Black Mold Testing in Spokane

What people mean by black mold

When someone says black mold they usually mean Stachybotrys chartarum. It is a real organism with a specific habit: it needs material that stays wet for a long time, usually the paper face of drywall, ceiling tile, or wood. That is why it tends to show up after slow leaks that went unnoticed for weeks, not after a spill that was mopped up the same day.

The problem is that plenty of other molds are dark too. Cladosporium, Alternaria, and Aspergillus niger can all look black or dark green on a wall. Some of them are among the most common molds in outdoor air. A dark stain tells you something grew there. It does not tell you what.

Why color does not answer the question

No one can identify mold by looking at it, including us. Identification happens under a microscope at an accredited lab. What we can do on site is find the moisture that fed it, measure how far that moisture reaches, and collect samples that let the lab give you a real answer.

How we test for it

The inspection starts with the visible growth and the water that caused it. We use moisture meters to map how far the wet area extends behind the surface, because the stain you can see is often smaller than the damage you cannot.

Where growth is visible, a tape lift or swab goes to the lab to identify it directly. We also take air samples inside with an outdoor control for comparison. This matters for Stachybotrys specifically: its spores are heavy and sticky and do not stay airborne well, so a low air count does not clear a wall with active growth on it. Surface sampling and air sampling answer different questions, and you usually want both.

You get a written report with photos, moisture readings, the lab results, and what they mean for your house. If you want to know how to read the numbers yourself, here is how a mold lab report works.

What the results tell you

Finding Stachybotrys means a long-term water problem, full stop. The fix is the same as for any indoor growth: stop the water, remove the damaged material properly, and verify afterward. There are no federal exposure limits for mold, so the useful comparison is indoor against outdoor and room against room, not a single number on a chart.

Where we find it in Spokane homes

Basements after spring snowmelt, behind washing machines, under kitchen and bathroom sinks, and on bathroom ceilings where the exhaust fan is weak and winter showers put a lot of moisture into a cold room. Finished basements with carpet over slab are another common spot, because the carpet pad holds water and hides it.

Why it matters who tests

A company that sells remediation has a reason to find black mold. We do not remediate, we take no referral fees, and we have nothing to sell you after the report. If the result is ordinary outdoor mold on a cold window, that is what the report says.

Frequently asked questions

Is black mold more dangerous than other mold? Public health agencies, including the CDC, advise treating any indoor mold growth the same way regardless of species: find the moisture, fix it, and remove the growth. Color and species do not change that plan.

Can I test it myself with a kit? Home kits can grow something from almost any room, because mold spores are in outdoor air everywhere. Without an outdoor comparison and a lab count, the result rarely answers the question you actually have.

If the air test is low, is the wall fine? Not necessarily. Stachybotrys spores are heavy and do not stay airborne well, so active growth can sit behind a low air count. That is why visible growth gets a surface sample too.

Will you remove it? No. We test only and never perform remediation. We can point you to what the scope of work should include and test afterward to confirm the job was done.