Think You Have Mold?
Let Me Come Look.
Professional mold inspection across Edmond and OKC.
I bring the tools, the training, and the honest answer — including whether you actually need me.
You Already Know Something's Wrong
You noticed something. Maybe it's a dark spot behind the bathroom vanity. Maybe a smell in the guest room that wasn't there last month. Maybe your kid's allergist said "environmental factors" and you started looking at your air vents differently.
So you Googled it. You found thirteen different opinions, four mold test kits on Amazon, and a Wikipedia article about mycotoxins that made you want to sell the house.
Here's what nobody online told you: most of what you're reading doesn't apply to your house.
Mold doesn't follow internet forums. It follows moisture. And the only way to know what you're actually dealing with is to have someone walk through your house with the right equipment and look. If the mold looks dark or black, keep perspective — not all black mold is the boogeyman the internet says it is.
That's what I do.
What Happens When I Walk Into Your House
Here's the inspection, start to finish. No surprises.
First, I walk the house. Every room. Every closet. Under every sink. I'm looking for visible growth, water stains, bubbling paint, discoloration — anything that says moisture has been somewhere it shouldn't be.
Then I pull out the moisture meter. Pin-type instrument. I press it into drywall, baseboard, subfloor — anywhere I suspect moisture is hiding. Dry wood reads below 15%. Anything above that, and we've found a lead.
Then the thermal camera. My FLIR shows me a temperature map of your walls. Moisture creates cold spots — the camera sees them even when your eyes can't. I can scan an entire room in about three minutes.
Then the hygrometer. Measures relative humidity in specific areas. Above 60%, mold can grow — even without a visible leak.
In Edmond and OKC, I pay extra attention to a few things most inspectors miss. We get these spring mornings in the low 40s followed by afternoons pushing 80. That kind of swing creates condensation on windows, cold-side walls, and especially in attics where the temperature changes faster than the air can dry out. Your AC ductwork sweating in a hot attic during July is the same idea — and it's one of the most common moisture sources I find in houses built after 2010 with tighter building envelopes.
Total time: 20 to 45 minutes, depending on house size.
What you get at the end: A thorough assessment of where moisture is, where it isn't, and whether you have a problem. If I find active mold or conditions likely to produce it, I'll tell you exactly what happens next. If I don't find anything, I'll tell you that too.
Three Tools. Twenty Minutes. Answers.
I don't bring a team. I don't bring a clipboard and a sales pitch. I bring three instruments and the training to read them.
Between them, they tell me more about your walls than your contractor, your home inspector, and your mother-in-law combined.
When You Need an Inspection (And When You Don't)
Not every house needs a professional mold inspection. Some don't. Here's how to tell:
You probably need an inspection if:
- You smell something musty but can't find the source
- You've had a water leak in the last 12 months — even a small one
- You see discoloration on walls, ceilings, or baseboards that wasn't there before
- Someone in your household has unexplained respiratory symptoms
- You're buying a home and want documentation before you close
- Your real estate agent flagged something during a showing
- Your landlord says "it's fine" but you don't think it is
You probably DON'T need an inspection if:
- You can see a small patch of surface mold in a bathroom — less than a few square feet — and there's no leak behind it. The EPA says you can clean that yourself with detergent and water.
- Your house smells musty only after heavy rain and the smell goes away within a day. That's humidity, not necessarily mold.
- You found mold on food or in your refrigerator. That's not a building problem, that's a Tuesday.
And I'll tell you something most mold companies won't: if I tell you there's mold when there isn't, and you mention it to your neighbor, I just lost every job on your street. My reputation in Edmond is worth more to me than a single invoice. I'd rather tell you the truth and earn your trust than inspect a house that doesn't need it. Check out what other homeowners say about working with me.
What to Do Before I Get There
If you've scheduled an inspection, here's what helps:
Do:
- Leave the area as-is. Don't scrub, paint over, or spray anything on the suspected mold.
- Note when you first noticed the issue and any water events — leaks, floods, condensation.
- Make sure I can access closets, under-sink cabinets, crawl spaces, and attics.
- Have your HVAC running normally. I need to see how air moves through the house.
Don't:
- Don't bleach it. Bleach doesn't kill mold on porous surfaces. It bleaches the color so you can't see it anymore, but the roots are still there growing underneath.
- Don't rip out drywall or flooring before I've assessed it. I need to see the full picture before anything gets disturbed.
- Don't seal up the room. Airflow helps me identify patterns.
The more I can see in its natural state, the better my assessment.
The $30 Test Kit: What It Actually Tells You
You've seen them at Lowe's. A petri dish, some instructions, and a promise that you'll "know for sure" in 48 hours.
Here's what the test actually measures: whether mold spores land on the dish.
The problem: mold spores are in every house. They're in the air outside. They're in the air inside. They're floating through your HVAC system right now. A positive result doesn't mean you have a mold problem. It means air exists.
What the kit CAN'T tell you:
- Where the mold is growing (if it is)
- What species it is
- Whether there's a moisture source feeding it
- How much is behind your walls vs. in the air
The EPA's own guidance says it: home test kits are unreliable for determining whether professional intervention is needed.
If you want real answers, you need someone in your house with a moisture meter and a thermal camera. Not a petri dish.
