| | A professional mold inspection should be considered a high priority if you are buying a home or have reason to believe that you home has mold contamination. This  inspection is done by a professional who has training, knowledge, and experience in the mold inspection field. Mold has been in the news a lot lately in the last few years, especially the Stachybotrys mold, which is also called black mold or toxic mold. Mold can be found in the air, on the ground, and both inside and outside of your home, and some types of mold can cause harmful health effects that can range from mild allergy symptoms to serious and even life threatening illnesses. A mold inspection can alert you to the fact that your home has mold contamination, and testing can determine exactly what types of mold are present so that the proper cleanup or remediation procedures are used.
If you are considering a home purchase, a mold inspection should be done, if for no other reason than your peace of mind. Mold can be insidious, and may hide in areas that are not visible, like inside walls, in ductwork for heating, cooling, and ventilation, and in other areas of the home that you can not view. Sometimes the mold may be present for years without being detected, and it may cause occupants to become ill or suffer from allergies and other health problems. A mold inspection will find any mold problems and prevent any illnesses or diseases from becoming a problem.
A professional mold inspection will be performed by a qualified mold inspector, who will take a history of the home as well as do a thorough visual inspection. This can be a very important step, because water damage may not be present but this does not mean it never occurred. A complete home history will alert the inspector to any flooding or leaks that may not be apparent but did occur, even if it happened quite some time ago. The mold can be severe yet show no visual signs, and a history will help the inspector determine which areas to look very closely at. A mold inspection can reveal problems with mold that you were not aware of.
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A mold inspection should be done if visual signs of mold are present in the home. Do not disturb the mold until you are ready for cleanup or professional remediation. Mold spores are released into the air when the mold is dried and then disturbed, and these spores can cause problems for anyone who is sensitive. Even brushing or wiping at the dry mold can cause toxins and other mold components to become airborne, and this can mean allergies, illnesses, and more. If you live in a multiple family building that shares ventilation, disturbing the mold can cause it to go through the entire building and affect every occupant. If the mold contamination is large, a mold inspection should be done to identify the types of mold present before any remediation or cleanup should be done. If the mold is visible and only covers a small area, you may not have to pay for professional remediation as long as the proper safety precautions are used.
If there is visible mold and a home mold inspection determines the contamination is not severe, you can take steps to clean the mold yourself as long as you use the required safety equipment and follow the proper cleaning procedures. The first step is to determine where the moisture or water is coming from, because until this source is repaired or eliminated, the mold will just come back. Make sure to wear safety goggles, a HEPA respirator, and thick plastic gloves if the area of mold is larger than a baseball. This is important even if you are not sensitive, because repeated exposures can lead to sensitivity. Make sure all occupants who are at risk, such as children, the elderly, babies, and those who have a compromised immune system, are out of the home before you start to clean the mold. The mold inspection report will determine if there is any hidden mold that should be cleaned up as well as the visible spots you can see.
Once the mold inspection is done and you know that the extent of the mold can be cleaned without professional help, it is time to start the cleaning. Make sure to be aware of any hazards that can be present along with the mold. Many times flooding can result in bacterial hazards because of sewage, and wet areas may pose a shock hazard if there is electricity in the same areas. Use damp cloths to lightly wipe the mold off of the surface, while wearing the appropriate safety protection, because damp rags will prevent much of the mold from becoming airborne by dampening it down before wiping. Any drywall, wallboard, and other cellulose materials that have visible mold should be removed and thrown away.
A mold inspection may include mold testing and samples, depending on the results of the inspection and whether any mold is visible. Some testing methods for mold are not reliable, and this can cause problems. Air testing can be unreliable if it is not done properly by a qualified inspector, and for this reason many mold experts will not use the results. Air testing that is improperly done can result in false positive and false negative results, so you may worry for no reason, or think you and your loved ones are safe when you may not be. Field test kits can also be questionable, and these are petri dishes that are left in the home. These dishes can grow mold cultures, and an extremely high count may signal a mold problem, but there are mold spores in the air inside and outside, and this can cause some mold to grow and appear on the petri dish even if there is no mold contamination in the home. A professional mold inspection should always be the first step to determining whether the home has a mold contamination problem.
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