What to expect during mold inspection

Imagine this. You have a piece of property that you really love, but it has suffered from water damages. Perhaps you start to note that your home has a very strange odor, or there are some visible signs of something growing in your home space.

Regardless of how you see it happening, one thing is definitely certain: you have a mold problem on your hands.

If there is one thing to note, is that mold problems are among the circumstances that can happen to any home and anyone. It is quite easy to develop, as all the mold needs is a place that has humidity levels of more than 50%, and an undisturbed area of the house.

However, before you begin stressing out over mold issues, there are some measures you can take – key among them is calling on the professional such as AWA Environmental who provides services like mold inspection cover these residential areas . However, you might not be sure on what to expect when they come, so we will discuss a few pointers in this article.

Measurement of humidity levels

A major reason why mold can easily develop in a home is high humidity levels, and this is the first thing a mold inspection process will involve. The things they will check are the temperatures and relative humidity levels of every room.

The higher the humidity level, the more the chances that mold might develop, so the mold inspectors might test the rooms more than once if they have high humidity levels.

Search for visual signs

The mold inspectors can examine all rooms of your home, and sometimes even outer surfaces, for signs of mold. The outer structures and exterior walls are a major culprit when it comes to formation of mold, even before the substance enters your building.

Among these outside structures, they will check areas such as the landscape and drainage. In addition to that, they will examine drain spouts, eaves, and fascia in order to determine if there are some areas where water can enter your home. This will ultimately eliminate any external moisture sources.

After the exterior is done, they will then check your home interior for any visual signs of mold. These include areas such as the window sills (to check for condensation), any water stains, and any collection of mild spores on your walls, ceiling, sinks (especially underneath), behind your baseboards, behind appliances, cupboards, and so on.

Expect a lot of questions

Since the aim is to be as accurate as possible with figuring out the problem and its source, expect the mold inspection team to ask you plenty of questions, which will also help them figure out the removal process.

This means that you will need to tell them any events regarding the formation of mold growth in your home, the health of all the occupants, and the history of your home (how old it is, when did you move there, how many people have lived in that space, and so on).

Ultimately, the information the inspectors will gather here will be helpful to them when it comes to assessing the severity of growth, as well as the origins of the moisture. The removal process cannot begin until they resolve the underlying problems – for instance, any malfunctioning sump pump that is leading to water backup problems will need replacement before they can begin the mold removal process.

Taking samples from any infested areas

During the process of diagnosing the problem, the mold inspectors will take samples of swabs or tape. They will also do several tests, especially the Indoor Air Quality, or IAQ test. This is meant to compare and measure the spore count between your home and the outer part of the house.

All the samples for the tests will go through evaluation by a third party lab, and the results are sent back to the mold inspection team. If the inside of your home has higher spore count than the outside, the removal process of the mold begins.

Looking for the signs of mold

Even though mold is infamous for its musty smell, you can manage this smell through using other scents to mask it out (such as scented candles and plug-ins), or using your HVAC system.

Before calling your preferred mold inspection teams, it is probably a good idea to look around your home first and see any signs of mold colonization – especially in moisture-filled areas. The mold can appear as fuzzy kinds of growth, speckles, or discolored areas such as in green, brown or black.

If you happen to be renting a house, it is an even more important skill to check your home for mold on a frequent basis, or when you want to move into a property. Some of the things you can use to check whether there is presence of mold include:

Using a flashlight – even if it is your phone flashlight, it is useful enough to help you spot any issues. Mold frequently tends to grow in spaces that are subject to disuse or dim corners, and it can go overlooked for years due to this.

Examining your outside compound – there are numerous mold issues that start from outside your home – so always check for any damage on the foundations, walls and roof. Any damage to these areas will cause leaks, which leads to mold.

Examine inside the home – check areas in your home for any water damage and discoloration. If you can smell the mold, even if you cannot confirm where it is, that is always a problem.

Examine your windows – moisture is mold’s best friend. Anytime the outdoor and indoor climates do not match, condensation will always form on windows and sills, as well as nearby walls – making them a prime environment.

Examine vents – you need to replace the ventilation systems of your home on a frequent basis to avoid any buildup of mold, dust and other impurities.

Final thoughts

Mold is always a bad idea to have in your home, and you need to deal with it as soon as you can as it poses a danger to your long term health. Part of finding a solution is hiring mold inspection services and seeking out any issues early on, which will ensure that the problem is handled early and the problem source can be found.