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If you are buying a new house, it is essential to conduct an in-depth mold inspection. Mold is a type of fungi that thrives in a moist environment. When it settles on a moist surface, it can cause severe damage to organic materials. For instance, mold can cause wood to rot.
Moreover, it spreads spores in the air, which can cause an allergic reaction. This means that if you are a sensitive person, living in a house with mold means ceaselessly suffering due to a runny nose or a skin rash.
Homeowners are often concerned about one thing: how much does mold testing cost? There is a simple answer to this question.
The mold inspection cost is not nearly enough to compete with the damage it can cause. This is why it is always recommended for new homeowners to hire experts and conduct a thorough mold inspection before purchasing and moving in!
The average cost of mold testing is generally $500 to inspect an area of 2500 square feet. Contractors can charge anything between $350 to $800 to inspect your house, collect samples, and then conduct laboratory testing to determine the presence or absence of mold.
There are different techniques involved in dealing with mold infestation. Mold inspection, mold testing, and mold remediation are the three processes that are employed to control mold infestation.
The first step is to assess whether or not there is mold in the area. For this purpose, experts initiate a detailed mold inspection. They check and identify the presence of mold and the intensity of its infestation. The mold inspection cost may be a little high for some people; however, this process is essential. It also helps to verify that there is a moisture source present that can be feeding mold.
Samples are collected from the areas of concern. Air quality testing is an important step to confirm the presence of mold. Air samples are taken by means of the "spore trap" technique. The air goes through a spore trap, and sticky mold particles may get trapped within the device. It helps experts test the air quality. Surface samples may also be required for mold testing. The cost of mold testing depends on many factors, but it will be essential to get your house tested, especially if you are moving into a new place for the first time.
The process of mold remediation exists to get mold levels to normal. Generally, this process includes the following steps:
Mold can be difficult to find and sometimes it can even go unnoticed. Therefore, it is important to identify the potential spots where mold may appear. You can achieve this by first recognizing where moisture may come from, leading to mold growth. Eventually, the trail to the moisture source will lead you to mold growth.
It will be best to consider writing and noting down the condition of the mold growth. You can use this written record to receive appropriate consultation on proceeding with mold remediation.
Mold can be found at various spots around the house. Therefore, having a record of mold contamination can further help you understand how to remove mold.
As the calculation is done within the previous steps, it will help you with understanding which level of mold remediation you should consider. Level 1 is considered if you have up to ten square feet area, while for level 2, an area between ten to thirty square feet. They both share the same steps which you will be going with. You will need to make sure there is no moisture source for mold growth and close the area where mold contamination occurs.
If your area is within the level 2 range, cover it with polyethylene sheets to prevent any dust. Make sure to put all moldy items into a plastic bag and clean all woody and non-porous areas as well as the contaminated area and dry the area afterward.
You can achieve this by ensuring that you have prevented any moisture source and do not find any mold visible at any location. You can also have your house properly checked by an environmental testing company like us.
Most service providers claim they remove 100% of the mold in an area. However, technically, that is impossible. Mold spores are microscopic and airborne, thriving both indoor and outdoor. This makes it impossible for any expert to remove all the mold completely. However, the process of mold remediation is still indispensable for homeowners suffering from mold problems.
In this process, an expert reduces the mold until it reaches an acceptable level. Thus, mold remediation is not complete mold removal (since that is impossible); rather, it is the reduction of mold spores on a property until it is no longer harmful to the people living there.
Three main signs give away the presence of mold inside a house. If you can observe any of the three symptoms, it means you need to stop avoiding the cost of mold inspection and contact an expert as soon as possible.
If you are wondering, "how much does mold inspection cost?" You must know that several factors influence the cost of a mold inspection.
If you do not know the location of the mold and its source, the cost of an inspection may increase. The expert will have to conduct a detailed inspection of the property, obtain multiple samples, and perform various laboratory tests to determine which area in the house has harmful levels of mold infestation.
Obviously, if the size of the property increases, the mold inspector has to cover more area and charge more for the inspection. Thus, the size of the property is another factor that influences the mold inspection cost.
Certain conditions necessitate getting a detailed mold inspection. These conditions include:
If you are buying or selling a commercial property or a house, it is necessary to check it for mold infestation. When you are moving to a new place, you can never be sure of airborne mold particles since it is not always possible to detect mold visibly. Thus, it is best to get the house or commercial property assessed for mold before moving in.
If any room in your house or commercial property is flooded, such as the basement, it is essential to conduct a mold inspection. Usually, visible signs of mold appear after flooding, but if that does not happen, you should take the necessary precaution of expert mold assessment anyway.
Cracked paint on walls or rusting of materials is a call for action for a mold inspection. Mold thrives in moist environments; thus, it is highly likely for such surfaces to be prone to a mold infestation.
Ceiling and wall stains and warping are signs of mold infestation. You can get mold control on a budget if you end up identifying mold at your property.
If you plan to save on the mold inspection & testing cost by purchasing a mold testing kit and conducting a DIY inspection, you must know that it is not a good idea. That is because such DIY mold inspection kits are unreliable and do not give sufficient information needed to identify the severity of the mold infestation.
For instance, a DIY mold test kit does not present important information like figuring out the source of the mold, its location, its severity, type, and effective solutions to cope with it. Therefore, instead of running the risk of your health and your family's safety, it is best to discard the idea of conducting a mold inspection yourself. Instead of investing in an unreliable and inefficient mold kit, you should rather go for long-lasting safety by hiring an expert for mold treatment.
Now that you are aware of the dangers of mold and the necessity of mold inspection, testing, and remediation, you need to contact the best mold inspectors in town! O2 Mold Testing is a reliable and highly professional service provider that offers mold testing and mold inspection at reasonable rates for their valued customers.
This company has provided excellent mold inspection services and an even better mold inspection costs to our clients. If you are anxious about mold infestation in your newly bought property, you need to call right now and fix an appointment!