When You Should Consider a Mold Inspection?
During a mold inspection, does the person just look around the house for obvious signs of mold growth or is there more to it? The simple answer is that there’s more to it. Mold inspection is a thorough step-by-step process that is designed to remove uncertainty and it involves things like visual checks, moisture detection and others.
Visual Assessment: Every mold inspection starts with a slow-paced walk around the house with a careful visual check of the home. It’s always a good idea to allow someone trained for the job to do the check and that’s because a trained person knows the areas where mold is most likely to grow. They know how to thoroughly inspect mold prone places such as walls, ceilings, corners and other places that are cluttered in the home.
Professionals also know the less obvious places like the back of furniture, plumbing areas and inside cupboards or any other storage area where there’s very little airflow. The goal of the inspector is to find anything that looks unusual no matter how insignificant it looks.
Moisture Detection: You can’t inspect a house for mold presence without running a moisture inspection. This is because moisture is one the most important material that mold needs to grow and without it there’ll be no growth. Once you can trace moisture sources, it’ll be easier to resolve mold growth issues in your house. But it’s not always easy to trace moisture. To achieve this, you’ll need special tools that can detect dampness under a surface or in places your eyes cannot access. You might also need to carry out a leak detection test to find out if there’s a slow leak from your plumbing pipes. Once you get your hands on the moisture source and fix it, mold issues will be a thing of the past.
Air and Surface Checks: After looking at the visual clues and tracing moisture sources, the next step in most mold inspection procedures is to check the conditions in the air and those on some surfaces. So what would you be checking? Well, it’s none other thing than mold itself and this is done through a process called mold testing. There are two things you can check when testing for mold in a house; it’s either you check for the amount of mold spores in the air through a process called air quality testing or you take samples directly from surfaces that look suspicious through what is called surface sampling. Either of these tests can help you ascertain whether mold is actually present in your home or whether you’re just panicking without cause.
These three inspection steps are very necessary and useful because they take out guesswork from the picture. So, insteading of assuming what is happening in the house, an inspection will clear your doubts and make it easier for you to decide what you want to do next.
After Water Damage or Flooding
One of the best times you should consider calling a professional to do a thorough mold inspection in your house is after any form of water damage; whether large flooding or small leaks. It’s an established fact that mold needs water to thrive. But do you know that it can cope with the presence of the smallest of moisture? Some homeowners believe that small water damages do not have any noticeable implications on their building and as a result they might not need a professional, but that’s not true.
Mold doesn’t need a dramatic or large amount of moisture; it can survive and thrive in materials like walls, carpets, furniture, fabrics and even insulation if small amounts of water is present. When moisture enters any of the listed materials, some of it dries out quickly while the rest remains trapped. That small amount of trapped moisture is sufficient for mold to grow. So whenever you have a water damage issue like a burst pipe or a leaking roof or the wind blows heavy rain into your house, make sure you don’t take the issue lightly. Everything might appear dry on the surface but moisture has a way of creeping into hidden places that you’ll not notice unless you thoroughly check.
The chances of mold growing in hidden corners are higher if your home experiences flooding. Flood water can sink very deep inside building materials within a short period and if they do not dry properly mold would start growing before you know what’s happening.
If your home experiences small water damage, you’ll need experts that can help you with water damage restoration service. But if the water was as a result of a flood then a flood damage restoration service often comes in. Even after cleanup is completed through any of these two services, you’ll still need an inspection to confirm that no hidden moisture or mold has been left behind.
When You Notice a Persistent Musty Smell
A mold inspection may become necessary if you notice a musty smell that doesn’t want to go. Whenever most people suspect mold, they often look out for colored patches or other visible signs. However, mold doesn’t always show itself as visible signs only. Sometimes, it comes off as damp or musty smells. This smell may not be strong enough or overwhelming when you enter the house, but it’s usually noticeable enough if you pay the slightest attention to what’s entering your nose. The stale smell can blow into your nose as soon as you open the door to enter a room or immediately you open a cupboard/ storage space.
When some people perceive this smell, they’ll just overlook it or assume it’s because they’re just entering the room. But when the smell keeps returning day after day, then it means there’s something deeper happening in the room; in most cases, that something is either hidden moisture or growing mold.
The problem with a musty smell is that it doesn’t always tell you where it is coming from, all you know is that something is smelling in the room. Some of the places that the smell could come from include behind a wall, under flooring, inside a storage space or in a part of the home you rarely check. Since you can’t easily determine where the smell is coming from, you’ll need a professional to conduct a thorough mold inspection service to locate the source of the smell. Some experts may recommend air quality testing, a process where samples are taken from the air and tested for mold presence.
Visible Signs That Shouldn’t Be Ignored
There are times when the signs of mold presence are written bolded like a handwriting on the wall; they’re neither subtle nor hidden. Let’s see some of these early warning signs.
Wall or Ceiling Stains: One of the first visible signs that you’ll see when mold starts growing in your apartment is an obvious discoloration on the walls or ceilings. Mold can show itself in different colors depending on the surface it is growing on or the kind of mold on the surface. Some molds stain your surfaces with yellow or brown coloration while there are some others that show up as dark patches.
