Mold Removal in Vashon, WA

An island of older houses

King County's subarea plan for Vashon-Maury Island describes the housing stock as aging, with roughly a fifth of units built in 1939 or earlier. Almost 90 percent of homes are single-family, and about 1.9 percent are mobile homes. Houses that old often have original framing, patched roofs, uninsulated walls and crawl spaces that were never sealed against ground moisture. Mobile homes add their own weak points: belly wrap that tears and traps water, and plumbing leaks that go unseen under the floor.

Island life adds a few more. Cabins and second homes sit closed for weeks with the heat low, which is exactly when mildew spreads across walls, mattresses and closets. Homes tucked into wooded lots near Burton, Dockton or along Vashon Highway SW stay shaded and slow to dry from fall to spring.

Shoreline and flood rules

Vashon-Maury Island holds almost half of King County's shoreline miles, about 15 miles southwest of Seattle across the water. King County maps a FEMA 100-year coastal floodplain around the island plus a Sea Level Rise Risk Area that is unique to it, reaching landward to ground 3 feet above base flood elevation. New or substantially improved buildings there must sit at least 3 feet above base flood elevation. Flood insurance is federally required in the FEMA floodplain, not in the sea level rise area alone. You can check a parcel in King County iMap using the flooding layer.

Who to contact on the island

Vashon is unincorporated, so the King County Department of Local Services Permitting Division issues building permits. If mold removal leads to replacing walls, floors or framing, especially on a shoreline lot in the mapped floodplain, ask the Permitting Division before rebuilding. King County Code Enforcement takes complaints about substandard housing and dangerous buildings in unincorporated areas, and anonymous complaints are allowed. It does not handle tenant-landlord disputes and refers tenants to the Tenants Union of Washington State. Renters should give the landlord written notice of leaks; Washington landlords must keep units weathertight and provide Department of Health mold information.

Public Health - Seattle & King County offers consultations on indoor air quality concerns through its Environmental Health Services Division.

Getting someone out here

When you call, you are connected with an independent company that serves the island. Ask how ferry travel affects scheduling and price, and whether the visit can cover the crawl space and attic in one trip. Washington has no state mold license, so verify the company's construction contractor registration on L&I's Verify a Contractor tool, and get the plan in writing.