How Much Does Mold Inspection Cost In 2024?

As the name suggests, a mold inspection susses out the presence of mold in the home. It starts with a simple visual inspection and can include air tests using specialized equipment, as surface-based mold presents different removal options than air-based spores. Professional inspectors search the basement, kitchen, bathroom and other parts of the home known to harbor higher-than-average moisture levels.

Once a technician finds mold, they’ll swab it and perform a stain test or a culture test to ascertain the type of mold present and its overall toxicity level.

Mold Inspection vs. Testing vs. Remediation

Mold inspection and mold testing are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but that isn’t quite right. A mold inspection refers to the process detailed above, involving a technician going through your home and using various equipment to test the air and a variety of surfaces.

Mold testing, on the other hand, happens after an inspection. Some pros send samples to a lab and others perform in-house stain tests, though the end results are similar. Mold tests present useful data regarding the type of mold in the home, the toxicity level, the number of spores present in the air and how quickly it’s reproducing. Mold testing adds an average of $100 to $250 to the final bill, depending on if the samples are sent to a lab.

Finally, remediation is the process by which a team of pros come over and remove the mold, typically using a combination of methods. Home mold remediation costs as much as $12,500, so it’s always a good idea to inspect thoroughly and test often to ensure you identify the problem early on, which lowers remediation costs.

The type of test you and your pro decide on also impacts the overall cost of the inspection. Here’s how the various tests break down, with price ranges, pros and cons.

Swab

A simple swab test is an effective and fairly budget-friendly way to suss out the presence of mold. During this test, inspectors take a surface sample via a swab. You’ll pay $180 to $320 for a swab test and the data provided will include the type of mold found and its toxicity level. So what’s the downside? You have to already know where the mold is to take the sample and a swab test doesn’t test the air at all. For this reason, these tests are often used in conjunction with air cell testing.

Air Test

Air testing, otherwise called air cell testing, typically costs anywhere from $240 to $360. These tests cost more than swab tests, but you get a more complete picture of what’s going on in your home. Inspectors set up equipment in several areas throughout the home and allow them to do their thing for a number of hours, completing a number of tests each hour.

Once finished, the samples are sent to be analyzed, so you get data regarding the type of mold and the severity of the issue. This helps pros develop a comprehensive remediation plan. It’s worth noting that there are even more advanced air tests out there, but they cost around $700.

HVAC

Testing your HVAC system for mold costs $50 to $80, though this cost is typically added on top of a pre-existing air cell test. Despite the added cost, this is an especially important test, as there are plenty of health risks when mold hangs out in an HVAC system. It’s also hard to remove mold from your HVAC system, so getting an accurate reading of how much mold is in there and where it’s located throughout the ductwork helps with remediation.

The testing involves technicians placing specialized tape on the filters and inside the ducts that capture spores when they pass through the system.

Stain Testing

No matter which type of testing you go for, be it swab, HVAC tape or air, you’ll have the option to treat the samples with specialized stains to make the spores easier to spot and, as such, identify. These stained samples are sent to specialists who check them out via a microscope to suss out the type of mold spores present, the number of spores on the sample and the pattern of growth.

Stain testing is highly recommended when figuring out whether the mold in your home is toxic or not, but it costs an additional $100 to $160 on top of whatever you paid for the original test.

Mold Cultures

This is another type of test that uses the spores already collected via a swab, tape or air cell machine. It’s actually a pretty lo-fi test, with technicians simply placing the sample in an enclosed space and allowing the mold to run wild and grow at will.

The test indicates whether or not mold spores in the home are alive, which informs remediation options. Cultures that grow aggressively require extreme and immediate remediation techniques, while those that grow slowly or not at all allow for a slightly less aggressive approach to removal. Mold culture tests are fairly inexpensive, at $50 on top of whatever you paid for the original inspection.

There are a number of factors that impact the cost of a mold inspection including your home’s size and where mold is present.

Size of Home

As with most things in the home renovation space, larger square footage translates to a higher overall mold inspection cost. This is for a simple reason: Larger spaces require more samples over a longer period of time to provide accurate and actionable results.

