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Homeowners who have dealt with mold in Florida or Texas sometimes assume Ohio works the same way, with a state license number to look up before anyone touches a wall. It does not. Ohio has no state license for mold remediation, and knowing that changes what you should check before you hire someone.

What Ohio does and does not regulate

The Portage County Health District puts it plainly: unlike lead and asbestos remediation contractors, companies working to remediate mold do not have to be registered with the State of Ohio. The health district recommends discussing and understanding the services that mold remediation firms provide (Portage County Health District, Mold).

The Ohio Healthy Homes Network says the same thing from the other direction: no certification or licensing requirements exist in Ohio for mold inspectors and remediators, and the Ohio Department of Health has a very limited role with regard to mold, though it will answer questions from the public (Ohio Healthy Homes Network, Mold Basics).

Two consequences follow for homeowners.

• There is no state lookup that tells you whether a mold company in Ohio is qualified. You have to ask different questions.
• A claim to be “state licensed” for mold work in Ohio cannot refer to an Ohio mold license, because none exists. If a company uses that phrase, ask exactly which license it means and who issued it.

Private industry certifications do exist. They are issued by private organizations, not by the state, and what they cover varies. Ask what the certification is, who holds it within the company, and whether that person will be on your job.

The guidance Ohio homeowners can lean on

Without a state rulebook, the most useful reference is federal. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s guide for homeowners sets out a few principles that work as a checklist (EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home).

Size

EPA says that if the moldy area is less than about 10 square feet, roughly a 3 foot by 3 foot patch, in most cases you can handle the job yourself. If there has been a lot of water damage, or mold covers more than 10 square feet, EPA points to its more detailed remediation guidance.

Source

If the water or mold damage was caused by sewage or other contaminated water, EPA says to call in a professional who has experience cleaning and fixing buildings damaged by contaminated water. In a basement with a floor drain, that possibility is worth keeping in mind. Our article on basement flooding cleanup covers the water side.

Moisture

EPA is direct about this: if you clean up the mold but do not fix the water problem, the mold problem will most likely come back. It also advises drying water-damaged areas within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth.

Ductwork

If you suspect the heating and cooling system is contaminated with mold, EPA says not to run it, because it could spread mold through the building.

What to check instead of a license

EPA’s advice on hiring is short. If you hire a contractor, make sure the contractor has experience cleaning up mold, check references, and ask the contractor to follow the recommendations in EPA’s guidance on mold remediation, the guidelines of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, or other guidelines from professional or government organizations.

Turned into questions for an Ohio company:

• Which written guideline will you follow? A company that names one can show you how the job matches it.
• What is the scope, in writing? Which materials come out, which get cleaned, and how the work area will be contained.
• What caused the moisture, and who is fixing it? If the answer is “not our job,” find out who will do it before remediation starts.
• How will we both know the job is done? With no state standard to point to, agree on what “finished” means before work begins.
• Can I speak to recent customers? EPA lists references specifically.
• Who is doing the testing, if any? Some homeowners prefer that the company that tests is not the company that profits from the removal. Ohio does not require that separation, but you can choose it.

That last point is one of the main differences from states that license mold work, where separating assessment from remediation is built into the rules. In Ohio, it is your decision.

How quickly mold starts after a leak is covered in our mold growth timeline, and our general list of questions to ask a restoration company applies to mold work too.

Questions homeowners ask

Does Ohio require a license for mold remediation?

No. Companies that remediate mold do not have to be registered with the State of Ohio, according to the Portage County Health District, and the Ohio Healthy Homes Network states that no certification or licensing requirements exist in Ohio for mold inspectors and remediators.

Can I remove mold myself in Ohio?

EPA says that for areas less than about 10 square feet, in most cases you can handle the job yourself. For larger areas, a lot of water damage, or damage from sewage or other contaminated water, EPA points to professional help.

Who can I ask about mold in Ohio?

The Ohio Healthy Homes Network notes that the Ohio Department of Health will answer questions from the public, although its role with regard to mold is limited. Your local health district is another place to start.

What should a mold remediation contract in Ohio include?

At minimum, the written scope, the guideline the company will follow, how the work area will be contained, who is fixing the moisture source, and how completion will be confirmed.

Our mold remediation page explains how mold requests fit alongside water damage work.

Checking what is available in your area

waterdamagefirstresponse.com is a connection service. We do not perform restoration or mold remediation and we do not employ technicians. If you are dealing with interior water damage in an Ohio home and want to be matched with participating providers, you can use the request options on this site. Availability varies by area, and you decide whether to move forward with anyone you speak to.