The Report Your Insurance Adjuster Actually Needs
After the inspection, you get a report. Not a generic template — a specific assessment of YOUR house.
What's in it:
- Moisture readings — exact percentages at every measured point
- Thermal imaging — annotated photos showing moisture patterns
- Humidity data — readings by zone
- Visual documentation — photos of every area inspected
- Assessment summary — what I found, what it means, what I recommend
If mold is present and you need remediation, the report is formatted for your insurance adjuster. I use Xactimate — the same estimating platform your adjuster uses. When my documentation matches their format, the claims process moves faster. Learn more about my credentials and process.
If mold isn't present, you still get the same thorough report — documentation that your property is clear. That's worth having for real estate transactions, landlord-tenant situations, and your own records.
Mold in a Rental? Here's What Oklahoma Law Says
If you're a tenant dealing with suspected mold, you need to know two things:
First: Oklahoma doesn't have a specific mold statute. But under the Oklahoma Residential Landlord Tenant Act, landlords are required to maintain the property in a habitable condition. Mold caused by a maintenance failure — a roof leak, a plumbing issue, a failing HVAC system — is the landlord's responsibility to address.
Second: Documentation is everything. A professional inspection report gives you leverage. It's dated, it's specific, and it's hard to argue with moisture readings and thermal images.
If you're a property manager: an inspection protects you too. It proves you took action, investigated the complaint, and hired a qualified professional. That's your paper trail.
I work with both tenants and landlords. I don't take sides. I measure what's there.
Places I Check That Other Inspectors Skip
Most inspectors walk the rooms. I walk the rooms AND the places nobody thinks to check.
Storm shelters. If you have an underground tornado shelter — and around here, a lot of people do — that's one of the first places I look. No ventilation, ground moisture wicking up through concrete, dark all year round. Perfect mold environment. I've pulled active Aspergillus growth out of storm shelters that homeowners hadn't opened since last tornado season.
Crawl spaces after spring rains. Central Oklahoma gets its heaviest rainfall in May and June. If you've got a pier-and-beam house, that crawl space holds moisture for weeks. The vapor barrier might have shifted, or never been installed right. I'm under there with the meter before I'm done with the living room. I see enough crawl space mold to have a dedicated page for attic and crawl space remediation.
Closets on exterior walls. People stack clothes and boxes tight against masonry. Air doesn't circulate. Moisture from temperature differentials has nowhere to go. It's the quietest mold problem I see — and one of the most common.
What Happens After the Inspection
If mold IS present:
I'll tell you what type, where it is, and how much. Then I'll walk you through remediation — containment, removal, treatment, clearance testing. If you want me to handle it, I can start the same week. If you want a second opinion, I'll hand you the report and wish you well. No pressure.
If mold is NOT present:
Good news. I'll still walk you through any moisture risk factors I noticed and give you prevention recommendations. The report documents a clean property.
If I need lab confirmation:
Sometimes I'll recommend air sampling or surface swabs to confirm what the instruments are suggesting. I'll explain the test, why I'm recommending it, and what it costs before we proceed.
The Questions Everyone Asks
admin@4d : ~/faq $ query --id=01 "How much does a mold inspection cost?" ▶ ENTER
My initial assessment is free. I come to your house, walk it with my equipment, tell you what I find. If you need lab testing — air samples or surface swabs — I'll explain what kind, why, and what it costs before we move forward.
admin@4d : ~/faq $ query --id=02 "How long does an inspection take?" ▶ ENTER
20 to 45 minutes, depending on house size and how many areas need detailed assessment.
admin@4d : ~/faq $ query --id=03 "Do I need to be home?" ▶ ENTER
Ideally, yes. I'll show you what I'm finding in real time and explain what the readings mean. If you can't be there, we can make it work — but the walkthrough is better in person.
admin@4d : ~/faq $ query --id=04 "What's the difference between an inspection and testing?" ▶ ENTER
An inspection is visual plus instrument-based. I'm in your house with a moisture meter and thermal camera, assessing conditions. Testing means collecting air or surface samples and sending them to a lab for species identification. Not every inspection needs testing. I'll tell you if yours does.
admin@4d : ~/faq $ query --id=05 "Can you inspect a house I'm buying before I close?" ▶ ENTER
That's one of the most common reasons people call. I'll give you a report documenting the mold status of the property before you sign.
admin@4d : ~/faq $ query --id=06 "I already had someone test and they found mold. Can you do the remediation?" ▶ ENTER
Yes. Bring me the report. I'll review it, confirm the findings with my own assessment, and scope the work.
admin@4d : ~/faq $ query --id=07 "Is the mold in my house dangerous?" ▶ ENTER
Depends on the type and the amount. The internet has turned "black mold" into a bigger boogeyman than it usually is. That said — some species produce mycotoxins, and prolonged exposure to elevated spore counts can cause respiratory issues. The inspection tells us what you're actually dealing with, not what Google thinks you're dealing with. Read more about <a href='/services/mold-removal/black-mold/'>black mold facts vs. fiction</a>.
Ready? Here's How to Start.
Think You Have Mold? Let's Find Out.
If you already know you want an inspection: call me. I answer my phone. If you're not sure yet — send me a photo of what you're seeing. I'll take a look and tell you whether it's worth scheduling. No commitment, no pitch.