Testing in smaller homes boasts a lower cost range, at $250 to $400. Testing in larger homes of 4,000 square feet (or more) drives up the cost to $700 to $1,100. Medium-sized homes will fall around the center of the aforementioned cost range.
This variance also extends to post-inspection analysis, as larger homes boast an increased risk of harboring multiple types of mold at the same time.

Location and Accessibility

Labor costs money, so if the mold is difficult to access, you’ll pay an extra fee. In many cases, mold grows in obvious locations in damp basements, near ice dams adjacent to the attic and around leaks. These are easy to both spot and access. However, mold prefers the dark, so some could be hiding away in one of the more inaccessible parts of the house, including behind the walls.

Bathrooms and kitchens, for example, are notorious for hiding mold behind the walls, just between the tile and the drywall or behind appliances. If your pro has to actually excise some pieces of drywall to conduct the inspection, count on paying up to $700 extra in addition to the test itself. You’ll also have to pay a drywall contractor to replace the drywall section.

You can save some money by moving appliances out of the way ahead of time and making sure it’s easy to access crawl spaces, attic spaces and the basement.

Extent of the Contamination

The extent of the contamination mostly impacts remediation costs, but can change up inspection costs in a number of ways. First of all, if your home is absolutely covered in mold, the samples will each have to undergo further analysis to suss out the various types and their toxicity levels. Additionally, massive levels of mold growth require an increase in the number of air testing machines and labor hours spent conducting the inspection.

On the plus side, accessibility won’t be a concern because the inspectors will be able to spot the mold at a glance.

Type of Mold

The type of mold can impact the inspection cost, though a general inspection typically covers the most common species. However, you’ll likely pay more with the presence of toxic black mold (stachybotrys chartarum) or molds that are tricky to identify. Here are the common mold types found during inspections and relevant information as to how each type can impact the overall cost.

• Alternaria: The term alternaria refers to 40 different mold varieties that thrive during the spring and summer. Most of the time, this mold stays outside but can sneak in and make a home in carpets, basements, attics and showers. This mold type is generally covered in a standard inspection with no uptick in price.
• Aspergillus: This mold includes over 250 varieties that typically begin as a white fuzz before turning darker. These molds thrive in low humidity and cause serious respiratory illness. Due to occasionally existing in low humidity, aspergillus can be tricky to find, so count on increased labor costs of anywhere from $50 to $100.
• Aureobasidium: This is another basic mold typically included in the cost of a standard inspection. Aureobasidium typically lives on painted surfaces, hard surfaces and behind wallpaper. This mold is often pink.
• Chaetomium: This mold variety starts with a white fuzz but eventually turns blue or green. Chaetomium is fairly easy to identify, so you won’t experience an uptick in inspection costs. However, it’s extremely dangerous and can cause a host of health issues, from skin infections and, in rare cases, brain abscesses. In other words, remediate quickly.
• Cladosporium: This is another mold type that’s typically covered in the cost of a basic inspection. Cladosporium prefers basements and HVAC systems and it grows quickly and aggressively. This makes it easy to spot, but difficult to successfully remediate.
• Fusarium: You’ve heard of toxic black mold, but fusarium is a toxic white, pink or salmon-colored mold. It causes a localized infection in the nails or cornea and can even get into the bloodstream to wreak more havoc. For these reasons, you’ll pay an extra $100 to $150 for an inspection when dealing with fusarium, due to the health risks.
• Penicillium: This mold may naturally produce the antibiotic known as penicillin, but you still don’t want it hanging around the home, as it causes allergic reactions. Luckily, penicillium tends to be included in standard inspections. This mold tends to crop up near water damage, so it’s easy to spot.
• Serpula Lacrymans: This fast-spreading mold is often responsible for dry rot in wood, so it’s important to identify and remove it ASAP. You’ll find this type of mold in wood, but also in masonry, plaster and even dry mortar. Due to potential accessibility issues, count on paying an extra $50 to $100 to ensure your pro adequately tests all of your exterior surfaces.
• Stachybotrys Chartarum: This is the one we all dread. Stachybotrys chartarum is more commonly called toxic black mold and can cause respiratory problems, neurological issues, infections and all kinds of other health issues. Due to the health dangers, count on paying an extra $100 to $150 for an inspection. Once identified, immediately hire a pro for remediation.
• Trichoderma: This is primarily an outdoor mold, preferred by plants and soil, but can survive on fabric and inside your HVAC system. This is a common mold type, so you won’t experience an increase in inspection costs.
• Ulocladium: This is a relatively non-toxic black mold that often gets confused for its more dangerous cousin. It prefers moisture-rich environments and will have to undergo a stain test or a lab test to ensure it’s not stachybotrys chartarum. Other than that, inspection costs are normal.

