Most people ask, “should you get mold inspection when buying a house?” Well, you should not waste your time thinking about that question any further because yes, you do!
If you have plans to buy a new house property, be sure to include in your house safety checklist the mold inspection. As you continue to read this post, you will know why it is a crucial factor in purchasing a new house.
This blog will also widen your awareness about the red flags or indications that tell whether there is mold growth in your prospective home. You will also learn about general mold inspection and the two types of mold testing.
The Red Flags In Buying A House
Waypoint Property Inspection, LLC, implied that most houses that have alarming issues about mold growth share these frequent inconveniences: water system and air conditioning problems.
Water system problems
When you plan to buy a new house, it is essential to check the water setups of the house. Thoroughly examine the house if there are leaks in the roof and plumbing.
Generally speaking, inspect the house if there are water intrusion problems. If there is any, most probably it has developed extreme mold growth issues too.
Air conditioning problems
A lot of unmaintained houses have air conditioning issues. This problem is also crucial in mold development since poor ventilation makes the house humid.
You have to check if every source of air in the house is clean and is functioning. These sources could be air conditioners, air vents, air ducts, and air handlers.
Anyway, there are three helpful signs to tell if there is mold in air ducts. Click the link if you need help regarding that matter.
When you spot any of these water system and air conditioning problems, do not hesitate to conduct an immediate mold inspection of the house.
Is Mold Inspection Important When Buying A House?
Mold inspection is indeed an essential thing to do when buying a new house. Even though some molds are not visible, you will never know if they are just hidden.
If you intend to neglect the necessity to inspect molds in the house you want to purchase, it might cause you more harm in the future. Convince yourself to get a mold inspection by knowing its benefits.
1. Prevents life-threatening illnesses
There is nothing more important than a person’s health. Do not risk contracting illnesses caused by mold exposure only because you did not conduct a mold inspection in your newly bought house.
2. Prevents structural damages
Doing a mold inspection when buying a house will save your home and your pocket. Well, prevention is better than cure.
If you ignore those hidden molds, it will gradually ruin your house. It implies that you need to renovate your home- which is expensive compared to a mold inspection fee.
You can read this short article about the benefits of scheduling a mold inspection if you still have doubts about how vital mold inspections are. If you are now convinced, reading the next part of this post will help you know various ways to inspect and test molds.
General Mold Inspection
A general mold inspection is helpful if you and your inspector still don’t know the exact area where the mold grew. For this reason, the inspector will only assess the areas where the mold could grow.
Mold inspectors use a humidity tester, moisture meter, and thermal camera to make this process possible. When detected, molds need to be examined through air quality testing or mold swabs.
Take note that conducting a mold investigation is a bit pricey. However, it is also possible to get a free mold inspection.
Mold swab testing
This type of mold testing is applicable when you already know the area infested by molds. Even as well as if the molds are visible.
Mold swab is also known as surface testing in which the mold samples are collected on the surface through swabbing. After, samples will be sent to a laboratory for further analysis.
Air quality testing
As the name suggests, this testing uses air to detect mold growth within the house. An air sample from outdoor and indoor will be examined and compared.
This test gets the mold spores concentration in the air contrary to the mold swabbing test. However, results in air quality testing are subject to change over time since there are also drastic changes in mold spores in the air.
Conclusion
Avoid buying a house that has a water system and air conditioning problems. These kinds of houses have high tendencies of mold development.
However, if you unfortunately did, immediately manage it by doing a general mold inspection. Either mold swab or air quality testing, do not hesitate in doing so.
Remember that a house is a place where you should feel the safest. So now, enough with your question on “should you get mold inspection when buying a house”, because it is really a must!