We are trying to sell our home. During the home inspection the inspector noticed black discoloration on the roof in our attic. I think the attic has not been ventilating properly (I have another thread about a broken attic fan). The potential buyers have asked us to have an inspector come and test for mold. Any idea what this would cost?
At first I assumed that it was just mildew and it cleans up with bleach. But then I realized that I don’t even know if there is a difference between mildew and mold.
A mail-in mold test kit costs around $100. Takes a couple of weeks (at least it did for me). The key to mold is moisture control. Clean the area with bleach or just a good brush. The idea is to disrupt the colonies and make them less visible. Bleach is OK, but surprisingly can harm wood. So you really should clean it with water afterwards. What we did (I live in S. Louisiana), is to have a contractor sand every stud in the house. Once the visible mold is gone, dry the area thoroughly. Dry again. Seal. Keep dry. Mold is in the air. It will grow on any porous damp surface. A popular testing regime was to clean out the damp material (ie gut the house), do a test, clean the house, dry and seal the area, test again and show the new owner the difference. A smart buyer will only really care about moisture since that is all that matters, but the testing shows that at least once the place has few active colonies. As for a personal inspector, just about any home inspector will walk through the house and note whether any mold is visible, but that is pretty pointless. Such inspectors used to cost around $200.
Maybe this is more appropriate for CS or even GD but King of the Hill did an episode a few yeas ago which basically said that mold inspections are a complete and utter scam.