When some people see some of these mold spots for the first time, they might think it’s just an old stain on the walls or something that has been there for a while. But if you notice that the stain is spreading or it’s darkening the more then you should pay more attention to the area because it might truly be mold growing on the surface. Stains on a wall or ceiling usually means water has soaked the area and wherever there’s moisture, the likelihood of finding mold is higher.
Peeling Paint or Bubbling Surfaces: Another visible sign that you might notice when mold is present in your house is peeling or bubbling paint. Paints usually form a tight bond with the walls or ceilings when you apply them but whenever moisture gets trapped between the two the bond between them becomes weak. Since the bond is weakened, the paint will not be able to stick to the wall or ceiling and it’ll eventually separate forming bubbles. After bubbling comes peeling. Whenever you see a bubble or peeling paint, just call a professional to check for moisture and then mold on the surface.
When You’ve Had Ongoing Moisture Issues
If you’re having moisture issues in your apartment and it keeps repeating itself over and over again then it’s recommended that you get a mold inspection done in the house. Moisture issues can come in different forms. For instance, a window that always attracts moisture and shows droplets every day. Other possible signs of ongoing moisture issue are corners that never fully dry or rooms that always feel damp. These kinds of issues may not necessarily be caused by one particular event, instead, it might just be a pattern. And as long as moisture is present, mold will always find a way to grow.
If Your Home Has Poor Ventilation
Ventilation is one of those things people don’t usually pay close attention to in their homes until it becomes a problem. When you do your normal daily activities like cooking, showering or drying clothes, it releases a lot of moisture into the air and when this air gets trapped because there is no way for it to escape, it will make moisture to start building up in your home
The room that is most affected by poor ventilation is the bathroom because bathrooms are naturally designed with very small windows. Other places that also experience poor ventilation are the kitchen and storage spaces. Now, if your home usually feels stuffy because it’s poorly ventilated then it’ll be a good idea to consider a mold inspection. An inspection is usually recommended not because there’s something wrong but because the conditions of the house are welcoming for mold growth.
Health Symptoms You Can’t Explain
There are times when you don’t need visual clues or smells to tell you something isn’t right in your home and one of those situations is when you experience health issues that you can’t explain. These health symptoms can come as persistent cough, sneezing or irritation in the eyes. You might also notice that you’re feeling general discomfort whenever you’re indoors. When most people experience these symptoms, they might just ignore it or blame it on weather and stress. This explanation makes sense when it’s a one-off situation but if the symptoms keep coming back when you’re indoors, then it means there’s something causing it.
People have different ways of reacting to mold exposure. For people that are highly sensitive to mold spores, their body sees and treats the spores as allergen and this makes the body react through sneezing and other symptoms. However, there are some other persons that may not show any symptoms even when their house is filled with mold. This is why you should not jump to conclusions about whether or not you’re experiencing a similar symptom. The symptoms could be as a result of mold presence and it could also be as a result of general health issues.
If you notice any related symptoms, make sure you call experts to do a mold inspection so you can rule out any possibility of mold presence.
After Buying or Moving Into a New Home
When people purchase a house or move into a new home, they usually enter the new place with a sense of relief because they believe it’s a fresh start and everything there is new, but that’s not always the case. Your new home might have gone through a lot in the past and you may not know its true condition or what it must have been exposed to. A house can look fine on the surface because it was newly repainted so you’ll not have the slightest clue that it has experienced serious water leak or other long-term moisture issues. If you want to be on a safe side then you should do a thorough mold inspection. Not because you’re afraid but because you want to be sure of what you’re getting yourself into.
Before and After Renovation Work
Before carrying out a renovation, it’s advisable to do a thorough inspection on the building to be sure there are no hidden issues. Renovations can completely transform your space but before it does so walls have to come down and floors have to be replaced so that everything can start to feel fresh and updated. If you just jump straight into the renovation project, you might end up building over a problem that already exists. But if you do proper inspection, you’ll be able to find previous moisture issues and this will guide you on how best to resolve them so they don’t show up again after the renovation.
On the other side, renovation can introduce new moisture carrying materials into your apartment. Materials like plaster and paint usually contain moisture and if you do not manage the drying process properly that moisture can linger and cause issues later on. Always take the pain to inspect your house again after a renovation to ensure everything has settled properly and no new issues have developed.
When Mold Keeps Coming Back
Another reason you should call for a mold remediation or inspection is when you notice that mold keeps coming back. If you remove mold or do a thorough clean up and you notice that the molds return after a few weeks then it means the underlying causes have not been resolved. An inspection helps you pinpoint the exact problem location and once you address it properly, you might never encounter the same problem in that spot again.
Conclusion
When it comes to moisture and mold related issues, you don’t want to be left wandering in the dark. Many homeowners may suspect mold growth in their homes but since they’re not sure, there’s little or nothing they can do about their suspicion. Some homeowners might just decide to wait for a little longer whether they’ll be able to catch obvious signs of mold presence. Meanwhile others may ignore the issue entirely. You don’t need to wait until you see any of the signs we discussed above like (after water damage or flooding, when you notice a musty smell, you or your family experience health issues, notice peeling or bubbling paint and others). If you suspect mold, do not delay in reaching out to a mold inspection expert. When you call for inspection, you’re not doing so because you’re expecting the worst but because you want to understand what’s happening in your environment.
Now, whether the result confirms that there’s a mold problem or it rules out the possibility of mold, you’ll have taken guesswork out of the picture.
