Mold inspection is the best way to determine if there is a danger to your health and your building structure.
Your home may have areas that offer an excellent ecosystem for mold to develop.
Due to the circumstantial nature of mold development, that is not always directly visible, you may face an iceberg situation.
If you suspect a mold issue, you may want to have a professional assessment conducted by specialists.
A mold inspection is your best first step to identify issues and determine your path forward.
Why would you need a mold inspection?
There are hundreds of thousands of different mold types and most houses in Chester County, PA, have some form of mold.
In other words, mold is not an exceptional circumstance in our area.
It’s actually common to find mold in homes.
Depending on the mold types and their concentration, mold can cause allergic reactions and can possibly be toxic.
Beyond the health risk for you and your family, it can also negatively impact the structural integrity of the place you call home.
Therefore, it is important to address the problem right away and avoid letting it settle and amplify with time.
Your immediate attention may help you save thousands of dollars of remediation at a later point.
What is mold and how does it develop?
Mold is a type of fungus and consists of microorganisms.
It can have different colors and lives indoors and outdoors and spreads when different factors are combined.
There are several conditions when grouped together create the perfect environment for mold development such as:
- The type of material
- Moisture / Water
- Temperature
- Humidity levels
- Presence of light
All these variables can affect the way mold spreads.
Attics, basements, crawl spaces, behind walls, subfloors, and carpeted areas are ideal environments.
When should you request a mold inspection?
If you see blue, green, or black mold spores spread in certain areas of your house, it is a visual confirmation that there is an issue.
It seems obvious, right?
So, why have a mold inspection tell you what you already know?
The answer is very simple: The outcome of a mold inspection will help determine the root cause of your mold problem.
Although you may engage in a mold removal process, if you do not address and fix the root cause of your mold problem, mold will reappear sooner or later.
If you know that you have a problem, a mold inspection identifies its origin and informs you about how mold develops and grows in your home.
This is why a thorough mold inspection is essential to eliminate the issue.
What if you smell a musty odor?
A musty odor can be an indication that you have a mold problem. In this case, again, a mold inspection will help to characterize the issue.
There are places where mold can thrive and spread that are not always visible. The fact that you are unable to see mold or smell it, does not mean that your home is not infested.
How is that possible?
For instance, you may have mold:
- In your ducts
- Under your carpeted area
- Between your walls
In these cases, mold is not always perceptible. Therefore, a mold inspection may help determine if there is an issue.
There are a few circumstances that should trigger your attention.
For instance: you may have a mold problem if:
- You experienced some form of water damage. Was your basement recently flooded? Did you have to replace a water pipe that broke? Are your water pipes old? Did your roof have a leak? These are just a few examples of things to keep in mind. Remember that any place that had water damage can potentially be a case for mold spread.
- You recently had mold removed. It is a good idea to verify if mold is not growing back. Therefore, make sure to periodically have a mold inspection and testing.
- You want to purchase a new home. It’s a good idea to request a mold inspection, especially if the past water damage was not reported.
- Your house has warmer, humid, and darker areas that you cannot access easily. These are ideal conditions for mold development. Therefore, mold inspection may be necessary to clarify these areas.
For each case, the mold inspection process tries to determine if there is a presence of mold and quantify the size of the problem if there is one.
It also helps the homeowner determine potential remediation steps in the event of confirmed mold problems.
How does the mold inspection process work?
A mold inspection is a visual inspection of an area. It should not be confused with mold testing which involves taking samples either through an air grab or a surface swab.
The mold inspection process works the following way:
- If mold is visible, the homeowner shows the area of concern to the mold inspector. The inspection requires usually a walk around the property to determine the root cause of mold development.
- If the mold issue is not directly visible, a moisture meter device is used to evaluate the moisture content level in a given area.
Typically, the mold inspector tries to find the source of moisture that causes mold to develop.
If there is a problem of accessibility to the area susceptible to contain mold, the inspector may have to remove a panel of the wall or carpet or any content that may obstruct the visual evaluation.
If mold is found in your home, the size of the problem is assessed and documented, the next step is to layout a remediation plan to address the issues to fix.
Mold Inspection is a necessary step of your safety and peace of mind
Whenever a mold issue has been identified, it needs to be resolved – this is the value proposition of a mold inspection.
The report should answer the following questions:
- Do I have a mold issue?
- What causes the issue?
- How do I get it fixed?
In other words, it helps you clarify the extent of the contamination and informs the homeowner about the origin of the problem.
A thorough report will ultimately help to scope out the remediation process and help the homeowner to make informed decisions.
Have you already had a mold inspection performed and what was your experience?