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Toxic Black Mold Inspection and Testing after a Flood, Plumbing Leak, or Roof Leak
by Phillip Fry, Certified Environmental Hygienist, Certified Mold Inspector, Certified Mold Remediator, and author of five mold advice ebooks

Toxic black mold inspection and testing after a flood, plumbing leak, or roof leak requires the thorough mold inspection and testing of a flooded home, apartment, condo, office, or commercial property for the presence of water problems and water damage, elevated levels of airborne mold spores, and mold infestation or mold contamination, including mold growth hidden inside building materials and carpeting, furniture and other personal property, floors, walls, ceilings, heating/cooling equipment and ducts, basements, and crawl spaces.
 

Steps Required for the Mold Inspection of a Flooded Home or Building

The first step is to hire a qualified, trained, and experienced Certified Mold Inspector (CMI).  Or make the decision to do your own mold inspection and mold testing following the thorough directions provided in the book Do-It-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation. You can mold test your flooded home or commercial building with Scotch tape "lift sampling" technique explained at Mold Mart. Use one inch wide, three inch long strips of clear Scotch tape to sample visible mold and surfaces you want mold tested in the flooded home or building, and then send the collected lift tape mold samples to the Mold Mart partner mold analysis lab (31 lab locations in the USA and Canada) for mold species identification and quantification.

The second step is for either the Certified Mold Inspector or the property owner or property manager to do a thorough physical examination of the home or other building for evidence of both visible and hidden mold infestation resulting from the flooding, plumbing leak, or roof leak. The following questions need to be answered and the following areas need to be checked for possible mold growth problems---

1. Do any of the residents or building occupants of the flood or leak-impacted home or building suffer from any of the most frequent general mold health symptoms listed at Mold Symptoms? If so, you need to be very thorough in both mold inspection and mold testing of the home and workplace of the afflicted residents to find the possible mold cause of their health problems. You will be helped immensely in recognizing, understanding, and treating mold health problems if you read carefully Phillip Fry's mold advice ebook Mold Health Guide, available from Mold Mart.
    

2. Shrubs, trees, and other plants growing too close to the home or building. Too many trees too close to the building protect mold growth from the killing effect of ultraviolet sun light. In addition, dead leaves and plants provide food to enable mold to grow; growing mold creates airborne mold spores to enter the building through open windows and doors.  Help the building to dry out and recover from the flood by cutting back on landscaping growth that is too close to the home or building.
    

3. Is the land around the building sloping away from the building (thus carrying heavy rainfall and snow melt away from the building) or toward the building (thus bringing excess water to the building and causing possible water intrusion into the building's foundation, concrete slabs, and basement walls)?  Help the building dry out and recover from the flood by changing the exterior building grade now to drain water away from the home or building.
    

4. Is the roof in good repair (such as good shingles and no cracks or holes in flashings around plumbing vent pipes, air conditioning units, etc.)?  Find and repair all roof leaks that may have contributed to the home or building's water intrusion and flooding problems. The last thing a flooded home or building needs is more water entry because of ongoing roof leaks.
    

5. In the attic, are their water stains or mold growth on the under side of the roof decking, the roof joists, the attic floor, and on and beneath insulation? Mold cannot eat fiberglass insulation, but it can eat the paper backing of such insulation, and mold can also eat and grow on organic dirt deposited onto the fiberglass strands. Interior attic water stains is strong evidence for the existence of water leaks that need to be found and repaired. An already wet home or building does not need more water entry due to unrepaired roof leaks.
    

6. Are there physical signs or evidence of water intrusion such as water stains or suspicious discolorations in a surface area, water problems, or visible mold growth anywhere in not only water-oriented rooms such as bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room but also in every room and area of the house from the crawl space or basement all the way up to the roof? Be very thorough in inspecting and testing for mold growth on all surfaces and all furniture and furnishings in every room.  Even rooms or areas that were not directly flooded can have new mold growth because of the higher indoor humidity caused by the flooding elsewhere in the house or building. Mold can easily grow anywhere if the indoor humidity exceeds 70% either temporarily or regularly.
    

