How Do a Mold Experts Test for Mold?

Signs that indicate that mold may be present inside a structure may include seeing mold growing on surfaces, smelling a strong musty odor, excessive humidity and evidence of past moisture problems that could have caused undetected mold to grow. If you suspect that you have a mold problem, it’s highly advisable to contact a mold removal company asap because some types of molds are very toxic and pose a great health risk to people inside the building.

In some water damage situations, the experts at a mold removal company can safely restore your home or business by identifying and removing the mold. In other situations, an indoor air quality professional may be needed to come and perform an air quality test to determine the mold concentration. By inspecting and testing the structure for mold, the indoor air quality professional will come up with a remediation protocol for the mold removal company to follow which guides them through the process of safely and effectively removing the mold-damaged materials to ensure that all the mold is eradicated from the premises.

An indoor air quality expert will examine the levels of mold contamination on porous, semi-porous and non-porous materials. These experts use a variety of tools to carry out mold testing and all testing procedures used strictly adhere to testing protocols set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. The structure may be inspected visually, it may be swabbed in certain areas and air samples may be taken in the attic or between the walls. Often air sample testing is done throughout the premises if a widespread mold problem is suspected so that it can determined if elevated levels of mold spores are present.

Once the structure has been assessed and tested by the indoor air quality professional, a mold remediation company is given a full mold report by the expert. This report helps the mold removal professionals to develop an appropriate course of action to ensure that all the mold is located, cleaned up and removed. It is common for mold remediation companies to remove mold damaged materials from the premises such as drywall, wallpaper and curtains as often these types of porous materials become so badly damaged by mold that they’re deemed ruined.

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