I get this question daily, my answer is always the same, -Yes, you do have mold spores in your home, but you are asking the wrong question.  Ask yourself these 3 easy questions:

1. Do I have any water leaks?  the correct answer is yes.

Somewhere in your home you have a pipe that is leaking. Everyone does.

The leak can be from a drain, a fixture, a pressure pipe, an appliance. It can be in a floor, ceiling, wall, under cabinet, behind something you can never see.

That water, either in it’s liquid or vapor form, is something mold needs to grow.  It doesn’t need much, but a constant supply of a drop or 2 will help things along.

2. Do I keep my home warm in the winter and cool in the summer?

Along with that water supply, mold needs some warmth, a comfortable 70 degrees will do fine.

3. Is there anything in my home Mold can use as a food supply?

As long as you don’t have anything in your home made of cotton, leather, wood, or paper, you might be able to answer no to this one (most drywall has paper on both sides).

When the food, water, and warmth come together, you can be reasonably confident you will grow mold.

The question that you really want an answer to is: Is there a dangerous amount of mold growing in my home?

In NYS, that question is answered by getting an “assessment”.

NY requires only professionals Licensed by the state do this work.  In addition to this, to protect you from unscrupulous contractors who see the opportunity to take advantage of your concern, any work to fix the problem cannot be done by the same person who does the assessment.