Mold Inspection & Testings: Everything You Need to Know

Purchasing a new home can be a very exciting and frightening time, as there are many facets of a home that need to be thoroughly inspected prior to you owning the home. A home inspection is something that is commonly conducted before a potential new homeowner signs on the dotted line, to ensure that the home they are wanting to own comes with no ‘baggage’, aka problems they will have to deal with down the line.

A problem that is found in some homes, is that of mold growth or mold presence inside the house. Mold is often a feared topic, and something that can be extensive to remove from the environment as it spread aggressively. Therefore, taking preventive measures to locate mold in a potential new home is important not only for your pocket book but also potentially for your health.

When you buy a new home, often times inspections are done on the home, however, these inspectors are not mold specialists, and some signs of mold will not be identified and consequently will not be disclosed to the individuals purchasing the home. If you fear mold may be an issue in your new home, it will be necessary and beneficial to conduct a mold inspection on the property to set any worries at ease. How much does a mold inspection cost on a new home and how do you know if it is worth conducting a mold inspection or test on the property? 

We are going to discuss the different situations where a walkthrough for fungus presence may be necessary and get to the bottom on how much this walkthrough of your home or test will cost you. 

Mold: What is it & How Does it Effect a Home

Mold is classified as a fungus that grows and breeds in areas of high moisture. When mold settles onto surfaces, whether that be inside your home or on something outdoors, it will begin the process of emitting microscopic particles called spores, or mold spores into the air. These mold spores will float in the air with the goal of settling onto a surface inside the environment to begin its process of growing mold. Due to the size of these mold spores, it is nearly impossible to remove all traces of mold spores from a house without installing an industrial air filtration system.

Mold and mold spores thrive on moist environments and surfaces, and by keeping the surfaces inside your home dry you can prevent these funguses from growing on these indoor spaces. The effects that mold can have on a home and the surfaces that they settle on can be significant, as it can lead to structural damage that will require cosmetic repairs. Therefore, the best way to prevent mold and potential issues to your home is to be quick to act when there is any excess moisture invasion inside your house such as a flood, leak, or spill.

Identifying Mold Indoors

There are key indicators or identifiers to mold growth inside your home; a prominent discoloration, a distinct odor, and a moisture intrusion that has occurred inside the indoor environment.

The discoloration left on the surface from mold will vary in color from black, white, gray, blue, green, brown, and yellow – and it will have a noticeable fuzzy texture. The appearance will be blotchy and sometimes the surface will have some rotting – as mold likes to eat away at this type of material.

When mold is flourishing inside your indoor environment, it can leave a distinct odor behind that you will take note of quickly. Mold emits a gas called microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) that will release a musty odor into the air. If you enter the home and immediately experience this odor, then a mold inspection will be a must.

Conditions for Mold to Grow

Mold thrives in moisture, and if there is an excess of moisture in an area it will be the perfect spot for mold to grow. Leaks or flooding of any kind will attract mold to the environment and the surface where moisture has absorbed into where mold can latch onto and begin to grow.

If you notice any of these three indicators inside the home, then you will want to move forward with some sort of mold inspection or testing on the property.

Difference Between Mold Inspection & Mold Testing

After you have decided that a mold inspection or test needs to be conducted inside the home, you will begin your pursuit of researching the different services that are offered and how much a mold inspection and mold test costs. Depending on the conditions in your home and whether or not you have identified mold or not can impact whether or not you should have a inspection for mold or mold testing done.

Mold inspection is performed to identify the presence of mold and generally defines the size of the problem in sq. footage. A mold inspector will examine the property for evidence of past or current mold growth and will look within the building, inside walls, and in other areas where conditions are desirable for mold to grow. If you start to notice that you experience an allergic reaction in certain rooms in your home, if you have experienced a leak or moisture intrusion that needs to be examined for mold, or if you want a thorough inspection of the whole property for mold growth than a mold inspection will be the proper step to take next.

Mold testing, on the other hand, attempts to identify what specific type of mold is in your home and how many spores are in the air. During a mold test, they will take a sample of the air or surface(s) in your home to undergo testing to find out the mold species type and the spores in the air that were produced from the mold. In most cases, the need for a mold test will not be necessary and in a home, they can be hard to conduct due to the controlled conditions that are needed to get an accurate reading of the mold and your home’s air. Also, it often times does not matter what kind of mold is present, as long as it is identified and remediated.