7. Is there hidden water moisture inside wall cavities, beneath floors, above ceilings, or behind ceramic tiles of bathroom walls, tubs and showers? Your Certified Mold Inspector  or you will use a hidden moisture meter to scan the surfaces of all areas non-invasively (no holes required).   If the moisture meter uncovers elevated, hidden moisture areas, such areas will need to be opened up for full moisture and mold inspection, testing, water damage restoration, mold removal, and remediation.
    

8. Use a 3 foot long fiber optics inspection tool with light, TV color camera lens and small TV color viewing screen (only $350 from Mold Mart) to check all hidden interior spaces inside walls, ceilings, and wood floors for water damage, wetness, and/or mold growth.  You will cut one inch by one inch inspection holes every six feet horizontally and vertically in the walls, ceilings, and floors for the insertion of the fiber optics inspection tool. You only need an entry hole every six feet in each direction because you can search inside the hole 360 degrees in all directions for the full 3 ft length of the inspection cable. If the fiber optics inspection tool uncovers hidden, elevated moisture areas, such areas will need to be opened up for full moisture and mold inspection, mold testing, water damage restoration, mold removal, and remediation.
    

9. Has the property ever experienced roof leaks, water leaks, floods, or other water problems and water intrusions prior to the current flooding or water leak problem? If so, pay particular attention to mold inspecting and mold testing building areas that experienced such past or present water intrusions because such areas probably already had mold growing prior to the current flood problem. Previous, ongoing water problems will have enabled mold already growing in those problems area to grow very rapidly from the huge increase in water due to the recent flooding.
    

10. Is the humidity level of the crawl space, basement, attic, or any room or area of the home or building higher than seventy percent (70%) humidity? Humidity levels above 70% in any area of the home can provide sufficient moisture to enable mold to grow. A home or building that is wet from flooding or a significant water leak is going to have mold-facilitating high humidity in many or all areas of the home or building. You or your Certified Mold Inspector can use a digital hygrometer to test the humidity level of each area of your home or building.
     

11. Are there elevated levels of unhealthy mold spores in the air of the attic, crawl space, basement, and the various rooms or areas of the flooded home or other building? Are the tested levels of mold spores indoors greater than outside (control test for comparison with indoor test results) tested mold levels, and/or different as to the types of mold species present? Elevated levels of airborne mold spores are strong evidence of mold growth as the direct consequence of the flooding, water leak, or roof leak. You or your Certified Mold Inspector can use use a variety of mold testing techniques to collect mold air samples both indoors and outdoors (outdoor control test) for submission to a mold analysis laboratory (visit Mold Mart) for mold species identification and quantification.. The various best mold sampling techniques and technologies are: 
    
    (a) mold culture plates upon which airborne mold settles onto after stirring up the air in the room with a disinfected fan for 15 minutes to 30 minutes; 
    
    (b) controlled air testing impactors that use an air pump to draw in and impact airborne mold spores onto the sticky surface of a mold culture plate or a testing mediums
    such as an Air-O-Cell cassette;
    
    (c) direct sampling of visually-noticeable mold growth through scraping of the suspect mold substance into a mold culture plate, or Scotch tape lift tape sampling, or actually cutting and saving a piece of what the suspect mold is growing on or in such as drywall, wood, carpeting, etc. (known as a "bulk sample")
     

12. Is there mold growth contamination inside the building's heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system [hvac] equipment and/or hvac ducts? You or your Certified Mold Inspector can either do Scotch tape lift sampling on the surfaces inside each duct register, or tape mold culture plates (sticky surface facing inward) onto at least one air supply register grill of each zone of your hvac system, and then run the hvac system for 15 minutes to impact possible mold infestation spores onto the sticky surface of the mold culture plates. Such mold samplings will be submitted to a mold analysis lab for mold species identification and quantification. Also, check the hvac's return air duct register's air filter, which will look black or even bluish-green (Pencillium-Aspergillus molds) if heavily mold laden. You can use the Scotch tape lift tape method of mold sampling to collect a sample of possible mold growth on the incoming side of that air filter.
     

13. Hire your Certified Mold Inspector to prepare a detailed mold remediation protocol plan to guide you or a mold contractor step by step in the mold remediation of the mold growth that has resulted from the flooding, plumbing leak, or roof leak.
     

14. Do safe and effective mold removal and mold remediation of the flood-caused mold growth by following the 25 steps explained at Mold Removal.