Most likely you know about mold. You’re aware that it’s not great for you, that it can compromise both the health of your family and the structural integrity of your house. You want to beat mold to the punch, before it costs you serious time, money or effort. And to do that … you need to get the skinny on its status. That means mold inspections, determining where it might love both inside and outside your house. So, how should you go about it? Below we’ll discuss what is available when you find you might need mold inspection options, what steps are involved in a comprehensive inspection, whether you can do it yourself, and the best overall approach to ridding your home of mold.
Signs of Mold in Your Home
Some signs of mold are obvious, like when it coats a wall or a floor or a crack between bricks or along the seam between wall and ceiling. Sometimes, however, it’s still obvious you have mold, but less obvious where it’s coming from, as when you get a strong whiff of that musty, moldy odor.
And sometimes you can’t see or smell visible mold yet, but the conditions are ripe. This includes when you have a leak in a bathroom, kitchen, mudroom or under the house. A humidity problem can also cause water to buildup and mold to grow, as can water trapped between layers of flooring. Once you suspect mold, it’s time to get an inspection right away.
There are many mold inspection options available to help you rid your home of this toxic stuff, but first, you need to know what you should get out of any option before you start.
Steps to a Proper Mold Inspection
Whether you do an inspection yourself or hire an inspector to do it, there are several elements you must incorporate if you want to do a thorough job. These include:
- Pinpointing where the mold is: Until you know exactly where the mold is, you can’t get rid of it. Therefore, it’s crucial to identify all sources of mold, even if they are in hard-to-reach places
- Identifying the mold type: It is crucial to know what type of mold you’re working with. Some molds are toxic and can cause headaches, dizziness, memory trouble and more. In these cases, you shouldn’t be down on hands and knees scrubbing it out without protection. If you don’t have the knowledge to identify molds yourself (and most homeowners don’t), you should seek professional advice.
- Crafting a solution: In addition to knowing where mold is and what type, it’s important to know how to treat it. Some molds require different treatments than others. Plus, in many cases, removing the mold won’t actually solve the problem, and the mold will just return once more.
- Finding a mold treatment specialist: If you don’t, you won’t know how to proceed. This is a crucial step, and one many homeowners struggle with.
A fully realized mold inspection will also include any contributing issues, roof damage, pipe problems, leaks or other factors related to the mold problem. That way, you can make a comprehensive plan to address mold right away.
Want to be sure you’re covering your basis? Talk to one of our mold inspection specialists today.
DIY Mold Inspection Options
Reading the above list, you’re likely realizing that dealing with mold is a complex issue. But, you’re thinking, at least you can test for mold yourself, right? In an effort to conserve funds, you might buy home testing kits that you hope will do the trick.
While these $5 or $10 kits can be effective at letting you know if you have mold, they often don’t identify the source of the problem. Worse, these may miss mold altogether, meaning your home and your family are at risk for even longer. If you would like to take a first step yourself, you can use these, but know that the results are far from reliable.
Superior quality mold testing kits, such as the ones found at DIY Mold Test Kits, do give more reliable results. However, even if you find mold using this kit, you’ll still need to call in professionals to ensure you find all sources – including in the attic or basements, crawlspaces or heating units, and so on. The good thing is that with these mold inspection options, you get free lab quality testing; where as a LOT of DIY Mold testing kits make you pay hundreds of dollars just to get your results.
The Complete Mold Inspection
Unfortunately, the truth is it just isn’t likely you’ll be able to do a thorough mold inspection on your own. If you want to be absolutely sure you find all issues before they become a real problem for your home or family, a professional inspection is really the best idea. This includes
- Visual examinations to locate sources of mold or contributing causes
- Air samples to ensure air quality isn’t compromised, and find hidden sources of mold
- Surface samples to test various parts of the house
- Bulk samples to ensure your overall home safety
- Exposure assessment to determine the level of danger in your home, so you know whether you should keep living in it during cleanup
Obviously these aren’t steps you can take yourself. If you suspect you have a mold problem, the best idea is to call in a professional mold inspection team like that at Houston Mold Inspections. We will not only perform all the steps listed above, certifying their results, we will then refer you to a trusted mold removal specialist who will do the job right the first time. Moreover, they can recommend a list of remediation strategies so the mold will not return as soon as you finish dealing with it this time around. If nothing else, we can help you go over all of your mold inspection options so that you can rest assured that your family is safe.
If you’re looking for a complete mold detection and removal solution, call Houston Mold Inspections at 713.446.9737, or contact us online today.