When to Conduct a Mold Inspection

When it comes to inspecting your home for mold, the good thing is that mold is very easily seen and identified. A visual inspection by a professional is all that you need to have done to find the mold source. There are, however, certain situations that will call for you to hire a mold inspector to come and survey your home for mold. These situations include the following:

• Long-Standing Vacant Home: When a house has been closed up and unoccupied for a long-extended period of time, humidity will build-up inside the environment and lead to a desirable condition for mold to grow. Humidity inside homes is especially a problem in the warmer areas where humidity is high.
• Water Damage: If you have a flood that has occurred inside your home either in the basement, roof, or from a broken pipe that has sprayed inside your home that this moisture leak will call for an inspection to take place for mold growth. Any area that has been saturated with water and was not dried thoroughly within 24 to 48 hours will invite mold to form inside.
• Purchasing a New Home: When you are purchasing a new home, you have no way to tell what kind of water damage may have been present in the home prior to you purchasing the property. Therefore, the only way to know for sure is to have a mold inspection conducted to look for any prior mold growth in the space.
• If You See Visible Fungus Growth: Noticing discoloration or any sort of growth on the surface(s) of your home will spark a need for a mold inspection. It is important to stay ahead of mold so at the earliest detection you will want to take action.

Cost of Mold Testing vs Mold Inspection

The cost of mold testing and mold inspections can vary depending on a number of different factors including the size of the home, the area that needs to be tested or examined, and how extensive the testing/inspection will be in the home. The cost of a mold test or testing can be quite expensive as it requires more advanced technology and expertise, therefore if you don’t have to do a mold test (which most people will not have to) than it is better to opt for a mold inspection.

Mold inspection cost will vary depending on where you are located as each region has different prices for this service. A rough estimate on the cost of mold inspection will be on average $300 to $400 for a small to medium-sized house, and for those homes over 4,000 square feet it will run you a little more at about $700 to $900.

If there is mold present inside your home, sometimes mold inspectors will reduce the cost of the inspection in the hopes that you will hire them for the remediation process of the mold.

Tips to Prevent Mold Growth Indoors

The process of removing mold from your house can be a major task or project that you will have to undertake. Not only that, the remediation process to remove mold can be extensive and quite expensive, as mold will grow fast and aggressively throughout the environment. The best thing you can do as a homeowner is to stay ahead of mold and be vigilant in preventing the growth of this fungus inside your indoor environment. We are going to discuss the key tips to implement inside your home to prevent any future growth of mold within your home.

Tip 1 – Repair Leaks Quickly: Sometimes leaks happen and they can be unpredictable, but how you handle the leak is what is important. Be quick to spring into action if this happens and make sure to completely dry the environment to stop mold growth in its tracks.

Tip 2 – Utilize a Mold Air Purifier: Mold is very sneaky, and it can grow in your environment rapidly before you even detect it inside. If you have a mold air purifier inside your environment it will help to mitigate potential mold spores from traveling in the air and reproducing inside your personal indoor environment. Select an air purifier with a HEPA filter that will be able to trap these microscopic spores, and one that has the ability to kill the spores inside the machine itself – this will be accomplished with the use of UVC lights.

Tip 3 – Control Humidity: High levels of humidity can be a homeowner’s worst nightmare, as it will attract mold growth. Humid air can provide enough moisture for mold to form on surface and thus grow rapidly. If your home is prone to having high levels of humidity that you will want to implement a dehumidifier into the environment to help dry out the moisture and regulate humidity levels.

Tip 4 – Keep the Environment Dry: If you experience any type of flooding inside your home, you will need to dry out the saturated areas within 24 to 48 hours or you risk mold growth. Mold needs moisture to grow, so this will provide the mold with the ideal conditions for growth.

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Conclusion: Mold & Inspecting for this Fungus

Mold can be a serious problem inside your home, and when you spot mold growth indoors you will need to work quickly to halt its growth. Having a mold inspection conducted inside your home will help you stay ahead of mold that is growing inside your home and help you to start the process of remediating this intruding fungus before it spreads like wildfire inside your personal indoor environment.