Westchester County mold
Water got into your house, and nobody has said what kind.
(315) 640-3590 Tap to call
A contractor is already talking about tearing out walls, and nobody has asked where the water came from. Stop there. Which water it was, how high it got and how long it sat decides what has to come out. Tell us what you know, and we book the mold assessment first and the cleanup or drying after.
$100 off your first job, credited once you book.
Four waters
Where the water came from decides the job
Westchester has two tidal shorelines, valleys with brooks and rivers, and basements that fill from the ground up.
Sound surge
Sound Shore
Tidal Hudson
River towns
Brook or river
Valley towns
Groundwater or rain
Higher ground and north county
Water note
Before anyone opens a wall
Eight things to settle first. A phone and a tape measure are enough.
We help you pin down what water reached the house, then book the assessment first and the cleanup or drying after, with separate New York companies as state law requires.
Start your water note
Tell us what you know about the water. Sending it commits you to nothing.
The Westchester water-first promise
- You pay us nothing to ask, and you owe us nothing after.
- We start with the water before anyone quotes a removal.
- Your assessor will never be the company doing the cleanup.
- Your $100 is credited exactly as our Terms describe.
Whoever does the work answers to you under your own contract with them.
Mold Removal Westchester County, (315) 640-3590
$100 off your first job
The $100 is credited once your first Westchester job is booked.
- We pay the $100, and the contractor's price stays the same.
- One credit for each customer at each address.
- Book the job on or before December 31, 2026.
- Tell us about the credit when you book.
The county's own hazard plan says the Hudson River and Long Island Sound shorelines are both tidal. It also says that groundwater can rise high enough to trouble a basement when nothing at the surface has flooded. So four different waters can reach a Westchester house, and each one leaves a different job behind.
The water damage standard lists seawater and rising river or stream water as the most contaminated category. It also says weather water is not automatically that bad, because the category is set after an inspection. That is why you should not accept a guess from a contractor, a neighbor or us. Ask who set the category, and what they looked at to set it.
Use the four choices above to find your water. Then read the guide that goes with it, or send your water note and we start by booking the assessment.
If you cannot tell which water you had, that is a normal answer. Say so on the form. The assessor reads the stains, the silt and the path the water took, and puts the source in writing for you.
Questions
Straight answers on the water
- 1
Who should I call first when water and mold show up together?
Start with a mold assessor, not a cleanup company. New York requires a mold license for assessors, so ask the assessor for the license number and verify it online. We book the assessment so you are not guessing.
- 2
Does it matter what kind of water got in?
Yes, more than anything else. The standard puts seawater, rising river water and sewage in the most contaminated category. That category decides whether wet materials stay and dry, or leave the house.
- 3
How quickly do wet materials need to dry?
EPA wants wet materials dry in 24 to 48 hours, a window in which mold seldom takes hold. Write down when the water arrived, and tell every contractor.
- 4
Can I clean up the mold myself?
State law lets owners do mold work on their own homes unlicensed. For patches under about 10 square feet, EPA treats that as workable. If sewage or other dirty water caused the damage, call a professional.
- 5
Do I need mold testing before anything starts?
State labor officials call air sampling and mold testing unnecessary in most cases. Ask the assessor why they would sample, and what the result would change.
- 6
Why can the same company not assess and clean?
The state will not let one licensee take both roles on a property. That keeps the person who writes the plan apart from the person paid to carry it out.
- 7
The map does not put my house in a flood zone. Is water damage still possible?
Yes. The county plan says urban flooding is not part of the FEMA maps, and about 38 percent of paid claims with a rated zone fell outside the A and V zones. Tell the assessor what you saw.
- 8
Do you inspect or clean my house?
No. We are not the contractor. Our part is helping you work out what water reached the house, booking the assessment and arranging the order. Separate New York companies do the work, and New York requires mold work to be done under a license, so ask each for the number.
- Write down what the water wasA river or sewer source changes the whole job.
