Mold inspections start with an assessment interview. We start with an understanding of what prompted your interest or request for a mold inspection. What concerns do you have about the possible mold contamination in your home, business or work place? What additional relevant information can you provide?
I will spend about an hour doing a visual property inspection, focusing on area(s) of concern or interest as necessary. I may test for high moisture content in building materials, note humidity levels if relevant, and make other observations related to mold-related issues.
Once I have an understanding of what likely is going on in your indoor environment, I will take some samples for independent lab screening. Samples can be air samples or direct exam samples of actual mold growth. These serve to quantify the degree of mold contamination, which consists of both surface mold growth and airborne contamination.
My deliverables to you are a written report highlighting the lab results (this is a separate report) and noting my observations and recommended actions to address problems identified during the inspection. Put simply, my goal is to answer these three questions:
- Why did the mold growth occur?
- What must be done to remedy this?
- What should be done to prevent growth from recurring.
Sometimes a full inspection is not necessary. You have a mold problem, but the scope of the problem does not warrant a full mold inspection. In this case, I offer a focused mold inspection, conducted in the area of concern. A focused mold inspection includes some but typically not all of the services offered in a full mold inspection. In some cases, taking air or direct exam samples is not needed to quantify the extent of the mold contamination. My goal still is to answer those three questions.
When all is said and done, your mold problem will be solved and you’ll know what to do to keep it solved.