If water got into your home and wasn’t dried out within 24 to 48 hours, you need this service. Doesn’t matter if the leak was last week or last summer. Obvious mold on a wall or ceiling is one sign. The ones that catch people out are subtler: a musty odor that showed up after a pipe burst, paint bubbling near a baseboard, a cough or sinus issue that only started after the flood.
Santa Ana doesn’t help. Slab leaks are common here. Copper pipes running under the foundation corrode over time, and a leak can run for months before anyone notices because the water never reaches the surface. Winter storms dump serious rain over a few days, and a cracked roof tile or a bad stucco seal is enough to push water into a wall cavity. A lot of the older neighborhoods, Floral Park and Washington Square included, still have galvanized plumbing that’s well past its service life. Sprinkler lines leaking against stucco walls, HVAC condensation pans overflowing during a long August, a water heater dripping in the garage closet for weeks. Once water is behind drywall with no airflow, mold doesn’t need much time.