Suspected mold causing family illness, first inspection step?« Back to Previous Page

The first step is to have a professional mold inspector conduct an initial visual assessment and moisture mapping of your home. Do not attempt to disturb or clean the visible patch yourself, as this can release a high concentration of spores and mycotoxins into the air, potentially worsening your family's symptoms.

Given the symptoms you've described—persistent coughing in children and headaches that resolve when you leave—and the visible growth, this is a situation that warrants professional diagnosis. In Dubai's climate, where we run AC continuously to combat high humidity, condensation buildup inside walls or behind furniture is a common hidden source of moisture that allows mold to thrive. An inspector will use tools like a borescope to look inside wall cavities and a moisture meter to find the source of the dampness that is feeding the growth.

The inspection should include air quality testing to identify the types and concentrations of mold spores present in your indoor air, particularly in the bedrooms. This is crucial for understanding the health risk, as some species are more problematic than others. The inspector's report should clearly outline the extent of the contamination, the species identified (if sampling is done), and the underlying moisture source that must be repaired to prevent recurrence. For a definitive identification of the species, the inspection should include lab analysis of samples; as a company with our own microbiology lab, we know this is the only way to move from suspicion to fact.

You can verify a quality inspector by asking if they provide a detailed report with recommendations for remediation and, crucially, for fixing the water intrusion problem. Any proposed remediation work should be separate from the inspection itself to avoid a conflict of interest.