Find out everything you need to know about a mold inspection.
Have you ever experienced strange symptoms of a flu or cough with an unexplained reason? It could be the mold growing in your bathroom. Mold and mildew are notorious for causing nasal stuffiness, coughing, wheezing, watery eyes and skin irritation in people who are sensitive to it. If you or a family member are in the list, it’s best to schedule a mold inspection as soon as possible before the mold gets out of hand.
Types of Mold Inspection
A mold inspection isn’t only of one type. A good, professional home inspection company will have at least 4 methods to confirm the presence and extent of growth of the mold. Because mold takes time to grow, simple visual confirmation might not be the best method of a mold confirmation. Other scientific techniques including swabs, bulk samples and air sampling are then called for.
Air sampling is by far the surest and most sensitive method for confirming the presence of mold. This method involves checking the quality of air and measuring the amount of mold spores in the air. These mold spores are the causative agents behind the unwanted respiratory symptoms that come with mold growth.
If air sampling cannot be performed, the crudest but sure way of mold inspection is by physically removing all furniture and articles from the suspected room to directly observe the slightest of evidence of mold.
Where does mold grow?
Mold typically grows in moist, humid areas. In your house, this would mean the basement, bathroom and attic are at the highest risk for getting infested by mold. Places where water can leak are the places you should suspect mold to flourish.
The cost of a mold inspection and remediation
While the individual cost varies house to house and company to company, you can expect a mold assessment and its subsequent removal to cost you more than $1000. The more the mold has spread, the higher the costs will be. That’s why all professionals recommend taking quick action against mold.