This week

Visible growth after a leak. This is a mold job now, not a drying job.

Growth is already established, so the deadline has passed; what matters now is stopping the moisture and removing it properly, not speed for its own sake.

What is probably happening

Materials stayed wet past the EPA's 24 to 48 hour window and mold colonized the paper face of drywall, the back of baseboard, or the carpet pad.
The EPA says a patch under about 10 square feet (roughly 3 by 3 feet) can in most cases be handled by the homeowner. Bigger than that, or hidden in walls or HVAC, is a professional job.
Porous materials that are moldy (ceiling tiles, carpet, drywall) may have to be thrown away, per the EPA.

Do this in the next five minutes

Make sure the water source is actually stopped. Mold comes back if it is not.
Keep children and pets out of the room. Close the door.
Turn off the HVAC to that area if you can, so the air handler does not spread spores.
Photograph it with something for scale.
If it is under 10 square feet on a hard surface: gloves, goggles, N95, open a window, soap and water or a bleach solution of no more than 1 cup per gallon (CDC). Never mix bleach with ammonia.
If it is bigger, or on drywall or carpet, or you have asthma or a weakened immune system, do not do it yourself. Call a remediation company.

Do not

Do not pay for an air test before the visible mold is dealt with. You can see it; testing does not change the job.
Do not hire the company that tested it to also remove it.
Do not paint over it or run a bleach fogger through the house.

Who to call

A mold remediation company

Removal with containment, air filtration and post-remediation verification is remediation work. A drying company dries; it does not certify a wall clean.

Also: Drying out. If the area is still wet, drying has to run alongside removal, and one company may do both under separate scopes. Questions for that call ›

Get a free shortlist The seven questions for this trade

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What it should cost

$1,223 to $3,757

Mold remediation, typical range, national average $2,368, or $10 to $25 per square foot.

Source: Angi, mold remediation cost, updated July 2026. View source

National published range, not a quote for your job. The full cost table for this trade is on the mold after a leak page.

Ask this contractor, on the phone, before anyone comes out

Tap each one as you ask it.

Did your company also do the testing that found this?
What is the moisture source, and is fixing it inside this price?
What containment and air filtration will you use, and what comes out versus gets cleaned?
What does post-remediation verification look like, and who signs it?
Does my state require a mold licence, and what is your number?

End the call if

Expensive air testing sold before visible mold is dealt with.
A quote written against a 'safe mold level' or a code violation. There is no federal mold standard.
The tester and the remover are the same company.

Insurance. Mold is generally covered only when it follows a covered sudden water loss, and excluded when it follows a gradual leak or seepage. Mold from flood is excluded without a flood policy (Texas Department of Insurance).

Where this comes from

Not my problem, tap through instead Every answer