- Measure the water line in inchesHeight shows which materials were wet.
- Note when it arrived and when it stoppedHours and days decide whether drying in place is still possible.
- List every material the water touchedPorous materials may have to come out.
- Photograph everything before anything movesPhotos help if you make an insurance claim.
- Ask for the New York mold license numberThe state has a public lookup to check it.
- Get the scope in writing before work startsA written plan lists rooms, methods and what comes out.
- Ask who assesses and who does the cleanupNew York requires two separate companies for mold.
Your water note
Four answers a contractor needs. Write them down before the first call.
What water was it?
Supply line, rain, stream, river, seawater or sewage?
The standard grades river, sea and sewer water as most contaminated. It is set on inspection.
How high did it get?
Find the line on the wall and measure it.
Height shows how much drywall and insulation got wet. Write it in inches.
How long did it sit?
Count the hours, days or weeks before anything dried.
EPA gives you 24 to 48 hours to dry wet materials. Past that, mold can grow.
What did it touch?
Drywall, insulation, carpet, framing, block, a furnace or a panel?
The standard asks which materials were affected. Porous ones may come out.
Fourteen towns
Find your town by the water near it
We group towns by the water that can reach a house there, not by size.
River towns
Valley towns
Higher ground and north county
Sound Shore. Rye, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, New Rochelle and Pelham sit on Long Island Sound, so a coastal storm can bring salt water.
River towns. Tarrytown, Ossining, Croton-on-Hudson and Peekskill sit on the tidal Hudson.
Valley towns. White Plains, Elmsford and Mount Kisco have brooks and rivers running through them.
Higher ground and north county. Yorktown and Bedford have groundwater questions, and some homes there also run on wells and septic.
Live somewhere else in the county? Send your details anyway, and tell us the town on the form.
Three jobs
The three jobs, in the order you will meet them
Most Westchester houses need one or two of these. Few need all three at once.
Mold Assessment and Water Source Check
Find the source of the mold and get a written plan.
Looks hardest at Groundwater or rain
Mold Remediation Scoped to the Water
Book removal sized to the water and the written plan.
Looks hardest at Sound surge
Basement and Wall Dry-Out
Dry wet walls and floors in the right order.
Looks hardest at Groundwater or rain
Mold Assessment and Water Source Check comes first. An assessor looks at the house, works out where the moisture came from and writes the plan. This work needs a New York mold license, so confirm the assessor's license with the state before anyone enters your home. You hold that plan, and it is what every price is measured against.
Mold Remediation Scoped to the Water follows the plan. A separate company contains the area, takes out what the plan lists and cleans what can stay. It needs its own state mold license. The water you wrote down decides how wide that area is.
Basement and Wall Dry-Out removes moisture from materials that can stay. When the water was clean and recent, drying may come first. When it was river, sea or sewer water, the standard says remediation comes before restorative drying.
Keep one rule in mind. State law keeps the assessor and the cleanup company apart, so they are always two firms. That rule is why you book them in order, and why your assessor has no reason to find more work than the house holds.
Worried the visit ends in a tear-out quote? The assessor cannot sell you the cleanup, and the plan lists only what the water reached. Send us your water note and we book that first step. If you would rather talk, phone (315) 640-3590.
Wall section
Read the wall before you let anyone cut it
A wall tells you more than a quote does, and it costs you nothing to look.
- Water lineMeasure the stain or tide line in inches and photograph it.
- Sill platePress the wood where wall meets foundation. Tell them if it feels soft.
- Stud bayNote where insulation or drywall sits wet behind the finished wall.
- Slab and floorCheck for damp patches. Write down how long the floor stayed wet.
- Window wellNote whether water stood in the well or came through the glass.
- Sump pitSay whether the pump ran, failed or was never there.
Look at the line on the wall first. A stain, a tide mark or a rim of dried silt shows how high the water got. Measure it in inches and photograph it with a tape beside it.
