Dear George, How Do I Detect Mold?

Dear George,

My daughter rents in the basement of an old three-story house. Her room has flooded to the point of very wet carpet four times this year. The landlord had a carpet company come in and they gave me a letter that stated there was no mold. How do I detect mold?

A Concerned Father

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Dear Concerned Father,

Mold presents visual and olfactory clues and will be most likely be present if there is (or has been) highly humid conditions or water intrusion, like the one you have described. If mold is not immediately detectable, then a Bye Bye Mold™ mold assessor can utilize a thermal imager, moisture meter readings, and samplings which are microscopically examined by a lab, The lab analyzes the samples to determine the types of mold present, which could be significant if determining specific allergic reactions.

A carpet company may well be expert in handling carpets, but mold detection is a completely different process. A pertinent question is: “How did they test?” It may be that the situation calls for more than carpet cleaning; complete remediation might be needed. Your description of repeated “very wet carpet” would likely result in water-saturation of both the carpet and padding which could easily have been infiltrated by mold and developed a distinctive mildew or mold scent.

That a live mold colony is not immediately visible to the naked eye does not certify that a mold colony and mold spores are not present. A professional assessment and mold inspection by a company such as Bye Bye Mold™ will do a complete and scientific search, as well as provide certified results, including “chain of custody” forms which may be essential for insurance or legal follow-up.

You can contact Bye Bye Mold™ at 1 (800) 686-1992, 24/7, or via our user-friendly e-mail form.