Elevated mold levels can lead to serious health problems, particularly in children, older adults, and anyone with a health condition. The Center for Disease Control has linked mold to respiratory problems, coughing, sinus problems, asthma, and other chronic conditions.
If you are concerned about mold in your home or business, inspection and testing may be necessary.
Topics covered on this page:
- When Should You Test for Mold?
- Video Professional Mold I nspection and Testing in Salt Lake City, Utah
- Mold Inspection
- Mold Testing
- What If I Have a Mold Problem?
- Infographics 6 Reasons to Hire a Mold Professional
- Frequently Asked Questions About Mold Testing and Mold Inspection
- Professional Mold Cleanup Services
Serving the metro area of Salt Lake City, Utah Flood Cleanup provides mold inspection and mold testing that meets Utah health and safety standards. A thorough, high-quality inspection will determine if a mold problem is present and how to clean it up.
When Should You Test for Mold?
Visible mold is just the tip of the iceberg. Most mold grows out of sight behind walls and under the floor. Mold also releases invisible spores into the air that may cause breathing and other health problems. You should consider a professional mold inspection when:
You have water damage- Mold thrives in damp, moist environments. If your home or business has suffered flood damage, plumbing leaks, or other water issues, a professional inspection is strongly recommended. Elevated mold levels are very common after water damage.
You see or smell mold- Mold can be problematic even without extensive water damage. If you see visible mold in a room, an inspection will help you determine if more is hiding beneath the surface. A damp, moldy smell is also a sign that an inspection is needed. Remember: mold often grows in dark, damp spaces behind walls or underneath the floor. If you see or smell mold, most of it may be hidden from view.
You buy or rent real estate- A mold inspection is an important part of real estate transactions. Conducting a mold inspection before purchasing a home insures that the air is safe to breath for your family. Similarly, renters and landlords often agree to a mold inspection to ensure a property is safe to occupy.
You have health problems- A mold inspection can also be a cost effective means of preventing health problems. Consider investing in a mold inspection if you or your family have health conditions, particularly conditions that affect the respiratory system.
What is a Mold Inspection?
Our Utah mold remediation specialist will conduct an on-site mold inspection and damage assessment. He or she will carefully inspect the entire property to search for signs of mold and how far it has spread. Using precision equipment, the certified mold remediation specialist will gauge humidity and temperature to locate the source of the mold and identify all impacted areas.
What is Mold Testing?
Mold releases invisible spores that require special equipment to detect in the air. Utah Flood Cleanup will perform residential mold testing services in Ogden and Salt Lake City.
Mold samples may also be taken and sent to a lab for advanced analysis to determine what kind of mold is present and how best to combat it. This process ensures that your remediation specialist has all the information he or she needs to completely remove the mold.
What if the Inspection Identifies a Problem?
Once mold is visible, professional mold removal is often necessary to prevent further spread and to make the building safe to occupy. The certified professional may use a special disinfectant on contaminated surfaces. He or she may recommend using a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter to combat airborne spores. In some cases, the only way to make the building safe is to replace infected surfaces.
Following the mold removal, a thorough inspection is conducted to confirm that no mold remains. The certified specialists at Utah Flood Cleanup will ensure that the problem is completely eliminated so that mold problems do not arise again. Your inspector can provide lab reports to demonstrate that the property is safe.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mold Testing and Mold Inspection
Mold is a severe threat to human health, especially for infants, small children, the elderly, and people with respiratory sensitivities. Beyond causing skin rashes, itching, watery, red eyes, throat irritation, and other chronic symptoms, mold exposure can cause more severe effects. These can include headaches and severe illnesses.
In the more extreme cases, mold exposure symptoms can include severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and even fatal respiratory illnesses. Infants, small children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable to serious health effects from mold exposure. If you are concerned that you may have mold in your home, first learn how to safely eliminate mold in your Utah home.
There are many potential symptoms of reactions to mold. Some of the most common symptoms of mold reaction include itching and redness of the eyes, watering eyes, sneezing, nose running, nasal congestion, skin rashes, itching in the throat, dry and scaling skin. Serious asthma symptoms and other severe respiratory effects can also occur in reaction to mold in the home or workplace.
If you suspect that you are experiencing a reaction to mold, have prompt mold inspection & testing performed by a qualified mold remediation specialist.
Mold is sometimes visible on walls and other surfaces in Utah homes. It can also often be identified by a stale, moldy, musty odor. Mold flourishes in cool, moist, dark spaces, like basements, and under sinks, behind bathtubs, around windows behind drapes, and in poorly ventilated attics. Mold can spread in these areas and anyplace in your home where condensation is a problem or where there has been a water leak.
Perform periodic mold inspections of your home, including the areas mentioned above. Also, check the roof, ceiling, garage, areas around plumbing pipes, air conditioners, closets, walls around windows, and the bottoms and backs of furniture against walls.
If you suspect that your home is infested with mold, you should take prompt action. Schedule a home mold inspection to stop the fungal growth from spreading and becoming an even more dangerous problem. The mold remediation process is faster, easier, and less costly when caught as early as possible.
Mold abatement professionals use special equipment to detect mold and measure the extent of mold growth. Devices for mold detection include advanced digital moisture meters, particle scanners, infrared cameras, various air sampling equipment, and others. Some of these specialized tools are used to determine the amount of moisture concentrated in a floor or wall area, for example. In some cases, mold is visible and/or emits tell-tale odors or leaves water stains.
When a mold outbreak is not visible, a mold cleanup expert can locate the contaminated area(s) by conducting one or more mold testing processes, such as air sampling to detect airborne mold spores.
If you suspect that your home has mold, have prompt mold inspection & testing performed by a qualified mold remediation specialist.
Extensive mold growth in a home or commercial building can be an extreme health hazard. Large mold infestations typically cannot be eliminated without professional mold abatement using industrial-grade equipment and materials. A mold remediation professional has the advanced tools needed to identify all mold growth locations. Mold remediation professionals can remove all mold without issues, even in spaces that are most difficult to access, and they can help prevent future recurrences.
There are various common types of mold. Some species of mold are more harmful than others. Some common mold strains, like black mold, can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. You should not assume that the kind of mold you find in your home is nontoxic.
If you discover mold, do not disturb it because you might cause the release of spores through the air, spreading the mold to other areas of your home. Do not stay in areas with significant mold growth or touch the mold. This may trigger respiratory reactions, skin irritation, or other symptoms. It can also generate the movement of mold spores that can spread the fungal growth to other areas of your home.
Like other strains of mold, black mold releases spores that travel through the air and spread on walls and other surfaces in areas most conducive to its growth. Black mold is highly toxic and can be highly hazardous to human health.
Trace amounts of black mold can be found in many homes and workplaces. In small amounts, black mold is usually not very impactful to the health of building occupants. But, when black mold is widespread across an area of a room in a home, it presents one of the most dangerous health threats of any kind of mold.
Utah Flood Cleanup Residential Mold Services
If you suspect you have a mold problem, you may be right. You owe it to your health to contact the experts. While every mold infestation is unique, you can be confident that the professionals at Utah Flood Cleanup have seen it all. Our high-quality mold inspections allow us to pinpoint the problem and provide targeted, effective mold remediation to protect you, your property, and your family.Contact Utah Flood Cleanup to schedule mold inspection & testing today.
