REDINGTON BEACH, Fla. — A mold remediation expert is reminding homeowners in the midst of rebuilding after last year’s hurricanes how easily moisture can get trapped into building materials.

Bob Richards has been in the remediation industry for over 30 years. As owner of Quality Remediation, he says he’s getting a lot of calls to correct situations where moisture was not addressed properly.

“We get called in to a lot of homes where they believe that mold remediation has been done and it clearly has not,” said Richards, who stresses storm clean-up can impact homes long after a rebuild, if moisture does get trapped.

“As you get into the rainy season, you get into high humidity, any other type of raised moisture, for whatever reason, maybe another water event, mold will reactivate,” said Richards.

To prevent that, he recommends post remediation verification be performed. Richards says that is done by an independent, third-party specialist.

“It’s a detailed removal that should happen of all materials, including the hard-to-get materials and then cleaning and disinfecting and, in some cases, adding a fungicidal protective coating,” said Richards, who adds that the inspection also includes proper drying and air and surface sampling.

A process completed before putting the house back together, says Richards, that can help prevent future problems.

“After the storms, after all this is cleaned up, I think mold is still going to be like the biggest thing that’s going to impact most homeowners at the end of the day, years down the road,” said Richards.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports mold can have a variety of health impacts, ranging from respiratory issues and allergic reactions to skin problems.