Toxic Mold Inspection, Black Mold Inspection, Sampling & Testing

Toxic Mold Inspection, Black Mold Inspection, mold sampling, and mold testing require the thorough inspection of the home or other building for hidden black mold by the use of toxic mold testing and physical visual inspection. A home, apartment, condo, office, or commercial property needs to be carefully checked for the presence of water problems, higher than normal levels of mold spores in the air, or serious levels of mold infestation or mold contamination.

STEPS FOR
Certified Mold Inspection

The first step is to hire a qualified, trained, and experienced Certified Mold Inspector [C.M.I]. Or make the decision to do your own mold inspection following the thorough directions provided in the in depth ebook Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.

The second step is for either the Certified Mold Inspector or the property owner or property manager to do a thorough physical examination of the home or other real estate building for evidence of possible water problems or mold infestation. The following areas need to be checked as part of your home or other property's mold inspection protocol and mold testing protocol:

Do any of the home residents or building occupants suffer from any of the top 100 mold health symptoms and mold illnesses listed on the home page of Mold Inspector? If so, you need to be very thorough in both mold inspection and mold testing of the home and workplaces of the residents to find the possible mold infestation cause of the residents' mold health problems.
Shrubs, trees, and other plants growing close to the home or building. Too many trees too close to the home or building protect mold growth from the killing effect of ultraviolet sun light. In addition, dead leaves and plants provide food to enable mold to grow; growing mold creates airborne mold spores to enter the building through open windows and doors, as well as into the fresh air intake of the heating/cooling system.
Is the land around the building sloping away from the building [thus carrying rainfall and snow melt away from the building] or toward the building [thus bringing excess water to the building and causing possible water intrusion into the building's foundation, concrete slabs, and basement walls]?
Is the roof in good repair [such as good shingles and no cracks or holes in flashings around plumbing vent pipes, air conditioning units, etc.]?
In the attic, are their water stains or mold growth on the under side of the roof decking, the roof joists, the attic floor, and on and beneath insulation? Mold cannot eat fiberglass insulation, but it can eat the paper backing of such insulation, and mold can also eat and grow on organic dirt deposited onto the fiberglass strands.
Are there physical signs or evidence of water intrusion or mold growth anywhere in water-oriented rooms such as bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room? Be very thorough in inspecting and testing for bathroom mold, kitchen mold, utility room mold, and laundry room mold.
Are their water stains, water damage areas, or suspicious discolorations of any other rooms' ceilings, walls, floors, and furniture that would indicate the need to test for ceiling mold, wall mold, floor mold, living room mold, closet mold, dining room mold, bedroom mold, or, in other areas, attic mold, crawl space mold, basement mold, storage room mold, or garage mold?

Do-it-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation Book

Enables you [or others working under your directions] to do your own mold inspection on your home or other real estate property so that: (1) you can be assured that the mold-related work was done both safely and effectively; (2) you protect your family's health and the value of your home or other property; and (3) you get your property mold work done at a small fraction of the cost of hiring so-called "mold professionals" to do the mold necessary mold prevention, inspection, testing, and remediation. This book is extremely valuable and helpful to you even if you plan to hire a Certified Mold Inspector or Certified Mold Remediator to do the work because you need to know precisely what steps and procedures are required to be done by the contractor or remediator to achieve safe and effective mold remediation. More book information...

