What to Do When You Suspect Mold in Your Home

The first mold survey and lab tests completed at your home are the most important. If you suspect mold in your home, make sure to call a professional mold inspector to take a sample to confirm. Mold Inspections & Lab Tests, Inc, in San Diego, CA, specializes in providing home mold inspections & works with a professional lab to provide high-quality testing.

Outside Your Home

A Certified Mold Inspector will do a mold survey on the outside of your home to locate any possible problems of how water or moisture may enter your home. These problems, if they exist, may be easily remedied by the homeowner.

Inside Your Home

We will do a visual survey of your home to look for prominent mold areas. These unseen areas are the most dangerous. If not detected in the early stages, mold colonies will continue to grow and spread. The best way to stop mold from growing and spreading is to eliminate the source of moisture and water.

We have special equipment that can locate and trace the source of moisture and water. Once the problem is located, the homeowner can fix it in most cases. When the source of water and moisture is eliminated, the mold colony lays dormant, but it does not die. Inactive mold may still be a health problem and even spreads via bugs and insects, but as long as it doesn't have a source of moisture or water, it will not grow. This dormant mold should be lab tested to be determined if it is toxic mold or if any of these mold spores are airborne.

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Inside Your Home

We will do a visual survey of your home to look for prominent mold areas. These unseen areas are the most dangerous. If not detected in the early stages, mold colonies will continue to grow and spread. The best way to stop mold from growing and spreading is to eliminate the source of moisture and water.

We have special equipment that can locate and trace the source of moisture and water. Once the problem is located, the homeowner can fix it in most cases. When the source of water and moisture is eliminated, the mold colony lays dormant, but it does not die. Inactive mold may still be a health problem and even spreads via bugs and insects, but as long as it doesn't have a source of moisture or water, it will not grow. This dormant mold should be lab tested to be determined if it is toxic mold or if any of these mold spores are airborne.

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Documentation

When samples are sent to the laboratory to be analyzed, we receive a report detailing:

types of mold found in your home
the quantitative amount of mold spores that you are breathing at the time
any health concerns associated with the types of mold found
if mold spore count is elevated (an unhealthy environment) or low elevation (a good environment)

Steps to Take When You Suspect Mold

Hire a professional mold inspector whose only job is to inspect and conduct mold tests to find out what types of mold and to quantify mold spores that may be on your property. A professional mold inspector is a neutral party that has nothing to gain by convincing you that mold is good or bad or persuading you that mold is or is not a threat. Imagine a home remediator doing the initial first inspection and tests for labs. The real money in the mold industry is in mold remediation. Your mold survey and lab tests will be hand-delivered to your home by a very persuasive salesman.
If mold remediation is needed and a homeowner cannot do this independently, they should call in a Certified Mold Remediator. The only job a mold remediator should do is remove the mold from your property and make certain repairs.

Types of Mold Testing

Test samplings will need to be taken for laboratory analysis to determine what types of mold and to measure the number of mold spores per square inch that you may be inhaling into your body.

Viable mold is living or dormant mold that can be seen. Samples for lab testing are taken by doing a swab and sealed in an airtight container not to contaminate the sample. Note that this sample will only tell you what type of mold it is, but it will not tell you the number of spores. Also, mold colonies on one side of the house may be completely different species, and another test has to be conducted to determine if it is toxic. Note also that these viable mold spores may not yet be airborne.

The mold inspector will take airborne samples to determine what type of mold and how many spores are flying in the air you breathe. The inspector will take one air test outside of your home to have a comparative measurement of the air sample taken inside your home. These samples will also be sealed in airtight containers for lab tests.