No one wants to buy a house with a mold issue. Unfortunately, mold spores are often hard to detect. If you’re house-hunting, use your nose first. If you see black, grey, pink or green mold or smell something like stinky socks, the home most likely has mold issues. Our Mold Testing Service is the best way to determine if your home has mold issues and negotiate any mold mitigation
Licensed Inspectors
As professional mold inspectors, we will test your home for toxins. We are licensed to find both symptoms and sources of moisture damage. Mold can be very easy or difficult to spot. Common mold areas in a home include the bathroom or kitchen walls, windows and window sills, air conditioning and vents, wall cavities, attic spaces near the roof, crawl spaces under your home.
Our Mold Testing, which can be scheduled during your Home Inspection, is an additional service, offered at a modest additional fee.
CTR Home Inspections services Rockland County, Orange County, Westchester County and the Rockaways in NY, and Bergen County and Passaic County in NJ. Call or text us to schedule your inspection.
EPA Recommendations for Mold
You may suspect hidden mold if a building smells moldy, but you cannot see the source, or if you know there has been water damage and residents are reporting health problems.
Mold may be hidden in places such as the back side of dry wall, wallpaper, or paneling, the top side of ceiling tiles, the underside of carpets and pads, etc.
Other possible locations of hidden mold include areas inside walls around pipes, with leaking or condensing pipes, the surface of walls behind furniture where condensation forms, inside ductwork, and in roof materials above ceiling tiles due to roof leaks or insufficient insulation.
Want to read more about mold, (and who wouldn’t?!) click the button below for the EPA’s “A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home.”
Mold Facts
Mold is a fungus that comes in a wide variety of colors; black, white, green, or gray and in a number of different shapes. Some molds are obvious: they are visible and smell bad. Other types of mold are more stealthy; they grow between walls, under floors or ceilings, or in basements and attics. Mold grows best in water-soaked materials like paneling, wallboard, carpet, paint, ceiling tiles, but it can thrive in almost any damp location.
Mold Air Testing
Testing your home’s air for toxic spores can also be conducted. Airborne toxins are a serious health risk and can lead to respiratory and lung problems.
Importance of Mold Inspections
Besides presenting an ugly appearance and, often an unpleasant odor, mold can cause health problems. A few types of molds produce mycotoxins which can cause rashes, seizures, bleeding, respiratory issues, and severe fatigue. Fortunately, most molds are of the non-toxic variety. If you ignore mold in a home, it will grow. The quicker you get the test, the sooner you can stop the growth and reduce eventual remediation costs.