Is there hidden water moisture inside wall cavities, beneath floors, above ceilings, or behind ceramic tiles of bathroom walls, tubs and showers? Your Certified Mold Inspector will use his or her Hidden Moisture Meter to test non-invasively [no holes required] such surfaces.
Has the property ever experienced roof leaks, water leaks, floods, or other water problems and water intrusions? If so, pay particular attention to inspecting and mold testing building areas that experienced such past or present water intrusions. Your Certified Mold Inspector can use his or her fiber optics inspection device to inspect for mold growth and water problems inside walls, above ceilings, and beneath floors.
Is the humidity level of the crawl space, basement, attic, or any room of the building higher than fifty percent [50%] humidity? Humidity levels above 50% in any area of the home can provide sufficient moisture to enable mold to grow. Your Certified Mold Inspector will use a digital hygrometer to test each area of your home or building.
Are there elevated levels of unhealthy mold spores in the air of the attic, crawl space, basement, and the various rooms of the home or other building? Are the levels of mold spores indoors greater than outside levels, and/or different as to the types of mold species present? Your Certified Mold Inspector will use use a variety of mold testing techniques to collect mold air samples both indoors and outdoors [called outdoor control test]. The various best mold sampling techniques and technologies are:

(a) mold culture plates upon which airborne mold settles onto after stirring up the air in the room with a disinfected fan for 15 minutes to 30 minutes;

(b) controlled air testing impactors that use an air pump to draw in and impact airborne mold spores onto the sticky surface of a mold culture plate;

(c) direct sampling of visually-noticeable mold growth through scraping of the suspect mold substance into a mold culture plate, or Scotch tape lift tape sampling, or actually cutting and saving a piece of what the suspect mold is growing on or in such as drywall, wood, carpeting, etc.
Is there mold contamination inside the building's heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system [hvac], and/or hvac ducts? Your Certified Mold Inspector will tape mold culture plates [sticky surface facing inward] onto at least one air supply register grill of each zone of your heating, cooling, and ventilating [hvac system], and then run the hvac system for 15 minutes to impact possible mold infestation spores onto the sticky surface of the mold culture plates.

13. Check the return air duct register's air filter will look black or even bluish-green [Pencillium mold] if heavily mold laden. You can use the Scotch tape method of mold sampling to collect a sample of possible mold growth on the incoming side of an air filter. You can thin put the Scotch tape sample sticky side down into a mold test kit test [available form a large hardware or home improvement store], and then watch for mold growth over a 7 day time period. You also need to use mold test kits to mold test the room air of each room, any attic/basement/crawl space/garage, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in comparison to an outdoor mold control test.

14. Have your collected mold samples grown for 5 to 7 days and then accurately identified as to mold species and mold colony counts by a well-qualified mold laboratory

                              Photograph of window mold growth.
                                   Photograph of window wood frame mold growth.

Where mold grows easily---                  Frequent Causes of Mold Growth

Attics with roof leaks or inadequate ventilation;
Basements with dirt floors or water problems;
Behind and under showers, tubs, toilets, and bathroom walls;
Books, magazines, newspapers;
Carpeting and padding;
Ceilings [from roof leaks];
Ceiling tiles;
Clothing;
Crawl spaces;
Drapes;
Drywall in ceilings and walls;
Garbage disposal;
Heating/cooling equipment & ducts;
Humidifiers & vaporizers [inside];
Leather items;
Paint;
Paper, cardboard & other paper products;
Plants [house plants];
Rags;
Upholstered furniture;
Walls [from siding, roof, & plumbing leaks];
Wallpaper & behind wallpaper; and
Wood products
Basement flooding and water intrusion
Closeness to lake, river, or ocean
Clothes dryer exhausting into walls, ceiling, or attic
Construction defects + poor workmanship
Crawl space
Firewood stored indoors
Flooding
High indoor humidity [60%+]
Humidifiers & vaporizers
Inadequate ventilation
Indoor plants
Lot grading downward to home
Overflow from tubs, showers, sinks, & toilets
Landscaping mistakes like mulch & plant glut
Leaky roof
Sewage pipe leaks
Siding water leak
Venting inadequacies in kitchen & bathrooms
Water supply pipe leaks

Mold Library Combination
Read the 5 mold advice ebooks in the

Toxic Mold Inspection
& Black Mold Investigation

How To Locate & Test Black Toxic Mold Spores
& Infestations Easily and Accurately!

Read all 5 mold advice ebooks in the Mold Library to find & fix your home or workplace mold infestations for only $49.00!