Have you noticed that your home has developed a musty odor? Are you struggling with indoor allergies throughout the year?
If so, your home might be suffering from a mold problem.
Fortunately, a quick mold inspection can help you learn more and ensure that your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ) is top quality.
But how much does a mold inspection cost?
This article will answer that question and explain what to expect from a mold inspection in NJ.
How Much Does a Mold Inspection Cost?
Mold inspection services are crucial to overall home maintenance and household health. But if you’ve never scheduled a mold inspection, you might not know how much to spend on one.
Having professionals inspect your home for mold generally costs between $700 and $2,000 or more, depending on the size of your home and the scope of the project. The average mold inspection with testing cost is about $1,500.
Multi-floor homes and properties with liveable basements and attics can also be more expensive in terms of mold testing, as there are more areas to test.
Why Home Size Impacts Inspection Costs
The smaller your home, the less you expect to spend on a mold inspection service.
That’s because smaller homes require less time and labor to inspect and fewer testing samples.
Alternatively, larger homes (3,000 square feet or more) generally cost more to inspect and test.
With more expansive properties, mold experts must spend longer more time testing different areas around the home, resulting in a higher overall cost.
But if you suspect your home might be experiencing indoor mold growth, it’s vital to act quickly.
Allowing mold to continue growing unchecked can contribute to (or cause) health problems and significant structural damage to your home.
Dangers of Household Mold Growth
Mold might not seem like a huge danger, especially when compared to foundational problems or a leaky roof. But mold growth can eventually destroy your home and harm your health.
After all, mold can consume all kinds of materials, including wood, paint, and plastics.
If left untreated, mold growing inside your home’s walls can contribute to structural rot and decay, resulting in a weaker structure.
Besides, indoor mold growth contributes to several health problems, especially black mold.
There are several causes of black mold growth in New Jersey homes, but humidity is the leading culprit.
This type of mold is particularly dangerous, though multiple strains of indoor mold can lead to:
- Increased allergies
- Worsening respiratory problems
- Long-term lethargy
- Dizziness and headaches
So, mold impacts not only the quality and health of your home. It can also negatively impact your household’s health.
The sooner you act against mold growth, the greater your chance of avoiding the worst health problems associated with mold exposure.
But if you’re unsure what to look for, identifying the early signs of mold can be challenging.
Early Signs of Indoor Mold Growth
If you’ve dealt with a leaky roof or flooded basement within the last few years, there’s a good chance that your home has some level of indoor mold growth. But spotting this mold can be tricky, especially when mold infestations are in their early stages.
Still, some of the most common signs of early mold growth in a home include the following:
- Gradually worsening allergies when indoors
- A musty smell that’s challenging to track down
- Discoloration or stains on ceilings or walls
- Peeling paint on walls and ceilings
Additionally, you might see growing mold colonies in bathrooms, kitchens, and basements.
These can appear like expanding circles of orange or pink slime, fuzzy white patches on tiles, or darkening grout.
Remember, areas of your home with sinks or plumbing fixtures tend to develop mold problems more quickly than other areas.
What Areas Are Prone to Mold Growth?
Knowing where to look for mold growth is half the battle. Mold tends to grow in humid or damp areas, so starting your inspection (or guiding your mold inspection expert) with generally moist areas is a great idea.
This includes rooms like:
- Basements
- Attics
- Kitchens
- Bathrooms
If you find that you always sneeze after entering one of these rooms, or if you spot visible signs of mold growth in these areas, you’ll want to schedule an immediate mold inspection.
What to Expect From a Mold Inspection
When your mold inspection service team arrives, you can expect professionals to enter your home and begin a general visual inspection of the property’s walls, ceilings, and floors.
This initial inspection is essential, as it allows inspectors to gauge the severity of your home’s mold problems.
Once the team has completed the visual inspection, the next step is to conduct the mold testing services.
These services include swab testing and air quality testing. For swab testing, the mold expert uses a sterile swab to collect samples for lab testing. Air quality testing is similar, but it involves an air pump and sampling cassette.
Either way, the samples are then sent off to an independent third party laboratory for testing and verification, at which point you’ll receive a call letting you know which mold strains are present in your home.
After that, you can begin discussing mold remediation services to remove and prevent further mold growth.
Choose Certified Mold Removal
So, how much does a mold inspection cost? The answer depends on the size of your home!
Homes with greater square footage require longer inspections, necessitating pricier inspections.
The average mold inspection cost is about $700 to $1,500, though you can expect to spend upwards of $2,000 if your home is on the larger and/or has a large basement and attic space that also need inspection.
If you suspect your home is suffering from mold, schedule a mold inspection as soon as possible. Certified Mold Removal, Inc. in NJ is ready to help.
If you have further questions about mold inspection and removal services, please get in touch with us today!
Are you concerned about mold in your home? Call our (201) 773-1466 to request same day mold testing in NJ, NY, PA & CT. Our experts have been assisting home owners with mold testing and remediation since 1995. Call (201) 773-1466 or submit a contact request online today!
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