Advanced Inspection | Mold Inspection 507-721-0922
Did you recently have your home re-mediated for mold and or water damage? You may notice something in your home that “appears” to be mold, but without testing, there is no way to be 100% certain. Mold investigators need take it up a notch by testing the air or physical areas of the home for mold.
What warrants a mold test?
1.When you smell a musty odor that cannot be identified
2. After a serious flood or water damage
3. Following a leak lasting more then 24 hours
4. When you have been experiencing long term health conditions similar to mold exposure
What does a mold test involve?
Testing the indoor air quality for mold is the most common method. In order for the air in the home to be accurately assessed, it is necessary to have one sample taken outside the home and at least more samples inside. The one outside air sample is called the “control” or “base sample”, for which the other inside samples are compared against. We compare the samples to understand if the mold spore counts outside the home are higher or lower than inside. We also want to see what types of mold are growing inside compared to the outside.
When we get the report back from the certified lab, we are looking for a few key pieces of data…
- We want to know if the inside mold spore counts are higher than the ones outside, especially when the mold is the same type. This is a potential cause for concern.
- We also want to know if the types of mold growing inside are different than the ones outside. This is a problem because we now know that the mold originated inside the home.
- When the mold spore readings are much higher inside than the ones outside, even if they are of the same type, we know that the air is polluted with mold spores.
At this point we have a better understanding of how to proceed with the mold removal efforts.The same air quality test should be performed post mold removal, to ensure that the removal company did an adequate in bringing the home back to a safe and habitable living condition.
Advanced Inspection | Home Inspection 507-721-0922