InspectAPedia®   -   Search InspectApedia

Photograph of mold found behind paneling in a bathroom.How to Find Mold Contamination in buildings

How to find indoor mold contamination sources:

This document is the starting point of our mold guide that describes the essential steps needed when searching for problematic mold in buildings. This article provides an easy to understand step-by-step guide for dealing with toxic or allergenic indoor mold and other indoor contaminants: what to do about mold.

The steps in this document will be sufficient for many building owners who want to do their own mold investigation, mold testing, mold cleanup, and mold prevention in their home or office.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

HOW TO FIND MOLD: How to Inspect Homes and Other buildings for Mold - the Basics of How to Find Problem Mold Indoors

Photograph: mold hidden behind basement wall panelingMold Testing & Cleanup Mistakes to Avoid

Much too often we are contacted by a property owner who has just paid a substantial sum to "remove black toxic mold" from a building only to learn that conditions in the property are no better, sometimes worse, than before. What went wrong with the mold cleanup project?

This is a chapter of ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD.

  1. Incomplete mold cleanup projects: The owner or mold remediator was quick to address a visible mold problem without first making sure that all of the important mold reservoirs in the building had been found and listed for cleanup as needed.

    The result unfortunately is that another cleanup may be needed. Worse, we sometimes find people addressing the wrong mold problem in a building, for example scrubbing off cosmetic black mold that was harmless while leaving a real problem with mold-contaminated building insulation that looked "ok" to the eye.
  2. In-valid mold testing: relying on a quick air test, swab, or culture to locate the problem mold or to pass a post-mold-cleanup clearance test without including a decent inspection of the premises, the remediation containment system, checks for cross contamination, etc.

    Sometimes this happens because the same people are providing the mold assessment, the mold cleanup, and the post-cleanup inspection and testing. These conflicting interests are risky for everyone concerned.
  3. Questionable mold cleanup procedures: were followed such as inadequate dust containment, or reliance on simple biocide sprays where physical cleaning or removal of moldy materials was needed.

What does an Effective Mold Investigator Need to Know?

  1. Building science: where do leaks and moisture problems occur in buildings, how do air and moisture move in a building
  2. Mycology: what molds are harmful, which are cosmetic, how, when, where, and why does problem mold grow n a building
  3. Industrial Hygiene or Sampling Methods: what sampling and test methods are sound and produce valid results, and which are magic and speculative.
  4. Field Investigation & Mold Test Lab Experience: Where do problems occur in buildings, how do we find them, what test methods are valid, what do labs do with mold samples, what do lab results mean, how do we interpret "mold counts" or other measures of moldiness in buildings?
  5. Listening & looking skills, writing skills: listen to the experience and concerns of the occupants, owners, clients; look carefully everywhere at the site. Write down mold investigation findings and recommendations that are sound, clear, and easy to follow.

Essential Steps in Screening a Building for Harmful Mold Contamination:

List of Detailed Articles on Finding Mold in buildings

If you are looking for evidence of a mold problem in a building you should review these articles.

Mold Inspection Articles


...

Continue reading at HARD TO SEE MOLD, SPOTTING or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

Suggested citation for this web page

FIND MOLD, ESSENTIAL STEPS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to MOLD CONTAMINATION & REMEDIATION

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Questions & answers or comments about how to find & test for mold contamination in buildings.

Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.

Search the InspectApedia website

Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay.

Only one image can be added per comment but you can post as many comments, and therefore images, as you like.
You will not receive a notification
when a response to your question has been posted.
Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response.
Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca

Comment Form is loading comments...

Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.



ADVERTISEMENT