Mold Inspection in Los Angeles, CA

Because Los Angeles is dry most of the year, mold inside a home is a clue to water, and most of that water is hidden. About 70% of the city's homes were built before 1980 (Census ACS), so many still have original plumbing or decades-old roofs.

What a Los Angeles inspector looks at

Plumbing walls. Thermal imaging and a meter on the walls behind the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the laundry find seepage from old galvanized or copper lines before it reaches the paint.

Slab floors. In Valley homes built on slabs, readings along baseboards and through the flooring show whether water is coming up from below. If it is, the inspector usually recommends a leak-detection plumber to find the line.

Crawl spaces. Under raised-foundation houses in Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and Echo Park, the inspector checks the drain lines, the joists, and whether the ground stays wet after watering or rain.

The roof line. After winter storms: stains in the attic, wet insulation, and window frames on the side the rain came from.

Times to book

• A musty closet or bathroom with nothing visible; see what a musty smell means.
• A water bill that jumped for no clear reason, or a warm patch on a slab floor.
• After a storm leaked through the roof or a window and the area stayed wet.
• Before buying a house that still has its original plumbing.

Choosing an inspector in California

California sets standards of practice for home inspectors but does not license them, and it has no mold inspector license either. That leaves the checking to you: ask for training such as ACAC or IICRC certification, proof of insurance, and a sample report, and ask whether the firm also sells remediation. An inspector with no removal work to sell has no reason to stretch the findings.

Cost

Angi's national figures put a mold inspection at about $300 to $1,000; a crawl space, a large house, or lab samples move it toward the top. Leak detection by a plumber is a separate charge. For lab work, see mold testing in Los Angeles, and for the cleanup, mold remediation in Los Angeles.

Booking

Mention the foundation type, the age of the plumbing if you know it, and where the problem shows. The local company on the line quotes the visit before anything is scheduled.

California licenses neither mold inspectors nor home inspectors. Ask a Los Angeles inspector for training, insurance, a sample report, and whether the company also does remediation.