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Mold Inspection

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of mold do I have in my house? Is it Toxic Mold?

Types of mold can not be identified by sight and there are over a million species of mold. Our job is the first step which is to collect samples and have the lab analyze them. Only after this is done can it be determine the type of mold and what actions need to be taken.

How did the mold get in my house?

Mold is everywhere and it is not uncommon to find it in homes. It comes in through any opening, it even attaches to people and pets so it is easily brought in to the home.

Where does Mold grow?

Anywhere that has enough moisture, food and a place to hold on to. If there has been any water leaks or water intrusion or a relative humidity of 50% or more this is enough moisture for mold. Many building materials can encourage mold growth once they've become wet.

How can I tell if I have mold in my house?

Some mold problems are obvious, you'll see it. Other mold problems can be identified by "red flags" such as a musty smell or visible water stains. Some mold problems can only be identified by collecting samples and having the lab analyze them.

Can I stop mold from growing in my home?

Correct any water or heavy moisture problems immediately, dry the area completely and this will lessen the chance of mold growth. Mold can start growth within 24 hours of water or moisture problems so it's important to act immediately.

How do you test for mold?

There are two typical types of testing for mold. One is air sampling where samples are collected inside and outside the home for comparison to detect a problem. The other is a swab sampling of visible mold or stain to determine the type of mold.

Why is mold a problem today?

Mold has been receiving a lot of attention due to the vast amounts of sickness and lawsuits that have been created. But mold has not just started causing problems today it's caused problems through out the history of man. Mold has been documented as causes of the Ergot Plague that effected Europe for 500 years due to mold inducted food poisoning, and the Irish Potato Famine where mold killed the plants that provided food. Mold has even been documented in the Bible, Leviticus chapter 14: 39-47

Since the 1970's, when there was an oil shortage or at least a reported oil shortage, home construction changed dramatically. It is now common practice to heavily insulate homes, wrap the exterior with a vapor barrier, and create less ventilation with the outside air. This can cause the potential for mold growth if there is a water event. According to statistics from the Bureau of the Census, 35% of homes are damaged due to water or moisture yearly. With the wood, cellulose, and other organic materials used in buildings, this now provides for a fertile platform for mold to thrive.

What is Mold?

Simply mold is a fungus. Like another fungus, the mushroom, there are good molds and bad molds. Some molds are used making beer, cheese, and antibiotics, while other types can be toxic and cause negative health effects. But, the main purpose of mold is to break down dead materials like wood and fiber that are used in building materials. Mold growth can start as soon as 24 hours from when a water event occurs. Mold can often be seen as a stain or discoloration. When mold is present in large quantities, call colonies, they become a health concern. Molds are divided into three basic groups based on health effects: Allergenic, Pathogenic, and Toxic. Allergenic molds can cause allergic symptoms such as wheezing or a runny nose. Pathogenic molds can cause suppressed immune systems, or serious health effects in someone who already has a deceased immune system. Toxic molds can cause a serious health effect in almost anyone. These effects can be short-term irritations to even cancer.

What do I do now?

We realize the problems that are faced by realtors, home owners and home buyers, so we follow set standards and protocols for mold inspections. There are five levels of mold inspection services offered by certified mold inspectors that are endorsed by ESA (Environmental Solutions Association) which we follow. These service range from an inspection is requested in a specific client defined area, to a inspection that can produce mold remediation specifications*. All of the services have a clear understanding and written explanation, within the inspection agreement, of what will be inspected.

1. Limited Sampling: The purpose of limited mold sampling is to detect the presence of mold contamination in client defined areas of the home. This service provides a fast economical way to determine if and what type of mold are in a defined area. The limitation of this service is that other sources of mold can be present outside the defined area.
2. Mold Screening: This level of inspection utilizes a visual assessment of the entire home, identifies "red flags" for mold. If a "red flag" is found, the client will be advised and offered a chance for additional sampling. The mold screen is the most popular inspection service for home sale transactions.
3. Mold Survey: The value of this service identifies, determines cause and provides corrective measures for all mold sources discovered in the entire home. This service is mainly used once a problem has been identified and remediation specifications are needed to be produced by the Certified Industrial Hygienist.
4. Clearance Testing: Clearance testing is designed to determine the success of remediation efforts. A containment area has been established and remediation has been performed within that contained area. Cost is usually taken care of by the remediation company.
5. Post-Cleaning Testing: Post-Cleaning testing is also designed to determine the success of remediation efforts. The difference is that there is no containment area in place as there is in clearance testing.

Information about mold can either scare you, leave you wondering or make you think there is nothing to be concerned about.

What we've done is taken information from several different reliable sources and put them together using only what information they all agreed with on the issue of mold in an easy to understand format.

Mold is found almost everywhere in the world both outside and inside of buildings.

Mold only needs three things to thrive: food, moisture and something to grow on. Mold has even been seen growing on jet fuel

There are between 100,000 to 1.5 million different molds (depending on who you get your information from) and of these only 1% can be harmful to humans. So that makes up to 15,000 different molds that can be harmful to humans.

Since molds purpose in nature is to break down and devourer dead organic material all molds are harmful to buildings since all buildings contain dead organic material in one form or another. There are molds that do eat living organic material such as ringworm (it's a mold not a worm).

There are no set guidelines by the EPA on what a acceptable mold level could be. This is due to the fact not everyone reacts to specific molds in the same way. You can have one person become extremely ill and another just sneezing from expose to the exact same mold.

Persons more likely to have sever reactions to mold are:

1. Infants and children 12 and under
2. Pregnant women
3. People with allergies (most are directly related to mold)
4. People with asthma (mold can trigger an attack)
5. Anyone with an immune deficiency of any form
6. People over 50

Mold can be seen in many colors: black, white, red, blue, green, orange, yellow and in different shades and combinations of each. 

Most mold problems are not visible.

Most mold problems are found directly related to moisture intrusion usually in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms or in walls due to roof leaks or plumbing leaks.

If moisture intrusion is not fixed and dried within a 24 hour period mold will start to grow. Within 7 days it will start to spread.

Moisture intrusion can happen as simply as having opened a window during a rain storm or opening windows when the relative humidity is 50% or more.

How do I go about cleaning up a mold problem?

If the area your trying to clean is 10 square feet or more do not attempt it you do not have the equipment or knowledge to do it properly. Go to the yellow pages look under "Fire and water damage restoration" and get yourself a professional.

Getting rid of small areas (under 10 square feet) on hard non-porous surfaces.

First protect yourself because cleaning will cause the mold spores to become airborne immediately. Use goggles, gloves and an OSHA approved breathing mask. Seal off the area from the rest of the house using heavy plastic. Cover all air ducts. Remove all furnishings to a neutral area and clean them later. Bag all moldy materials you'll be discarding in a heavy plastic bag and seal it before removing it from the sealed area. Open a window in the seal area if available. Removing mold from a non-porous surface can be done by first cleaning it with a mild detergent solution such as laundry soap and warm water. Then can be done by using 1/4 cup bleach to one quart of water. Repeat the bleach solution cleaning every 20 minutes three times. After cleaning with bleach solution apply a borate based detergent solution and do not rinse. Let it dry, this will help keep mold from coming back but it does not guarantee it won't. Porous surfaces must be removed and replaced period.

Performing a mold inspection is not just a visible inspection we have to do air sampling both outside and inside the house to determine if there is a non-visible mold problem in the house.

Buying a home without having a mold inspection is basically playing Russian Roulette with your family.