Then work down the drawing above. Press the sill plate where the wall meets the foundation. Look behind the finished wall at the stud bay. Check the slab, the window well and the sump pit. Each one answers one of the four questions in your water note.
Hand those notes to whoever assesses the house. A contractor who has your notes can ask better questions and quote a narrower scope. One who has nothing may quote the whole basement.
Basis: ANSI/IICRC S500 Consensus Body, Category of Water Damage and Weather-related Events position statement A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, US EPA
Not sure what water it was? Start here.
The sequence
From your first note to a written plan
You do not have to know the answers. You have to write down what you do know.
Start with what you saw. Say what the water looked like, where it came in and when. If you do not know the source, say that. An honest gap is easier to work with than a wrong guess.
We then book the assessment and tell you who will call. Give the assessor your notes before the visit, so the time goes to the house instead of to basic questions. Ask for the report in writing, and ask what each line means.
Once the plan exists, you can compare cleanup and drying companies against it. Ask each one to show a New York mold license, and confirm it through the state's online search. Choose the one whose scope matches the plan, then decide.
Water still arriving? Close the supply valve only if it is safe. Near outlets or the panel, stay out of the water and call the utility or an electrician first. After that, call us and we will tell you what to note.
- 01
Tell us what water came in, and when.
Send what you know or call. Say what it was, how high and how long.
- 02
Get the assessment booked before any cleanup.
The assessor writes the plan. Nobody starts removal yet.
- 03
Choose who does the cleanup or drying, then decide.
A separate company carries out the plan. You compare, ask and choose.
The houses
Older houses and newer ones take water differently
What your house is built from changes what the contractor looks for.
Westchester is an old county. Of its 394,358 homes, 76.0 percent pre-date 1980, and the age of your own house changes what the contractor looks for.
That mix shows up in the basement. A house built before 1940 may sit on stone or brick, and a postwar house on block or poured concrete. Tell the assessor what yours is made of, and when it was built.
If your house predates 1978, ask any firm whether it holds EPA lead-safe credentials before it disturbs painted surfaces. Add the answer to your notes.
Price factors
What moves a quote, and what to ask about it
The contractor sets the price. You can still see what drives it.
Ask each company what its quote assumes, and compare the answers, not only the totals.
- How much material got wet, and how high the water reached.
- Whether the assessor listed that material as staying or coming out.
- Whether the basement is finished, since finished walls and floors take longer to open.
- How many days of drying equipment the plan assumes.
- What containment the plan calls for, and who removes the waste.
A quote that does not name these is a question, not an answer. Send it to the assessor, or call (315) 640-3590 and ask what to look for.
You are also entitled to ask what is not in the quote. Disposal, permits, rebuilding and a second assessor visit are lines that can arrive later. Ask for each one by name, and have the answer written down before you sign.
The Westchester water-first promise
- You pay us nothing to ask, and you owe us nothing after.
- We start with the water before anyone quotes a removal.
- Your assessor will never be the company doing the cleanup.
$100 off your first job
The $100 is credited once your first Westchester job is booked.
- We pay the $100, and the contractor's price stays the same.
- One credit for each customer at each address.
Ask any contractor
Three questions for any contractor
- 1
What is your New York mold license number?
Check it on the state lookup before you sign.
- 2
Are you a different company from the assessor?
One licensee cannot hold both roles on a property.
- 3
What water do you think this was, and why?
A good contractor asks before quoting a tear-out.
Basis: Mold Program, NYS Department of Labor NY Labor Law section 936, NY State Senate
Guides
Read before you decide
- All four waters
What kind of water reached your house
How to name the water before anyone quotes a tear-out.
- Groundwater
When the flood map does not cover your basement
Wet basement, no flood zone: what to write down.
- Sound and Hudson
Tidal water from the Sound and the Hudson
What tidal water changes about the job.
- Groundwater
Wells and septic when your basement is wet
Wells and septic: what to tell the assessor.
- All four waters
Which office handles your mold problem
Which office handles mold, and what to ask first.
Name the water, then pick the job.