Most people know what mold looks like...and that it has a lot of different appearances. Most know that mold is not a good thing to have.
If you have mold growth, beyond bathroom surface "mildew" (which IS mold, but easily controllable in most cases), the most important thing to know about it is WHY and WHERE is it coming from.
A certified Houston mold professional's job is to find all reasons mold growth is occurring in the home. This is called an assessment, and is a required component of being a licensed mold consultant in Texas.
Mold must have MOISTURE and a FOOD SOURCE. Mold prefers dark and hidden spaces, however, if there is enough chronic water penetration (like a roof leak), mold will grow wherever it wants to. Inspectors must know enough about how a home is built to be able to trace down the causes of mold.
This means that roof issues, attic mechanical - a/c units and water heaters, poor maintenance and plumbing and more can be potentials cause of chronic water penetration. The three types of water penetration - chronic leaks, sudden water discharge and flooding all feed mold, which slowly destroys building products. All of these items must be carefully inspected and an inspector must have knowledge of proper operation.
THIS WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO CALL A CERTIFIED MOLD CONSULTANT or a HOUSTON LICENSED HOME INSPECTION AND MOLD CONSULTANT PROFESSIONAL LIKE PHI. We are also Houston Home Inspectors who keep an eye out for mold during inspections, and can discuss the underlying problems that have created the mold, as well as test for the type of mold.
Another reason to call a professional is to test your home's air is to assure that mold spores circulating are not a contributing factor in any health problems, such as asthma, sore throats, headaches or other more serious issues. Professionals know how to best perform tests in an unbiased manner so as to not compromise the test results. They also know what kinds of tests are best performed for each situation.
our best advice is to NOT perform petri dish mold tests (open dish with agar (food)) because you will ALWAYS get mold growth because mold is in the air everywhere. This test will not show you where the mold spores are coming from. And they growth will probably scare you alot!
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