• September 03, 2020

10 Reasons to Get a Mold Inspection 

MI&T has performed thousands of inspections and have been called in to test for mold for a variety of reasons. This is our list or top 10 reasons people choose to hire us.

1. SEE SOMETHING UNUSUAL

By far the most common reason that we are called out is that people see something strange in their home or business. Possible growth on building materials, furniture, or other personal belongings seem to really let people know that it is time to address a problem. Unfortunately, seeing a mold growth is usually the last symptom that will occur. At the same time, sometimes what people think is toxic mold is either harmless or not mold at all. 

2. SMELL SOMETHING FUNNY

In order for mold to grow indoors, there needs to be a change in the envrionment. Water and excess will be present to some extent when these issues happen. These changes can often be accompanied by a odor. A typical description of these scents would be musty, damp, outdoorsy, or something along those lines. 

3. CONSTANTLY GETTING SICK

Another common reason that people use are service is that they are having some consistent health issues. Runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneezing are all side effects that some people experience when these problems exist. Take notice that these are very similar to allergies. Not all people are equally sensitive to mold issues, so you may have 2 people living in the same building and only one person is suffering.

4. HAVING A BABY

Having a baby causes people to be overly cautious and they want to make sure that they do everything to create the best environment for the baby to live in. These concerns are warranted as infants are much more susceptible to getting sick. Studies have also shown that indoor air quality problems can have a greater effect on young ones. Many suggest mold exposure at an early age could be responsible for developing asthma.

5. REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION

When making a commitment like buying a piece of property or signing a year lease, you want to make sure you are not getting into someone else’s problems. Unfortunately, it is fairly easy to cover up serious mold issues for a short period of time with cleaning or painting the affected areas. Lucky for our customers you can’t cover up air problems and we will find them.

6. RECENT WATER DAMAGE

In order for mold to grow it needs water/moisture. So when people experience water damage in their homes through a flood, structural damage, plumbing issue, or anything else we always recommend getting a mold inspection after a complete water restoration. This will make sure the company you hired did their job and everything is back to normal prior to reconstruction. Skipping this step may lead to tearing down the rebuilt material and doing it all over again; a huge headache for anyone.

7. LEGAL ISSUES

Unfortunatly, we need to get involved in the legal process at times. If you think there is the slightest chance of needing legal action against a landlord, tenant, home seller, insurance company, or anything along those lines it is extremely important to get a mold inspection. Our test results offer the evidence you need to back up your claims of what is going on. Without lab results it is simply your word vs. theirs. When necessary we offer our inspectors as expert witnesses.

8. ASTHMA OR OTHER CHRONIC RESPIRATORY ILLNESS

We are also hired alot by people who have a chronic respiratory illness like asthma. Many times they are experiencing difficult times and want to make sure mold isn’t making these problems worse. Sometimes it is mold and others it isn’t.

9. OLD HOME

Any older home will have a history and some things that might raise some concern with their owner/resident. Many times we are able to uncover some past water damage/mold problems that were not taken care of properly.

10. PEACE OF MIND

The last of the 10 reasons on this list is people that are looking for peace of mind. They might have heard about mold problems on the news or had a friend that got an inspection and they are curious about their place. Most of the time these people do not have issues but we have found problems or more often POTENTIAL problems for them to address.