

Lakeland's summer storms come with wind, and the tropical systems come with more of it. Irma crossed Polk County on September 11, 2017, Ian soaked it in September 2022, and Milton pushed through on October 9 and 10, 2024, with more than a foot of rain on Lakeland in a single day. Window flashing, stucco cracks, and the joint where a lanai roof meets the house are where that water gets in. The ground under most of Lakeland is sand over limestone, so a yard drains fast but a slab sitting in a low spot stays damp for days.

Florida licenses mold remediators as their own trade under Chapter 468, Part XVI, separate from the assessors who test. The provider you reach does the removal and represents its own license; the drywall and trim that go back are contractor work, and a rebuild that touches plumbing or electrical needs a permit from the City of Lakeland or Polk County, depending on where the house sits. Most Florida homeowner policies pay for sudden damage and treat long-term seepage differently, so tell your adjuster the date you first saw the blister.

Calling about a wet wall in Lakeland

Have the address, which window or pipe you suspect, and how long the wall has looked like this. Say whether anyone has painted over the spot and whether a roofer or handyman has already been out. Call (863) 375-7712.