Experiencing a natural disaster can be devastating when a home or business is involved. Take for example hurricane Katrina that left many victims without homes and businesses in the state of Louisiana. None of us are ever really prepared for the force of Mother Nature even when a home or business is lucky enough to be saved. In fact, many homeowners may find themselves left with mold and wondering where to go next. Do you flip through the yellow pages in search of mold inspectors and hire someone or do you go straight to the mold remediation process.
If it’s obvious that you have mold growing in your home, you can more than likely skip hiring an inspector and go straight to getting rid of the mold. However, if the fungus is hidden (you can only smell it), you should hire someone to inspect your home. You may also want to consider hiring a professional mold inspector if you believe there are both hidden and visible molds in your home or business.
Make sure that the mold inspector you’re intending to hire is both licensed and certified. While some states already have those requirements before they can practice, there are many states that still do not. In addition to being certified and licensed, you should ask the company inspecting your home for references from other clients. You may also want to see if they’re listed with the better business bureau, however you should keep in mind that just because they’re not listed doesn’t mean they’re not trustworthy.
You should also make sure that there is a contract provided to insure that both you and the inspection company are in agreement with the work that is to be done. The contract should include an agreement, which requires the company to take a swab or lift tape sample of any mold found in the home and an air sampling for potential airborne mold.
The contract should also include an agreement to provide a lab analysis report of any mold found in the home, answers to any questions you may have whether it be on the report or from the company and an agreement of a thorough inspection for mold in the home.
In addition, your home inspection may also consist of a moisture and leak test, an air quality test, humidity test and drainage test which can take anywhere from a few hours to a half a day to complete.
And finally, if the business you’ve chosen to inspect your home offers black mold removal services as well, you should be aware that mold inspectors and mold remediation are two separate businesses and any good inspector can tell you that.