Austin Mold Facts
All mold needs water or moisture to grow, says the U.S. EPA. This page puts the public record in one place: EPA guidance, Texas law, insurance orders and one Texas court case, each with its source.
The first 48 hours
An attic air handler with a clogged drain line, step by step.
From the hallway below: nothing shows
10 square feet and 25 square feet, next to a person
- 25 sq ft (red): 5 feet by 5 feet, in one connected area. Texas: at this size or more, mold remediation needs a licensed company.
- About 10 sq ft (tan): roughly 3 feet by 3 feet. EPA: below this size, in most cases a homeowner can handle the cleanup.
- Person: 6 feet tall, for scale. Each grid square on the wall is 1 foot by 1 foot.
One hair and two mold spores
Drawn at the same scale. EPA: mold spores are usually 2 to 10 micrometers and usually cannot be seen without magnification. The average human hair is about 70 micrometers wide.
If you see growth in your AC
Do not call it mold yet
Growth on a coil, drain pan or duct is something to have checked. EPA says only an expert can tell whether it is mold, and that may take a lab test. In Texas, mold assessment is done by a licensed mold assessor.
Photograph it, do not scrape or spray it
Write down the date and where it is. EPA has approved no chemical sprays for lined ductwork, the ducts with insulation inside (Exhibit A-4, EPA).
Find the water
Check the drain pan, the drain line and any sweating duct or vent. If one room smells musty, start the same way: look for where water could be getting in. EPA says growth comes back if the cause is not fixed (Exhibit A-5, EPA).
Keep testing and removal separate
In Texas, the company that tests (the mold assessor) and the company that removes the mold (the remediator) cannot be the same on one job (Exhibit L-2, Texas law).
Read your policy before you file an insurance claim
Look for the mold endorsement (the part of the policy about mold) and whether you bought extra mold coverage (Exhibit C-14, TDI). Rental owners: check the dwelling or landlord policy too; its mold terms can differ.
Ask for the paperwork
A licensed remediator owes you a certificate within 10 days of finishing (Exhibit L-4). A Texas seller must give buyers every certificate from the five years before the sale (Exhibit L-6).
What the record says
One plain sentence per exhibit, with its source. Tap “Exact words” for the source’s own wording.
Fact or myth
Seven statements. Some are true. Decide, then see what the source says.
The Dripping Springs case
A wet floor, an insurance claim, a lab result, a family out of their house, a jury and an appeal, in the order the court record gives them. Exhibits C-1 to C-15.
Allison v. Fire Insurance Exchange
98 S.W.3d 227 (Tex. App. - Austin 2002). Decided Dec 19, 2002. Read the opinion
A Dripping Springs family sued their homeowners insurer over a water claim that became a mold claim. Claim filed Dec 17, 1998.
Switch between what the jury awarded and what the appeal kept.
What the jury awarded
Third Court of Appeals, Dec 19, 2002: the court reversed the punitive damages, the mental anguish award and the appraisal costs, and sent the attorney fees back to the trial court to set a new amount.
“We find sufficient evidence to support the award of attorneys’ fees but cannot say that the amount of the award is reasonable, given our significant reduction of the jury’s damages awards.”
About 12 percent of the jury’s total: the four kept rows ($6,051,525) minus the $2,045,204.28 the insurer had already paid. Interest and part of a statutory penalty were also kept.
After the verdict, the rules changed
Gold Eagle Services
Gold Eagle Services is an Austin air conditioning contractor and a licensed Texas mold remediation company. We work on mold in AC systems and ductwork only; growth anywhere else in a home belongs with a licensed mold remediation company. An AC check covers the coil, drain pan and drain line, air handler cabinet, and the ductwork and plenums (the spaces air moves through) we can reach, plus where any water is coming from. We show you what we find. Testing is done by an independent licensed mold assessor, because Texas law keeps testing and removal separate.
Phone 512-489-4653, or use the contact page.