Water backing up through a floor drain is one of the worst ways to find out how your house connects to the city. The water is not clean, it often keeps coming as long as anyone in the house uses a sink or a toilet, and the first question is always the same: is this my problem or the city’s?

In Akron, the city has published a clear answer, and it splits the pipe in two. Here is where the line falls, who to call first, and what to do about the basement while that question gets sorted out.

Call 311 first

The City of Akron’s Sewer Maintenance Division asks residents to notify it at 311 if a basement floods or sewer odors are detected. The division will dispatch a crew to check the main line sewer for a blockage (City of Akron, Sewer Maintenance Division).

That call does two useful things at once. If the blockage is in the city’s main, it gets the city working on the actual cause. If the main is clear, you learn that the problem is most likely in your own line, which tells you who to call next.

While you wait, stop running water in the house. Every sink, shower, toilet and washing machine drains through the same line to the street, and if that line is blocked, the water you send down comes back up at the lowest opening, which is usually the basement floor drain.

Where Akron draws the line

The pipe that carries wastewater from your house to the sewer main is called the lateral. Akron divides responsibility for it in two ways.

Keeping it clear

According to the city, all owners are responsible for keeping laterals clear of obstructions from the structure to the sewer main line. The city lists typical obstructions: roots, grease, paper towels, toys, rags, diapers, baby wipes and sanitary napkins.

Structural repairs

For broken or collapsed pipe, the split is different. Akron says homeowners are responsible for sewer lateral structural repairs from the home to the right-of-way or easement line, which it calls the “private” side. The city is responsible for structural repairs from the right-of-way or easement line to the sewer main, the “public” side.

Put together: a clog anywhere in your lateral is yours to clear, even the stretch under the street. A structural break is yours if it is on your side of the right-of-way line and the city’s if it is beyond it.

Finding out which side the problem is on

If the city’s crew finds the main line clear, the next step is usually a plumber or drain cleaning company to clear the lateral and, if the problem keeps returning, to inspect the line with a camera. A camera inspection is what shows whether you are dealing with a clog, roots through a joint, or a break, and roughly where it is.

Questions to ask the company you call:

• Where did you find the blockage, and how far from the house?
• Was it an obstruction, or is the pipe damaged?
• Can I have the camera footage, or at least screenshots with distances marked?
• If the damage looks like it is past the right-of-way line, what do I need to give the city?

Keep the footage and the invoice. If the issue turns out to be on the public side, that record is what you will be describing to the city.

The basement itself

Sewage is not the same cleanup as a burst supply line. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that if water damage was caused by sewage or other contaminated water, you should call in a professional who has experience cleaning and fixing buildings damaged by contaminated water (EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home). EPA also advises drying water-damaged areas within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, and not running a heating or cooling system you know or suspect is contaminated with mold.

Practical points for the first day:

• Keep children and pets out of the area, and avoid walking through the water.
• Photograph the water level, the floor drain and anything stored on the floor before cleanup begins.
• Do not use the basement fixtures until the line has been cleared.
• Ask any cleanup company how it handles porous materials, such as carpet and drywall, that sewage has reached.

Our page on sewage backup cleanup goes through what a professional cleanup involves, and our page on basement flooding cleanup covers basements that took on water from other sources.

Questions homeowners ask

Who do I call for a sewer backup in Akron?

Start with 311. The City of Akron’s Sewer Maintenance Division asks residents to report basement flooding or sewer odors there, and it sends a crew to check the main line for a blockage.

Is the City of Akron responsible for my sewer lateral?

Partly. Owners are responsible for keeping the whole lateral clear of obstructions, from the house to the main. For structural repairs, the homeowner covers the private side from the home to the right-of-way or easement line, and the city covers the public side from that line to the main.

Can I clean up a sewage backup myself?

EPA recommends calling in a professional experienced with buildings damaged by sewage or other contaminated water. A small backup may look manageable, but the materials it touched are the reason for that advice.

What usually blocks a sewer lateral?

The City of Akron lists roots, grease, paper towels, toys, rags, diapers, baby wipes and sanitary napkins as typical obstructions.

For homeowners elsewhere in Summit County, our Akron water damage restoration page describes how matching works in the area.

Checking what is available in your area

waterdamagefirstresponse.com is a connection service. We do not perform restoration or plumbing work and we do not employ technicians. If you are dealing with interior water damage or a sewage backup in an Ohio home and want to be matched with participating providers, you can use the request options on this site. Availability varies by area, and you decide whether to move forward with anyone you speak to.