Canal flood and mold cleanup in Tamiami, 33175

SW 137th Avenue is the dividing line most locals use. East of it, the streets are lined mostly with Spanish eclectic ranch homes built from the late 1970s through the 1990s, while the western side filled in later with newer houses, townhouses and condos.

Tamiami's population climbed from 17,607 in 1980 to 54,788 in 2000, meaning much of the housing went up within about twenty years. Roughly 71.7 percent are owner-occupied, which means most callers are deciding on repairs for a house they plan to keep.

Many Tamiami homes back onto shallow lakes that were placed behind the lots to keep streets and houses from flooding. They do that job in an ordinary summer, but when a slow tropical system parks overhead, lake levels climb and yards, patios and slab edges stay wet for days.

The Tamiami Canal, or C-4, was dredged in the 1920s to help build the Trail itself. During Hurricane Irene on October 15, 1999, 11.60 inches fell at Tamiami Trail and Krome Avenue, and the October 3 to 4, 2000 flood put 12.80 inches into the Tamiami and Krome gauge. The water district later planned flood walls and berms along the C-4 between SW 122nd and SW 130th Avenue.

Rising water from outside counts as Category 3 under the IICRC S500 approach, so we treat it as contaminated from the first hour. That means extracting it, cutting wet drywall a set height above the water line, pulling soaked baseboards and carpet pad, and cleaning the slab before drying equipment goes in.

If your house has terrazzo under the carpet, as many older Florida homes do, it usually dries well once the covering is lifted. We set dehumidifiers and air movers, log readings every day and remove the equipment only when walls and floors are back to normal.

Mold that has already started is contained and removed along with the wet materials. Sampling or a clearance test, if you or your insurer wants one, comes from an independent assessor working with a lab.

Tamiami borders Sweetwater and Westchester on the east, Westwood Lakes to the southeast and Kendale Lakes to the south, and we cover every one of them, plus Fontainebleau. The same canal network and the same slow tropical rains shape what we find in each.

Tell us your cross street when you call, or a landmark such as Tree Island Park, Belen Jesuit or Tamiami Lakes Park beside Joe Hall Elementary, and we will route the nearest available crew.