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Five simple "rules of thumb" can help you decide when a mold problem in a building merits hiring a professional to investigate or clean up mold or other allergens. A mold professional may have some neat gadgets to find or test for mold, but a real expert knows that a thorough building inspection and an understanding of how buildings work and where they leak, as well as an understanding of mold itself, are critical in finding hidden mold problems and in specifying the cleanup work needed. We emphasize that for small areas of mold contamination, generally where less than 30 square feet of contiguous mold is present, simple building cleaning and renovation procedures are all that's needed and testing is usually not appropriate. Most building mold contamination falls in this first category. At DO IT YOURSELF MOLD CLEANUP we provide suggestions for a do-it-yourself cleanup of small areas of mold. At MOLD TEST REASONS we discuss when it is appropriate to test for mold.

These guidelines aid in protecting the building occupants not only from potential health concerns but also from inappropriate expenses. This document provides information about how to decide when to hire a professional to investigate for the presence of allergenic and toxic mold in residential or office buildings. Also see the Mold Action Guide and Online Directory of Home Inspectors. Special thank you to Mark Cramer for assisting in clarifying this text.

The purpose of this article is to help readers decide when it is appropriate to perform mold inspection and testing on a building. We want to know how and when mold testing is appropriate, and we want to avoid spending money on mold testing when it is not necessary. Also we want to avoid spending money on unreliable mold "tests" and inspections that do not validly support any conclusion about the building.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

WHEN TO HIRE A MOLD TESTING PROFESSIONAL - Five Rules of Thumb for Deciding When to Hire a Professional to Inspect for Mold & Prepare a Mold Remediation Plan To be effective and to produce advice which is based on more than a wild guess, building investigations for mold, allergens, gases, or other indoor air quality concerns must take a broad approach to site and building examination for probable sources of moisture, bioaerosols, toxic/allergenic mold, or other allergens. In order to have some confidence that we understand the building, how it works, where the risks and problems lie, we examine at the entire structure, inside and out, and its mechanical systems are examined as well. Partial inspections, like partial remediation, risk the cost of having to repeat the process if it was not proper and complete the first time. In the photo above, though not much mold is visible on the drywall, the presence of fungal fruiting bodies or "mushrooms" growing indoors at the wall baseboard trim tells us that this building was very wet for some time - professional inspection is needed to define the location and extent of moldy material removal and cleaning.

If your ONLY concern is the identity of the mold you've already seen, and if you are confident that there is not a possible problem elsewhere on the property, you could simply send a mold sample to our lab (or to any mold lab) for determination. Instructions for an inexpensive and easy way to test mold or to screen settled dust for mold are at http://InspectAPedia.com/sickhouse/bulksamp.htm .

Here are five reasons to consider a more extensive on-site investigation for toxic or allergenic mold:

1. People in the building are at particular health risk: elderly, infant, immune-impaired, asthmatic, history of respiratory illness or other medical complaints which might be caused by or aggravated by mold, allergens, or other bioaerosols
2. People in the building are sick and there is reason to suspect that the building is causing or contributing to health, air quality, or similar concerns. You need a building or apartment evaluation and diagnosis to answer the question that may be posed by your doctor: might the building be contributing to or causing these complaints?
3. The building has or is suspected of having had a history of significant leak events or even a single event which flooded some areas: plumbing leaks, roof leaks, ice dam leaks, basement water entry, sewer backup, ventilation problems, air conditioning system problems; forced-air central heating/cooling concerns. If hidden building cavities have been wet, the mold you see may be just the tip of a "mold iceberg" that does need an expert to find the extent of mold, cause of mold, and to remove the mold.
   
4. Large areas of water damage or mold contamination have been seen and you need an estimate of the extent of demolition and mold remediation which will be needed to make a proper cleanup and repair.
   
   Small mold problems: If you are confident that the amount of mold is less than 30 sq. ft. of contiguous mold (and that there is no significant risk of a larger hidden mold problem) then the NY City mold remediation guidelines suggest that professional remediation is not appropriate. You do not need to hire someone other than perhaps a handyman or general cleaning service. BEWARE: if during cleanup of a small mold problem you discover that it is actually a large one, stop work and bring in a professional to advise you on how to proceed.
   
   Large mold problems: If more than 30 sq. ft. of mold-infected material is found or is already visible, then you need professional advice as more serious health risks and mold contamination may be involved.
5. Contractors have already bid a variety of expensive mold-cleanup approaches to building cleanup/remediation and you need an unbiased, informed professional to help sort out these proposals

Should You Clean Mold in Advance if You ARE Going to Hire a Mold Expert

If you are thinking of hiring a professional to inspect, diagnose, and test your building for mold or other problems we prefer that you do NOT conduct a "do it yourself" cleanup ahead of time. Cleaning up the mold that you see does not preclude an expert's ability to find areas of suspicion or even to find mold, but

1. Cleaning up the mold you see may remove some easy-to-identify materials that are useful to compare with what we find in other screening measurements find in the building - that is, it's useful to know some apparent sources of particles that we may later find in screening samples in the building.
2. Contamination risk: Cleaning up a large area of mold risks cross-contamination of other areas in the building
3. Illness risk: Doing a large mold cleanup without taking proper precautions could make someone sick

Want more mold guidance? See THE MOLD ACTION GUIDE

Can You Clean Up Small Areas of Mold Yourself?

