Commercial Mold Remediation in Tampa, FL

Who this page is for

Tampa has a large rental market, with roughly half of occupied homes rented, plus a deep stock of older buildings: about 44 percent of the city's housing was built before 1980. That adds up to a lot of apartment buildings, small offices, restaurants and schools where one wet wall can affect dozens of people. Typical calls come from:

• Property managers and landlords with a unit leak that has spread behind shared walls
• Office tenants or owners after a roof leak or a failed AC drain line over a ceiling grid
• Restaurants with mold around walk-in coolers, dish areas or behind kitchen equipment
• Schools, churches and daycares facing stained ceiling tiles or musty classrooms

How a commercial job differs from a house

EPA's guidance for schools and commercial buildings puts the health and safety of occupants and workers first. In practice that means the remediation company should give you a written scope that sizes the damaged area, lists the materials involved and explains how the work will be isolated. EPA's guide sorts jobs roughly by size:

EPA notes the final call is professional judgment: heavy growth in a small space can release more spores than light growth across a larger one.

Occupants, tenants and scheduling

Tell occupants what is happening, how big the area is and how long work will take. EPA suggests weighing relocation based on the size of the area, debris and any reported health effects, and scheduling work after hours where possible. Plan around anyone with asthma, allergies or a weakened immune system. In apartment buildings, give tenants written notice before crews enter units. Tenants who feel a landlord is not maintaining the building can file a complaint with the City of Tampa Neighborhood Enhancement Division.

HVAC and shared air

If a building's HVAC system is known or suspected to be contaminated, EPA says not to run it, because it can carry mold through the building. In a multi-tenant office or a school, that is a facilities decision to make before work starts, not halfway through.

Cost and paperwork

Commercial work is bid per project. Angi's Tampa figures, roughly $10 to $25 per square foot, describe residential jobs, so treat them only as a floor for comparison. Price rises with containment level, after-hours work, ceiling or HVAC access, and the volume of drywall, tile and carpet removed. Ask for the remediator's Florida mold remediator license number and check it on DBPR's licensee search. Under Florida law the company that writes the assessment normally cannot also do the removal on that building within 12 months, so budget for a separate assessor.