Mold can be black, grey, white, green, reddish, brown, and may not even be visible. It can hide behind walls, ceilings, and even flooring. A perfectly clean looking room could have dangerous, invisible mold in the air that you breathe without you ever knowing.

The most common locations for molds are basements, bathrooms and attics, but sometimes it is found in kitchens, laundry rooms, garages, on walls where any window was left open, closets, and other places throughout the home.

There are three basic categories of mold: allergenic (most dangerous to people with allergens) pathogenic (most dangerous to those with weak immune systems, and mycotoxic (dangerous to everyone). The symptoms can include respiratory disease such as asthma, bleeding nose and lungs, rashes, memory loss, cancer and more.

A full house mold inspection is recommended on a yearly basis, as well as when having a pre-purchase home inspection performed. A company should not do both testing and abatement – it is a conflict of interest and illegal under New York State law.

If you do not take action, the situation can worsen and you may have to pay large sums of money to repeat the whole process.

Moisture is the key to mold growth. In the presence of excess moisture, mold can live and breed on building materials like plywood, tile, and drywall. Common sites for indoor mold growth include bathroom tiles, basement walls, leaky water fountains or sinks, and areas around windows where moisture condenses.