If you're not able or interested in hiring a mold professional, and/or especially if the total known moldy area is small

1. Remove small mold areas yourself: For small areas of mold, it's appropriate to just remove it - if you are sensitive, fragile, or sick, have someone else do the work.
2. Collect and hold on to some samples. If you're going to proceed anyway, try collecting some tape samples of what you see. Instead of sending these samples off to a lab, just keep the samples, but prepare them by following the sample collection instructions at Six Easy Steps to Get and Mail a Mold Test Kit - you can always save them to give to an investigator later if it becomes necessary to investigate further
3. If you stumble onto a large area of mold during your cleanup (more than 30 sq ft) you should stop and consult an expert

Want to clean up your own mold? See DO IT YOURSELF MOLD CLEANUP

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Take Care in Hiring Mold Contractors: Avoid Conflicts of Interests

How to avoid conflicts of interest during a mold remediation project: the person who evaluates your property to tell you what (possibly costly) cleanup work is needed certainly should not be the same person who is going to perform that work. Similarly, after a mold cleanup has been completed, the person who inspects and tests to certify that the work has been done properly should have no connection with the company who performed the cleaning. In the photo the author is examining a very moldy basement. He will find the extent of cleanup needed, perform appropriate testing in this and other building areas, and will assist the homeowner in evaluating the results of the cleaning effort. But it would be unethical and a conflict of interest for the investigator who is going to specify what mold remediation cleanup work is needed in a building to also offer to perform the cleanup work itself.

U. Minnesota general rules of thumb for deciding when to inspect for mold

IF these conditions are present in a building being evaluated for mold contamination risk

• Fungal spore count or visual presence indicators are high (air or bulk) [DF comment: BEWARE: while a high indoor spore count probably does indicate a problem, a low indoor airborne mold count is not a reliable clean bill of health for a building. See ACCURACY OF AIRBORNE MOLD SPORE COUNTS.]
• Fungi indoors are different from outdoors or non-complaint control areas.
• Fungi are allergenic or toxic
• The area is likely to be disturbed
• There is or was a source of water or high relative humidity, AND
• People are occupying the area or have contact with air from this area
• There are immune compromised individuals or individuals with elevated sensitivity to molds
  [DF Comment: we add other examples of people at special risk: elderly, infant, asthmatic, COPD sufferers]

THEN mold may be a problem in the building. -- N. Carlson, U. Minnesota [Comments added by DF]

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ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS GUIDE
AIR POLLUTANTS, COMMON INDOOR
ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS
ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING
ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE
ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY
ASBESTOS in Buildings
Carpet Dust
Carpeting and Indoor Air Quality
FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-priorities
FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-mold
FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP
GAS MEASUREMENT TOOLS
Gas Toxicity Levels
House Dust Analysis
MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD
MOLD INFORMATION CENTER
ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD
DO IT YOURSELF MOLD CLEANUP
FIELD INVESTIGATION SERVICES
FIND MOLD in BUILDINGS, HOW TO
INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE
INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED
LABORATORY SERVICES
MOLD ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT MOLD
MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE- HOW TO GET RID OF MOLD
MOLD CLEANUP with BLEACH
MOLD CLEANUP - WOOD FRAMING & PLYWOOD
MOLD CLEANUP HEALTH RISKS
MOLD CLEANUP MISTAKES to AVOID
MOLD REMEDIATION CLEARANCE INSPECTION
MOLD CULTURES
MOLD DETECTION & INSPECTION GUIDE
MOLD DOCTOR NEEDED?
MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE
MOLD ON or IN CARPETS
MOLD ON DIRT FLOORS
MOLD FREQUENCY in BUILDINGS
MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, GUIDE TO
MOLD INSPECTORS & MOLD TESTERS
MOLD INSPECTION SERVICES
MOLD KILLING GUIDE
MOLD LEVELS IN BUILDINGS
MOLD ODORS, MUSTY SMELLS
MOLD PREVENTION GUIDE
MOLD RELATED ILLNESS
MOLD LEVEL REPORTS
MOLD LEVELS IN BUILDINGS
MOLD by MICROSCOPE
MOLD ODORS, MUSTY SMELLS
MOLD PREVENTION GUIDE
MOLD RELATED ILLNESS
MOLD SPRAYS, SEALANTS, PAINTS
MOLD TEST KITS
MOLD TEST KITS for DIY MOLD TESTS
MOLD TEST PROCEDURES
MOLD TEST REASONS
MVOCs & MOLDY MUSTY ODORS
ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE
RENTERS & TENANTS GUIDE TO MOLD
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
STAIN DIAGNOSIS & GUIDE
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD

• Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 03/31/2009

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Books, Complete List of Environmental Inspection, Diagnosis, Cleanup, Air Quality & Design, Inspection, Repair Books at the InspectAPedia Bookstore
• Environmental Health & Investigation Bibliography - our own technical library on indoor air quality inspection, testing, laboratory procedures, forensic microscopy, etc.
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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Mold Action Guide: an easy step by step outline of what to do
• How to Look For Mold - list of articles describing how to find problem mold
• How to Test For Mold - list of articles describing which mold testing methods are valid
• How to Collect and Send a Mold Sample to our mold testing lab
• Find a mold inspector: A Directory of well qualified Mold/IAQ Service Providers
• Associations: Sick House, Sick Building, SBS - Air Quality, Government, Private Associations and Information Resources
• MOLD EXPOSURE RISK LEVELS in Buildings Based on Visual Inspection help decide on action
• Classes of Mold & Mold Contamination Levels - Degrees of Severity
• Mold Clearance Inspections: When & How to Perform a Mold Remediation Clearance Inspection
• Contact Us to arrange mold/IAQ Building on site inspection and testing.

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The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

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