Mold Testing

What you should know about performing mold testing.

Before you rush out a pay a professional to make a mold testing visit to your home, there are steps you can perform on your own. You can sometimes see mold on the surface of an object that may be discolored or look as if it has smudges or blotches. But most likely the first sign of mold growing in your home is that you will probably be able to smell it. You are probably smelling mold if rooms in your home have a musty or earthy odor. Since you may not be able to see mold that may be causing an odor, a mold testing guideline can help you determine if mold is your problem. The mold could be growing behind walls, underneath carpets, or in other hidden areas. Mold Growth is common in areas of a home that are damp or have suffered water damage. You should be very concerned about the growth of mold if your home has had a flood, a sewer back-up, an overflowing toilet, any type of leaks or other serious water-related problems. If any of these mold testing symptoms apply to your home and it smells like mold, then you have a problem and should visit the other sections of this site to clean up the moldy areas.

There are many problems with performing mold testing of the air in your home since reliable air sampling for mold can be expensive and requires expertise and equipment that is not available to the general public. Many departments of health services do not recommend hiring an outside mold testing professional as a first step to determine if you have a mold problem. Owners of private homes and apartments would generally need to pay a contractor to carry out such sampling, because insurance companies and public health agencies seldom provide this service. Mold inspection and cleanup is usually considered a housekeeping task that is the responsibility of you, the homeowner or landlord.

Throughout this site we give many resources to aid you in your battle against mold. So please browse through the rest of this website to learn about what you can do to rid your home or office of mold.

And be sure to check out our pages about Mold Removal, Household Mold, Effects Of Mold And Mildew, and What Is Mold elsewhere on this site.