Top Mold Inspection & Testing Company in Cottonwood Heights

What an inspection looks at in a Cottonwood Heights home

We start where water goes. On the bench, that means the uphill side of the foundation, window wells, the floor under kitchens and bathrooms, the furnace and water heater room, and any basement wall that backs onto a sloped yard. A moisture meter checks drywall and framing, and a thermal camera finds cool, damp patches the eye misses.

Thermal imaging does not see mold. It shows temperature differences that often point to moisture. We confirm what the camera suggests with a meter reading before we call anything wet, which keeps the report honest.

Your written report lists each area we checked, the moisture readings, photos of anything we flagged and, when we took samples, what the lab found. It also says what we think is causing the moisture and what we would do about it. If the house is dry and clean, the report says that too, which is useful paperwork to keep with a Cottonwood Heights home you plan to sell someday.

When lab testing helps, and when it does not

The EPA notes that when mold is visible, sampling is usually unnecessary, and that there are no federal mold limits to test against. We agree. If we can see the growth and its cause, a lab result adds cost without adding much. Testing earns its place in other situations:

• A musty smell with no visible growth anywhere in the house
• A buyer or seller who wants documentation during a sale
• Checking that an area was properly cleaned after removal
• Chronic symptoms a physician cannot explain, where the doctor has suggested looking at the home

Samples go to an outside lab for analysis, and we explain the results in plain language in your written report.

Housing age and what it means for testing

Census estimates give Cottonwood Heights a median year built of 1978, and NeighborhoodScout's breakdown puts about six in ten homes between 1970 and 1999. Fewer than one percent predate 1940. That puts most houses here at the age when original plumbing, water heater pans, window seals and basement finishes start to wear. Few of those failures are dramatic. Most are slow, which is exactly why an inspection turns up things a homeowner never noticed.

The earliest subdivisions, including Greenfield Village and Steffensen Heights, date from the mid-1950s. Those homes have had more time and more remodels, and the seams between old and new work are a common place to find moisture.

Inspections across every part of the city

Cottonwood Heights spans four ZIP codes, so your mailing address may say Salt Lake City, Midvale or Sandy. We inspect homes throughout 84121, 84047, 84093 and 84092, from the streets off Fort Union Boulevard to the neighborhoods around Brighton High School and up toward Wasatch Boulevard and the canyon roads.

Before we arrive, it helps to clear a path to the furnace room, the water heater and any basement storage stacked against exterior walls. Note when you first noticed a smell or stain and whether it changes with the seasons. In this city, a smell that peaks during spring runoff tells us something different from one that shows up in the middle of a dry July.