A Guide to Mold Testing - Do You Really Need it?

           Quite commonly, people think of mold as a bad word, but it’s not. Our earth would be inhabitable by humans and animals without mold, therefore making it impossible to ever buy a “mold-free” home. However, an issue arises when there is too much mold. But fear not, our inspectors work closely with one of the best mold testing companies around, InspectorLab.  Keep reading to determine if you would benefit from mold testing and which services will fulfill your needs.

            The first type of service offered is surface testing. During your home inspection, the inspector looks for evidence of mold, or “microbial” growth. Using a swab or tape lift to sample the growth, they can see if there is evidence if the home has current or former mold growth. Mold growth can come from a variety of different sources such as past water intrusion or excess humidity. It’s recommended to surface test when visible mold is present, evidence of cleanup or removal of mold took place, or to ensure repairs due to mold, performed by a third party, were done properly.

            The second type is air quality testing. It is perfectly normal to find mold spores in the air because the environment cannot survive without them, but the air samples taken in the home are based on a baseline sample from the outside and then compared with the air inside. This evidence will help our inspectors determine hidden dangers that could be lurking such as moisture or leaks which would cause the mold spores to be produced. You should consider an indoor air quality test when a recent water event is suspected, a musty smell is noticed, any family members have a high sensitivity to mold or allergies, or recent mold removal took place.

            Our third service is a comprehensive moisture evaluation. This involves samples that are tested to evaluate potential health hazards from mold as well as locating any sources of moisture that will eventually transform an area to be wet and moldy.  This is a good idea if the home sat vacant for a long period of time or when a major water event happened in the home.
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    InspectorLab provides clear results in an easy to read report and an exclusive guarantee with their services. If you have mold testing done and the results are good, but mold is visible later on, they will pay to have your mold removed. For a complete copy of the terms and conditions of the InspectorLab Guarantee, click here.