A mold inspector at the door? Ask these questions before you hire.

Before anyone opens a wall, a few checks will tell you a lot about a company. We do not rank or rate mold firms, so what follows is a way to judge any of them yourself, including any company that calls you if you ask through this site.

Do you need a company at all?

Not always. The EPA cleanup page says a moldy area under about 10 square feet is work many people can handle themselves once the leak is fixed. The first-step guide covers that limit.

A company starts to make sense when the patch is larger, the water was sewage or outdoor flood water, the wall stayed wet through a weekend, or you cannot find the moisture. Ask for a written price before work starts.

Who is allowed to do the work

Licensing is local. Texas requires a TDLR mold assessment or remediation license for most indoor mold work, with a 25 square foot exemption and a consumer information sheet before work starts. Louisiana requires a mold remediation license when the job is more than $7,500. North Carolina and Alabama do not issue a statewide mold license. They still license general or home-builder work above a dollar threshold.

A trade certification is separate from a license. The IICRC Global Locator lets you look up firms that hold IICRC certifications. A listing there is not a ranking, and it is not a substitute for the license your state asks for.

Questions to ask before they start

Ask these on the first call or at the door, and ask for the answers in writing.

• What license do you hold here, and what is the license number?
• Who will be in the house, and will that person be an employee or a subcontractor?
• What type of water do you think this is, and what does that change about the work?
• Which rooms, finishes, and how many square feet are in the written scope?
• What will you remove, and what will you try to clean in place?
• How will you measure moisture, and when will you take the equipment out?
• What is the total price, what does it include, and who pays if the insurer pays less?
• Will you pull any building or trade permit this city requires?

Red flags

Each of these points back to a source, not to a review of a named company.

• They start tear-out before you have a written scope. The EPA mold guide says to fix the water problem and clean mold before you cover anything up. Starting demolition without a plan skips that order. EPA mold guide
• They say your insurer has already approved a number, but they will not show you the approval. Coverage is the insurer's decision. The Texas Department of Insurance describes what a home policy often covers. It does not give a crew the right to speak for the insurer. TDI mold coverage
• They treat sewage or outdoor flood water like a clean supply leak. The CDC says to throw away porous items that stayed wet with flood water and to remove drywall contaminated with sewage or floodwater. CDC cleanup page
• They will not give a business address or a license number you can check with the city or the state.
• They ask you to pay the full job in cash before containment starts, with no written receipt.

What a first visit should look like

A careful company walks the moisture line, asks when it started, and uses a moisture meter on the wall and the pad. They should tell you what containment they would set tonight and what they would leave until morning. How soon mold can start is the reason that first night matters.

If you are in Lake Charles, ask for the Louisiana mold-remediation license number on jobs of more than $7,500. In Beaumont, ask for the TDLR number.