Mold Inspection, Mold Testing

Being exposed to mold in your home can lead to various kinds of sickness. Health problems caused by mold are often difficult to track back to mold. But you don’t have to let it go that far.

While it is a good practice to test a home when you purchase it, you should especially consider contacting the experts at Gulf Coast Home Inspection to get a mold test done when you notice a musty odor, know about water damage or see mold (incl. discoloration of wall) in our Florida home.

Sources of Moisture

The short answer is maybe. Mold is a living organism that needs two things to live, water and food. A leak in the roof or wall will provide the first thing, water. The material itself, gypsum, wood etc. provides the second, food. The third unknown is time. Mold can grow given the right conditions but does not always grow given its two needs. So does a stain mean the home has mold? It’s not known usually unless it can be confirmed visually and or a mold test is performed. Gulf Coast Home Inspection can provide a mold test on your home if you feel it’s necessary and if your home is located in Charlotte, Sarasota, Desoto, or Lee county.

Yes. If mold has been visually identified or a leak is identified that could be a source of mold or a musty smell is evident its advised that one has a mold sampling of the home conducted. This will be done by one of Gulf Coast Home Inspection trained mold techs. A strictly calibrated mold air sampler will be brought to the home and samples of the areas of concern will be performed. Photos and descriptions of the suspected areas will be conducted and the mold canisters will be shipped to a lab with a chain of custody to determine what if any mold may be present. Gulf Coast Home Inspection has partnered with Priorty Lab to then further analyze the results and produce a written report outlining the issues and remediation steps if any are needed.

Mold testing can range from a few hundred dollars to as much as a thousand dollars depending on the homes size and the number of areas needed to be tested. Most tests are in the lower half of that range and Gulf Coast Home Inspection will provide you with a cost estimate prior to conducting any testing.

Gulf Coast Home Inspection will provide mold tests in any cities in Sarasota, Lee, Charlotte, Collier, and Desoto counties.

Probably not, but mold testing is still a valuable test. By Florida state statute a home inspector’s responsibility is to conduct a visual noninvasive inspection for his or her client. This means only if mold was visible would it have been noted in the inspection report. Mold can be interior of a wall, under flooring or in attics and ducts without ever being visible. A properly conducted mold test can identify mold spores in the air too small to see. Gulf Coast Home Inspection can conduct such a test if required.