If you’re in the market for a new home, you should put a mold inspection on your list of priorities. It’s quite a different process from regular household inspections. The cost can vary widely depending on the size of the house.
If this is your first time looking into a mold inspection, you probably have a lot of questions. This article will answer the most common questions that come up concerning mold inspections.
What is the mold?
Mold is a fungus. All fungi thrive in moist places. The way mold spreads are by emitting spores. These spores are often microscopic in size and are usually as small as a single cell making them invisible to the naked eye. Spores can be found everywhere as they tend to float in the air until they land on a surface. You can find spores outside as well as inside houses. It’s almost impossible to remove mold spores from a house without a substantial industrial grade clean room filtration system being installed. As you might have guessed, this is quite impractical.
Fortunately, mold spores only become mold when they come into contact with a moist surface which means that the interior of your home has to be dry to prevent mold formation. The main reasons as to why you’d want to clean up and remove mold which is growing in your home are because mold may aggravate allergies or asthma and it usually damages the surface it grows on.
When do you know it’s time for a mold inspection?
You can’t always see where mold is growing, especially if it’s under carpets, between walls, or in the back of a closet. Water takes the path of least resistance and often times is not visible where you suspect the leak may be. Certain situations call for mold inspections. Some of them are listed below.
- Water damage – If your home suffers any water damage such as a flooded basement, leaky roof or a broken pipe spraying water everywhere in the kitchen, it usually means that you need to inspect for mold. Places which haven’t dried quickly (24-48 hours) after getting wet are prime targets for mold contamination.
- Buying a new home – It’s impossible to know the history of water damage when purchasing a new home. This is why it’s imperative that you do a mold inspection before you sign any papers.
- After a house has been unoccupied –Houses which have been closed up and or abandoned for months or even years sometimes have humidity build up inside. An environment of humidity is the perfect environment for mold to grow. This problem is more common in areas which are warmer with high humidity.
- You see a bit of mold –People who notice blue, green, white, or black stuff growing in their house would do well to do a mold inspection as the mold may not be restricted to a single location.
How does a mold inspection work?
Taking air samples during a mold inspection is important for several reasons. Mold spores are not visible to the naked eye, and the types of mold present can often be determined through laboratory analysis of the air samples. Air samples can be used to gather data about mold spores present in the interior of a house. These samples are taken by using a pump that forces air through a collection device which catches mold spores. The sample is then sent off to a laboratory to be analyzed.
Having samples analyzed can help provide evidence of the scope and severity of a mold problem, as well as aid in assessing human exposure to mold spores. After remediation, new samples are typically taken to help ensure that all mold has been successfully removed.
Mold inspection in Utah is quite popular because property owners in Utah tend to report a lot of mold growth. An excellent option for a mold inspection is Watch Dogs Home Inspectors as they have plenty of experience in the field. They come highly recommended by all who avail their services.
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