How Do I Know If There Is Mold in My Office Building?

7/25/2022 (Permalink)

Areas Where You Can Find Mold

You're busy at work, so you don't give much thought to the state of the building as long as your cleaning team comes through and empties the trashcans. You haven't had a flood in Valrico, FL, you haven't spotted a leak, and you have a strict policy about not leaving food out in the kitchen. But still, you have this sneaking suspicion that there's mold in your building.

You don't have to have obvious water damage for mold to grow. A too-high moisture content in your space can allow for mold growth. Mold can even grow on a high dusty shelf and spread to other areas. The only way to know for certain that you have a mold problem is to hire an indoor environmental specialist, but here are a few hints that you may have mold in your building.

1. Smell
People typically describe the smell of mold as "musty." While there are other scents as well—earthy, wet socks, rotten wood—the smell of mold is pretty unpleasant and might be the first hint that you have a problem. Mold can grow anywhere, from you main place of business to the storage room to the bathroom. It's pretty indiscriminate as long as it has a food source.

2. See
Mold that you can see is more disconcerting. Each type of mold might look a little bit different but if you see spots on the wall in the corner that don't match the decor, it might be mold. Not all mold is black; it can be gray, green, yellow, blue, or any combination of those or other colors.

3. Test
When you think you've discovered mold, an indoor environmental specialist should come and do a mold test so that you know what kind you're dealing with. Then the best thing you can do is call a mold removal and remediation professional to clean and restore the area so that you don't have continued problems in the future.

Finding mold can be a little nerve-racking, but with the help of an indoor environmental specialist and a mitigation team, you should have your office cleaned up in no time.