Professional Home Inspector Talks AboutMold & Mildew Worries?
MOLD AND MILDEW WORRIES?I recently had a conversation with a well known Real Estate agent who has been selling homes in Vernon and Salmon Arm for more than thirty years. He told me with complete conviction that “we don’t have to worry about mold in the Okanagan and Shuswap – it’s way too dry for that”.
While I have great respect for this individual, both as a friend and an expert in real estate, I’m afraid I had to take issue with a statement like that one. My experience as a home inspector has taught me that, contrary to popular belief, mold can thrive in just about any home under the right conditions. I have seen a number of homes in our region where a “perfect storm” of circumstances have created mold & mildew problems of truly gigantic proportions.
Luckily, these circumstances are rare and are usually fairly straight forward (although sometimes fairly expensive) to repair.
“Did you find any mold?” is easily among the questions I am most often asked by my customers; probably because of a few high profile stories involving unethical home sellers and unwitting home buyers that have been picked up by the media and were front page news for a short time. Does the phrase “Grow-Op” ring a bell?
Even the most experienced home inspectors may have trouble detecting the presence of mold in a home, especially if they are not particularly thorough and/or are not using an infrared camera in their inspections. That is why a standard home inspection, done in accordance with the recognized Standards of Practice, does not include determining the presence of mold or mildew (read your contract).
Exposure to molds and mildews in indoor environments can be a serious health concern, especially to older people & younger children, as well as people with respiratory problems or compromised immune systems. It’s almost impossible to predict the reactions any individual may have to mold exposure, but asthma, headaches, allergic reactions, nausea & vomiting, nosebleeds, and general fatigue are all symptoms that people experience. Certain types of mold and their spores are known carcinogens. As with many things, the extent and severity of a person’s reactions will depend on the amount of time exposed and the intensity of the exposure.
Molds and other fungi are living organisms that will damage many interior surfaces over time, such as drywall and carpets to the point where replacement is necessary. Mold will also weaken wood structural components to the point of failure if left long enough.
Clarion Home Inspections has listened to the concerns of our clients and has responded in a positive way. We are now trained and certified Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) professionals. We can now provide IAQ testing and mold/mildew inspections for our customers in Vernon, Salmon Arm and Revelstoke. As always, we use the best equipment available in our inspections and our internet based reporting system is second to none.
If mold is discovered in your home it’s important to remember that, most often, it is a symptom of other larger problems within the building. Mold is a fungus; it is alive (although it can sometimes be dormant for years at a time). All living organism require a source of food and moisture to establish themselves initially and to survive. Any mold removal or remediation efforts will be doomed to failure unless the problems that created the conditions that allowed it to grow are dealt with as well.
The only certain method to determine if a home has a mold infestation problem is to have it professionally inspected and tested. Not all molds look like the black slimy types we’re all familiar with and not are mold problems are visible to the naked eye; it is common for infestations to be hidden in places such as inside wall cavities, under floor finished, and in attic spaces.
Home Inspector Freeport New York | House Inspector | Building Inspector & Building Inspection
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