Where does mold grow? 
Mold will grow in places where leaks or flooding have occurred: leaking pipes, toilets, dishwashers, water heaters, other appliances, or leaking roofs. Many building materials provide suitable nutrients that encourage mold growth. Materials such as dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet and upholstery, commonly support mold growth. Molds cannot grow on dry materials even if all other conditions are ideal for mold growth. Conversely, mold and mildew cannot be controlled where moist materials exist. 

Mold hides in many places in your home. Our trained inspectors will use the latest detection equipment and knowledge of building systems to find the source of the mold in your building.

Inspection

Initially, a walk-through evaluation is made to attempt to identify potential sources of mold amplification. Mold needs a source of moisture, a source of carbon, and proper temperature. Because mold will grow well at room temperature, control is achieved through adequate filtration and control of moisture. Areas which have poor filtration and a source of moisture are likely to be sources for mold amplification.

A walk-through investigation will look for possible sources for mold amplification. These include: visible filamentous mold growth, water damage, poor housekeeping, poor ventilation, and inadequate filtration. 

If the technician finds a amplification area then it would be wise on the owners part to have a air sampling or swab test done. Then the organisms present in the sample have a bearing on whether or not an area is considered a problem.

There are at present no strict numerical guidelines which are appropriate for assessing whether the contamination in an area is acceptable or not. Further investigation of contamination sources is warranted in the following circumstances.

• Total indoor counts are greater than outdoor mold counts (compare indoor and outdoor ratios). 

• Comparison of indoor and outdoor levels of mold organisms show one of the following: 

  • Organisms are present in the indoor sample and not in the outdoor sample. 

  • The predominant organism found in the indoor sample is different than the predominant organism in the outdoor sample. 

  • A monoculture of an organism is found in the indoor sample. The organism may be present in a mixed outdoor sample. It may be absent from samples taken in other areas of the building. 

If any of these conditions are met and the organism is capable of producing a carcinogen (e.g., aflatoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus), the spores may be toxic by inhalation (e.g., satratoxin H in the case of Stachybotrys atra). The production of the toxin is very dependent on the source of nutrition for the organism.

Aggressive sampling and sampling of suspected sources of mold organisms is often warranted. The amount of mold present in an air sample is highly variable. Changes in airflow, humidity, light level and temperature can all trigger a spore release. A single air sample will often underestimate the mold contamination in the air.

Remediation

Once the source is found, steps can be taken to abate it. Our personnel are trained to safely decontaminate mold contaminated surfaces and objects. This is typically done using engineering controls and fungicides.