Is Mold Testing Really Necessary?

9/4/2018 (Permalink)

When left to accumulate, mold can damage buildings and expose the inhabitants of the infested building to health risks such as sinuses, wheeling and exacerbation of asthma. The growing concern over mold growth across the country has allowed for a plethora of speculations, misconceptions and confusion about various aspects pertaining to mold. One of the frequently asked questions by concerned homeowners is whether mold inspection is necessary.

The necessity of mold inspection will entirely depend on the goal of the inspection process. The truth is that if you can see mold in your house, you probably do not require hiring a mold inspector to come and inspect or test for the presence of mold in your house. It is also untrue that mold inspection is necessary to determine the course of action to take after the mold is detected. Most of the time, the cause of mold growth is the presence of moisture in the building and thus the only cause of action to take is to eliminate the source of moisture.

Most of the time, indoor mold growth is obvious and visible for anyone. However, sometimes it is not, especially if the mold is growing behind walls and hidden cavities. Often, it is not easy to determine whether these hidden mold growth are extensive; this may call for mold inspection procedures to determine the extent of the mold formation. At other times, what may appear as mold may not necessarily be a mold growth; a good way to determine this would be through scientific inspection and testing.

Another goal of mold inspection is to determine the cause of mold growth in a building. Most of the time, you can tell when there is a mold infestation in your house but you may be unsure of the precise cause of this mold growth. A professional mold inspection contractor may be in a position to inspect your home for possible sources of moisture. Obviously, if you already know the sources of moisture that may be predisposing your house to mold growth, there is no need to use the services of a mold inspector.

A mold inspection may also be necessary if you are looking to find out the structures that have been infested by the mold growth. As mentioned earlier, some molds grow in hidden spaces and only a scientific inspection may be able to detect these hidden mold growths. By catching hidden mold formation early, you can abate the mold to keep the house from further contamination.

It is advisable to hire the services of mold inspector only after you have physically inspected your home for visible molds. Given that currently there are no standards regulating mold inspectors, it is suggested that you only work with companies that are well established and have the expertise to conduct inspection and recommend remediation if necessary. The most ethical contractors will only suggest an inspection procedure when they really want to rule out other water damage problems, such as mildew, that may appear as mold.