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How to Find Mold in Buildings MoldAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com Where to look for visible mold How to recognize mold when you see it Where to look for hidden mold Following water leaks and moisture to mold This document describes how to go about recognizing visible mold and finding hidden mold in buildings. This is a chapter of our Mold Action Guide. This document provides an easy to understand step-by-step guide for dealing with toxic or allergenic indoor mold and other indoor contaminants: what to do about mold. The steps in this document will be sufficient for many building owners who want to do their own mold investigation, mold testing, mold cleanup, and mold prevention in their home or office. Extensive, technically detailed in-depth articles are also organized at our Mold Information Center. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

HOW TO FIND MOLD: How to Inspect Homes and Other Buildings for Mold - the Basics of How to Find Problem Mold Indoors

Any experienced home inspector can identify conditions that risk water entry or high moisture levels in a house. These conditions promote the growth of mold spores. Mold is a natural organism and it's virtually everywhere. The goal of "zero" mold spores makes no sense. But if conditions promote mold growth problems are more likely.

Here are the basics about screening a building for harmful mold contamination:

• If you don't see water stains don't assume there was never a flood or a leak.
• If a building has had flooding, plumbing leaks, roof leaks, A/C condensate leaks, hidden mold may be at serious levels.
• Check HVAC equipment and duct work for presence of mold or other allergens. Pay close attention to duct work downstream from air filters and blowers; check blower compartments and duct work for contamination (including dead mice), and check other areas where condensate may have accumulated in duct lines, supporting mold growth. Clean ducts in one area don't assure clean ducts everywhere; a "clean" air test does *not* guarantee no duct contamination either as variations in temperature, moisture, and mechanical disturbance can suddenly release mold spores into the building air.
• If you don't see mold don't assume a severe mold infection can't be present (behind walls, under carpets, under insulation, in HVAC equipment.) I've found serious toxic mold colonies in walls which showed no external moisture stains nor external mold growth - the clue was other evidence of a history of leaks into the subfloor, confirmed by an impaction air sampler result.
• Small changes in building conditions can themselves make huge changes in the detected level of airborne mold, from not-detected to severly contaminated. Mold may be present at problem-levels in house air depending on variations in humidity, temperature, season, air movement, and physical activity. Not finding it at a given moment is not an excuse for visual and in some cases invasive inspecting.
• A home inspection is not an environmental check for unhealthy mold or other bioaerosols or allergens. But if you see moldy conditions, or if there is evidence of a history of building leaks, plumbing backups, moisture problems, or visible mold, further more expert investigation is probably warranted.
• Do not be hasty to assert that a specific illness or complaint is caused by mold. The four tests (proposed by Burge, Harvard School of Public Health) are stringent beyond your means as an inspector. Mold at high levels may cause and almost certainly aggravates or contributes to a wide variety of complaints.

More Detailed Articles on Finding Mold

If you are looking for evidence of a mold problem in a building you should review these articles.

• Mold Detection- What Mold Looks Like - Mold spores in the Home - a Photo ID Library for detection and identification of mold allergens
• Mold Detection- How to Find Mold in Buildings - Looking for Mold - A 'how to' photo and text primer on finding and testing for mold in Buildings
• Mold Detection- Stuff that is Not Mold or is Harmless Mold - Stuff that is Not Mold but is often mistaken for it - things you may not want to test. Not all "black mold" is toxic or harmful.
• Mold Detection - using a flashlight to find mold - proper use of a flashlight can help spot mold on paneling and other building surfaces
• Lighting, proper use of: proper aiming of a good flashlight can disclose hard to see but toxic light or white mold colonies on walls.
• Mold spores in the Home - a Photo ID Library for detection and identification of mold allergens.
• How to Find and Test For Mold in Buildings A 'how to' photo and text primer on finding and choosing the right spots to test for mold in buildings
• How to Find Hidden Mold in Buildings - a guide for owners and inspectors, where and how to look
• Hidden Mold Photo Guide shows where to look to find hidden mold in buildings
• Stuff that is not mold but is often mistaken for it - things you may not want to test. Also, not all "black mold" is toxic - here are examples of harmless black mold.
• Simple Adhesive Tape Sampling of Moldy Surfaces - how to send a mold sample to our lab

For more in-depth information on mold investigation in buildings see these articles:

• Mold Investigation Tips for Home Inspectors how to find mold, where to look, what is likely to be important. Advice to building inspectors intending to inspect or test for toxic or problematic mold indoors, mold inspection methods, and mold test methods which are valid or invalid
• Mold Testing Methods - Brief Tutorial: Toxic Mold and Toxic Gas Testing Methods Compared - valid vs. invalid tests, recommendations. Lists mold testing methods and protocols, links to longer articles describing air tests for mold, surface tape or bulk mold tests, and gas testing such as MVOC's or toxic gases. Longer articles explain the shortcomings and discuss mold testing protocols.
• Mold Sampling Methods in the Indoor Environment - In-depth article: detailed critique of popular mold testing methods - Is your mold test kit worth the bother?
• Classes of Mold: what types of cosmetic, allergenic, or toxic mold are a problem? Can mold be cleaned-up successfully?
• Levels of Mold: How much toxic or allergenic mold constitutes a problem?
• What Mold and Allergens Look Like: mold identification photos to help identify mold - choosing what to sample in buildings
• Mold Sampling Methods in the Indoor Environment - In-depth article: detailed critique of popular mold testing methods - Is your mold test kit worth the bother?
• Humidity: What indoor humidity should we maintain in order to avoid a mold problem?

Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

More expert information on this topic

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

THE MOLD ACTION GUIDE
MOLD DOCTOR?
MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE
DO IT YOURSELF MOLD CLEANUP
HOW TO FIND MOLD
MOLD DETECTION
MOLD-WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD TEST PROCEDURES
MOLD TEST KITS
MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE
MOLD KILLING GUIDE
FLOODS & MOLD CLEAN/PREVENT
MOLD CLEARANCE INSPECTIONS
ACCEPTABLE MOLD LEVEL
AFTER THE MOLD CLEANUP
MOLD PREVENTION GUIDE
OTHER IAQ ISSUES

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The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

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