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Mold Testing Near You
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A mold inspection costs $660 for the average homeowner. This cost can range anywhere from $150 to $2.800, depending on the size of your home, the number and type of samples, and the number of hard-to-reach areas of your home that need testing.
Places like air ducts, crawl spaces, and wall cavities are particularly inviting for mold spores but require more time from your mold inspection pro. Additionally, swab testing, where a surface sample from an area of your home is collected, generally costs $200 to $300 per area. Air testing, however, is more costly, ranging from $250 to $350, but can cost as much as $700.
Knowing what to expect during a mold inspection can help make the process easier. Prepare by closing doors and windows for 48 hours, turning off HVAC systems for at least two hours, and avoiding disinfectant chemicals for at least 48 hours.
The mold inspection process takes between 24 and 48 hours. Your professional will check walls, fireplaces, air ducts, vents, and windows for visible spores. They will also take an outdoor base air sample. Your pro will send these samples to a lab for testing and advise you on the findings.
Checking for mold yourself is crucial, as catching mold in the early stages is ideal. Mold can appear green, brown, black, blue, or yellow. It can smell musty and can feel like velvet, leather, or cotton.
Most often, mold grows near water damage. It’s best to inspect these places for signs of mold growth:
Basement: Look in corners, windows, carpet, closets, and around appliances.
Bathrooms: Check around sinks, ceilings, and around toilets.
Kitchen: Inspect around the sink, behind the refrigerator, and behind trash can.
Attic: Look near the insulation and near intake and exhaust vents.
If a professional mold inspector finds mold in your home, they’ll conduct mold testing to determine the type of mold species and the number of spores in your home. This plan will help develop a remediation plan, where a mold remediation specialist will remove the spores from your home. Since mold remediation costs the average homeowner $2,225, it’s best to treat mold at the first sign rather than waiting.
If you see mold spores on walls, flooring, or ceilings, it’s best to call in a mold inspection pro to investigate. Similarly, if you smell signs of mold—musty, earthy, rotting wood, or stale scents—it’s time to call a mold inspection professional.
Other less-obvious times when you should have your home inspected for mold include:
After flooding
After home water damage
Having ceiling or wall damage
Buying or selling a home
After a persistent unexplained cough or allergy symptoms
Noticing discolored surfaces
Once mold takes a hold of a home, it can be hard to find all of it.
It can be even harder to get it all out. Before you start the process of removing mold from a house, you'll need to know where it is.
If you're not sure how to hire for mold testing, follow these basic tips:
1. Value Thoroughness over Thriftiness
While it might be tempting to work with the cheapest mold inspectors around, it could be better to hire a company that gives you a pricier estimate. If you want to make sure that your inspector doesn't miss any mold in your home, only a thorough job will do, and the most conscientious mold inspectors simply cost more to hire.
2. Be Aware of Hidden Costs
Some mold testing companies might offer free initial inspections, but these services are often bundled with costly add-ons. Also, if a company offers both mold inspections and mold remediation services, they might have more incentive to exaggerate your situation, which means you might want to have these services done separately.
3. Quiz Them on Their Mold Know-How
The EPA has laid down strict guidelines for mold testing and removal, and the right mold inspectors will be well-versed on all of these government standards and regulations. If mold inspection licensing is required in your state, the right company will have their paperwork in order, and they'll also be more than happy to provide free estimates and referrals. Also review these types of molds found in and around the home.
Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Penicilium and Stachybotrys are Toxic Molds
Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Stachybotrys are Common Household Molds
Ask a Mold Inspector about these Types of Household Molds:
- Alternaria: this black/white mold typically develops in the kitchen, bathroom or other areas with moisture and a lack of sunlight.
- Aspergillus: typically airborne it doesn't cause major issues, but when it gathers in areas of the house it forms toxic colonies.
- Aureobasidium: this pink/black mold gathers on surfaces such as wood, caulk, paint and wallpaper. It's very common.
- Chaetomium: this dark mold builds in sheetrock or drywall that has been exposed to water.
- Cladosporium: found in household fabrics such as upholstery and older carpets as well areas where wood boards meet, such as cabinets or flooring.
- Fusarium: also found in household fabrics such as upholstery and older carpets.
- Penicillium: this fast-moving mold grows in insulation that has been exposed to water or flooding.
- Stachybotrys Chartarum: this is also called Black Mold or Toxic Mold and develops around wet pipes, air ducts and tubes.
- Serpula Lacrymans: rarely found indoors, this yellow mold loves wood. But it can sometimes appear on wooden surfaces in the home.
- Trichoderma: this mold can be found across most absorbent household surfaces (wallpaper, carpets, particle board) exposed to repeated water.
- Ulocladium: more common outdoors, this mold typically develops indoors after a flood