Geographic Location

The cost of a mold inspection depends on where you reside according to overall the cost of living. Generally speaking, this means that cities with high costs of living will also require an increased price range for mold inspections, though ample competition can help even things out.

For example, homeowners in New York City will pay around 10 to 20% more for a mold inspection than homeowners in San Antonio, Texas. Of course, this depends on the actual mold inspection company, so even New Yorkers can find a good deal by putting in some dedicated research.

Hire a professional mold inspection company to conduct a thorough examination throughout your home. Luckily, most local mold remediation companies can also handle inspections, giving you a nice two-in-one solution.

Whenever you’re hiring a mold inspector, be sure to check out their credentials to make sure they are licensed and insured to do the work. Also, collect at least three quotes to save some money.

If you’re going with a remediation company to handle mold removal after the inspection, be sure to look at customer reviews and pay special attention to warranties. Mold can quickly return to an area, so you’re going to want a second-visit stipulation in the contract.

In a word? Water. This liquid is crucial for all life, mold included. Standing pools of water, no matter how small, will eventually lead to mold growth. The same goes for areas that are consistently exposed to moisture, like around doors and windows, near pipes and any part of the roof that isn’t draining properly.

However, mold grows on just about anything, so that wood chair you’ve been storing in a dank and humid basement is just as susceptible as a plumbing leak. With that in mind, a consistent increase in humidity also causes mold growth, as does poor ventilation.

If you strongly suspect mold in the home but lack concrete evidence, here are some warning signs to be on the lookout for.

• Visible mold spores: Look for patches of mold spores on walls, counters or anywhere else. Start by looking in bathrooms, the basement, the attic and the kitchen, as these areas are prone to leaks.
• Discolored surfaces: You may not know exactly what you’re looking at when staring down mold, so keep an eye on counters and walls to look for discoloration. Mold can be blue, white, pink and many other colors.
• Foul odor: If you’ve smelled mold once, you’ll never want to do it again. So if you notice an absolutely off-putting earthy or dank odor, it could be mold spores.
• Water damage: Where there’s water, there’s mold. If you notice some water damage anywhere in the home, it could also indicate the presence of mold. This is compounded if the source of the damage hasn’t been addressed, like a persistent leak.
• Cracked paint and warped walls: These are both indicators of severe water damage, so if you spot cracked paint and warped walls, there’s probably a leak somewhere behind those walls. The leak is likely accompanied by its partner in crime, mold.

DIY mold testing kits are budget-friendly, at around $40, but aren’t exactly reliable. These kits can alert you to the presence of mold, but not the type of mold and not the severity of the issue. It’s for this reason that the EPA recommends a professional inspection if you suspect the presence of mold in your home.

Professionals are well-versed in mold and all of its various permutations, so they’ll bring out the heavy-duty testing kits and let you know where the mold is, how much there is and the type of mold present. It’s also in your best interest to avoid the parts of your home you suspect are covered in mold until you know the toxicity level, and a DIY inspection forces you right into the lion’s den.

However, just because DIY inspections are more or less off the table, there are plenty of DIY-friendly preventative tasks. Try installing a new drainage system to direct water away from the home, patching up obvious leaks, repairing rotted wood and replacing bathroom insulation, as a start.

To arrive at the average costs in this article, we surveyed four local and national cost databases. All averaged figures were correct at the time of publication and may be subject to change.