When doing a home inspection, the word “mold” can turn both the buyer and real-estate agent’s faces ghost white. It is the dreaded part of the buying process because it can take what a buyer saw as a dream home to nothing and an agent’s sell into a loss. The reactions, however, do not mean that mold testing should not be done.

Mold can seriously impact the home owner’s health. Some people can experience nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing, wheezing, or more serious side effects like chronic lung illness or infections. As a home inspector, your job is to ensure the safety of those who are moving into the house. Without this inspection you are risking the health of others.

With that being said, there are variations of how serious mold can be. Rather than just stating a black or white statement of yes, the house has mold or no, it does not, indicate the level of seriousness. This is something that can heavily weigh into a home owner’s decision and can make the conversation easier to have. “More than 80% of the mold-related lawsuits occur as a direct result of the inspector not offering mold testing to their client and failing to mention red-flags for mold that were apparent during the inspection" (Sherwood).

Even if a mold inspection is not something that is part of your regular routine, it is worth offering and can save you a lot of trouble in the long run!