How to Do a Mold Inspection in an Apartment

One of the most trusted environmental testing firms in the northeastern United States, RTK Environmental Group maintains offices in New York City, Boston, Stamford and Newington, CT. Robert Weitz is the owner of the company. Here, he explains how to detect mold in an apartment.



Carrying out a home mold inspection in New York City can be different from other mold inspections due to the fact that most dwellings are located within apartment buildings. If a water leak is the main source of mold, for example, finding out where the leak originates from can be tricky.



Inspect Broader Realm

When it comes to detecting the presence of mold in an apartment, it is similar to a mold inspection in any family dwelling. Taking air samples, carrying out a visual inspection, doing thermal imaging and moisture readings are all important components of our investigation, as these can determine the moisture in your home as well as potential areas of mold.



In an apartment mold inspection, however, we will also have to consider where the water that caused the mold comes from, because of the multi-family building that we are working in. Factors like a water leak in a ninth floor apartment, for example, could affect a second floor apartment just because of gravity and the water going down through the many levels of the building. So the realm of the inspection can be broader, widening out into different areas, because of the size of the apartment building.



Work with Different Companies

In most cases, plumbing leaks and roof leaks are the main sources of water in an apartment building. Stopping the leaks is something that is usually done by building management, so if someone has a leak on the ninth floor, then building management will solve that leak and make it stop. Once the leak problem is solved, then normally it is each apartment owner’s responsibility to do his own remediation work, almost always through insurance companies.



In New York City, there will be eight or 10 insurance companies working on one water line claim because there are so many apartments in the building. As a result, apartment building testing can be a much more lengthy process, because of the number of units that can potentially be involved and the number of insurance companies that can be involved as well.



Very often, we are working in conjunction with several other parties while trying to come to a resolution of the problem. We have worked in buildings where all of the floors have been affected by a water leak. We might get an assignment to carry out a mold inspection on three floors that are affected, but a different company will be working on the other floors, depending on who the insurance companies assigned the testing to.



We recommend that you have a thorough mold inspection carried out on the property first before you purchase, lease, or rent an apartment. Victims who claim they have been made ill due to exposure to toxic mold are winning millions of dollars in lawsuits, as mold is becoming the new asbestos when it comes to commercial real estate liability. To be safe and to protect yourself, give us a call today to do a thorough mold inspection in your apartment.



Robert Weitz is a writer for Yodle , a business directory and online advertising company. Find a property inspector or more related articles at Yodle Consumer Guide.