The same holds true for a “free” mold inspection.  There are two primary, and necessary, services when it comes to indoor mold problems — mold inspection and testing and mold remediation (mold clean-up).  Those two services should be performed by two different companies.

Mold inspection and testing companies perform a professional consulting service that will:

• Inspect your home or business based on industry standards;
• Collect microbial samples as needed; and
• Prepare a written report of findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

In the recommendations section of the report, the consultant will write a “scope of work” for remediation (clean-up) work, if needed.  This scope of work is what the mold remediation company will follow when they prepare their estimate for the work.  Mold remediation companies make their money based on the size and scope of a project.  Most companies are honest and want to do what’s right for the customer.  But, it is a conflict of interest for a remediation company to perform an inspection or to bid on a project without a scope of work from a consultant.

A quality mold inspection and report can take from a minimum of 3 hours to hundreds of hours.  Even for the smallest of jobs — say a bathroom, the drive time plus the on site inspection time, plus the report creation time, plus the telephone consultation time adds up to real hours of professional level work.  Ask yourself a simple question: “would anyone actually do this work for free?”

A “free” mold inspection is simply a way for some remediation companies to get their foot in the door and to get money from you for mold remediation and likely build back construction services.

Do yourself a favor and actually save yourself money and headaches in the big picture.  If you believe you have a mold problem, hire a professional, certified, mold inspection and testing company to perform an initial investigation and a post inspection and testing, after mold remediation, if applicable.

The bulk of the calls started occurning about 2 months after the heavy rains. This is when people started noticing the visible mold growth. Unforunately, the non-visible mold started growing long before. The longer water damage sits unaddressed, the greater the damage will be from mold.

My advice to everyone living in rain soaked and flood damaged areas of California is to perform their own personal inspection of their home or property. Grab a flashlight and look everywhere. If you see water damage, staining, or mold growth, call us immediately. The sooner these problems can be addressed, the lower the impact and the lower the cost to remedy.

Or, to be on the safe and pudent side, call us today at 310.451.9333 to set up an inspection. We can provide a detailed, thorough investigation to ensure your home is in top shape and to make sure you don’t have a lurking moisture and mold problem.

Mold Inspection Sciences – www.moldsci.com