Is There Mold In My Home?

How to Know if Your Home has Mold

If you are a homeowner, or are considering buying a home, you need to read the following.

Buying a home may be the largest investment you will make in your lifetime. It is very important to insure that you make the appropriate measure to insure have made a sound investment.

So how can I tell if my home or prospective home has a mold problem?

A musty odor in the home is an excellent indicator that the home has had or is experiencing water intrusion.

Water or dark stains that are unaccounted for are an excellent indicator that your home may have an underlying problem.

As for Real-Estate

It is not uncommon for a home on the market to stand empty for some time before the home is sold.

The comment that we often hear is "The home has been closed up for sometime" and that is the reason why there is an odor.

Based on Thomas J. Consulting, LLC's past and present experience, a home with a musty odor, 80% of the time has a mold problem. It is the seller's responsibility to disclose any and all past problems with the home no matter how insignificant the problem was.

A minute water leak from the plumbing may have been going on for some time before the actual water problem was discovered.

We see this kind of problem in Attic Crawl Spaces where the roof has had a small leak for a long time and may have not released enough water into the attic crawl space to show signs of suspect water / mold staining of the occupied floors.
Past water intrusion in a laundry facility or laundry area. Again there may just be a small leak behind the washing machine but is not viewable from the front. This can and will damage the floor, leading to structural integrity of the floor.
Dryer vents blocked / plugged / even disconnected exhaust lines can cause a humidity problem in the home leading to a mold problem.
Sink plumbing under cabinetry are a very good source of water intrusion. It is not uncommon during an inspection for our company to bring to the attention of the owner or perspective buyer that there is a water intrusion (leak) under sink cabinets.
Dishwashers are notorious for leaking small amounts of water at the door seal allowing a little moisture to enter cabinets /floors over a prolonged period and creating a musty odor and a mold problem.
Plumbing in walls, ceiling and floors never seam to completely break. It is usual that there is usually a small amount of water emitted into walls, ceiling and floors before the plumbing totally fails. Although a broke pipe is not a good thing to happen in a wall, it is the previous small leak that has been allowed to stand and grow mold that becomes problematic. A good water restoration company can usually return a home to it original condition with out the threat of mold growing, if the company was called and on site immediately.
Ground crawl spaces are not a place that is inspected regularly by the home owner. Even though the attic and ground crawl space are supposed to be individual separate environments within the home, they all over lap when it comes to indoor air quality.
Ground crawlspaces were not intended to have water standing on top of the plastic vapor barrier in the attic crawlspace. Concrete was a wicking condition that will allow standing excessive moisture to travel through the concrete, working its way into the timber in the framing of your home.

These are some of the areas that are commonly found to cause a musty / mold / odors in a home.

Believe it or not, by buying a new home, you are not excluded from mold / odor problems. A considerable number of our projects are new homes that are less than a year old. Homes are built with wet lumber, and on many occasions are dry walled and finished with the lumber still being wet.

We see incorrectly installed windows, flashing, and faulty plumbing. The caliber of plumbing materials used today, only meets the minimum standards when building a home. This is standard unless you have had a custom home built and have paid for a plumbing upgrade. New homes in most cases have a 1 year warranty. We often see where the contractor that built the new home become unattainable after the one year warranty has expired and problems have arrived. However, if you have had a problem within that first year and is recorded with your builder you may have recourse when a problem arises later down the road.

In most scenarios home owners insurance will not honor an on going slow leak or a mold problem related to the leak. If you have a water intrusion problem, consult an environmental consulting company such as Thomas J. Consulting, LLC before speaking or placing a claim with your insurance company.

What Kinds of Questions Should I Ask? / What Do I Need to Know About My Home?

When buying a home, it is important to find out from the previous owner or realtor if there has ever been moisture or mold problems. Know this kind of information and have the past or present concerns inspected by a professional environmental inspection and testing company. This may save you a considerable amount of grief in the future.

In you purchase agreement, insure to outline that all of your earnest money is recoverable in the event of failure of disclosure, or the problems in the home have not been addressed to your satisfaction.

Remember it is A "Buyer�s Market" Today.

Has the home had a Mold Problem in the Past?
Has the home ever sustained a fire?
Has there ever been an insurance loss to the home?
Is the owner aware of any Water loss / leaks to the home? Where? When? How was it resolved?
What is the condition of the roof? Age of the roof? Has it ever been replaced or patched? If the roof was replaced because of leaking, how long had it been leaking?
Have you had a chimney, dormer, vent pipe, or other flashing repairs done?
Have you had window casings or trim /flashing replaced / repaired?
Have you had problems with or had any repairs made to your siding?
Have you ever replaced the hot water heater? When? Why?
How is your air conditioning unit functioning? Have you ever had any condensation line or pump back up?
When the furnace was last cleaned?
Where Is the heating and/or central air conditioning system located? And has it ever leaked?
Has the dishwasher ever been replaced or has had a leak?
Have any of the sinks or toilets leaked?
Has the refrigerator or icemaker ever leaked water?
Has the washing machine ever leaked, backed up, or overflowed?
What kind of septic does the home have? It A septic tank was the seller ever had problems wit it?
Have you ever had sewage back up?
Have you ever had a broken pipe within the home?
Have you ever had flooding throughout the home?
Have you had any problems with moisture in your crawlspace?
Condition of all shower stalls tub surrounds in the home
Have either the bathrooms or kitchen been remodeled and when?

The same above information applies to both present occupants of home or offices, and are excellent reference points to determine if you may have had water intrusion past or present.

Mold and Mold odors can sometimes be difficult to uncover. Musty odors usually subside once the water / mold problem has been discovered and corrected.

On the other pages of our website there is a very good page outlining Mold Symptoms. Thomas J. Consulting, LLC has come into contact with someone that has had several if not all of the health problems outlined. Mold Is a Serious Problem.

At Thomas J. Consulting, LLC we are known for the tough projects where mold and water intrusion elude even the best of Environmental Inspection and Testing Companies. We use "State of the Art" Technology including Infra-Red Thermal Imaging to get to the root of the problem. We work with only the best contractor in the Portland � Vancouver Area if repairs are needed after the Water / Mold problem is identified.

Note: It is integrity issue if a Testing and inspection company can provide you a "Turn Key" Package. In the event you need further assistance, Thomas J. Consulting, LLC will provide you with a minimum of 3 companies to fit your needs.

City Search Link: http://portland.citysearch.com/review/41894047ink