Image courtesy of The Flanders Group
If you have mold damage that might be related to a lawsuit, then you should seriously consider getting tested for mold.
It isn’t that testing for mold is essential to remediation. BUT if you think you might end up in court and you need things like before and after statistics, and to establish a baseline, or compare the existing mold to the outdoors (also a baseline), you need to get tested. And it is worthwhile to be tested by a reputable mold testing company that has no vested interest in making repairs. Obviously, testers who don’t remediate won’t profit from repairs, whereas (also obviously) if a company first tests and if your housing tests positive, they profit from doing the remediation, well, obviously you can see where their interest lies.
So we just recommend that you go with a mold testing company that only tests. And you should also make sure they use a reputable lab, and are equipped to handle paperwork that passes legal chain of custody standards.
For purposes of litigation, you must be able to prove the legal integrity of all samples and data introduced as evidence. This means paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork. Accurate written records tracking the possession, handling, and location of samples and data from collection, verification of who has possessed the samples and data and where the samples have been. Whatever mold detection company you use, they should always use accepted chain-of-custody procedures whenever samples and data are collected, transferred, stored, analyzed, or destroyed, because you never know when they might become necessary in a court case.
If you test for yourself, just for your own information, fine. But it won’t stand up in court unless you follow procedures.
If you’re in California, you might want to give us a call and see about getting an assessment from Byebyemold.