Mold Dog Inspection Case Studies

These clients had a sick toddler and they were concerned about mold. We inspected the baby's room and Bagel signaled that there was mold near the window. Mold is often found around windows and that's where we assumed it was. Their remediator opened that area of the wall but saw no visible mold. The client called and had us back. When we went back, Bagel again signaled mold near the window. However, this time, with the wall removed, we were able to see a pipe running vertically the length of the wall. We asked the clients what the pipe was but they didn't know. After some research, they learned it was a pipe that was from an old HVAC unit that they were no longer using. They removed the pipe and the old HVAC unit and their toddler is back in her room and her health is improving.

Bagel indicated mold in a client's bathroom. They opened the area up, but didn't immediately see anything. We worked with the client and gave suggestions and even reached out to a colleague to inquire about the potential for cellulose insulation to mold (it can). The client ultimately reached out and told us they'd found the mold. It was in the cellulose that had been under the lip of the tub. The client said she wouldn't have kept looking if it had not been for Bagel's indicating mold in that area. 

We inspected a closet that had been remodeled about 12 years ago. The husband had remodeled it himself and was confident there was no mold so he said we could skip it (we didn't of course). When Bagel signaled that there was mold in the closet, the husband was sure she had made a mistake. We went out into the living room, where other side of that closet wall was, and when Bagel signaled in the same spot on the other side of the wall, the husband admitted she must have been right. 

A client with an add-on had a single step down into the add-on. Bagel signaled mold at that step, but there was no obvious reason for there to be mold in that location. Regardless, we told the client the results and that they should investigate that area. They reached out to us a few weeks later to let us know that when the remediator removed the step, they discovered an uncapped pipe that had been leaking, along with a mold problem. 

We inspected a home that had been previously remediated for mold. When we inspected, Bagel signaled to mold in both previously remediated locations, as well as some new ones. One was at a window that had a sofa beneath it. Bagel signaling for mold under a window is not an unusual place to find mold, but because there was a sofa there, we wanted to be certain. We moved the sofa into another room and reinspected the window, but Bagel cleared it for mold. We went to the sofa and inspected it, and she signaled that the mold was in the sofa, not the wall. It was much easier for them to get rid of the sofa instead of opening the wall. 

In a client's bedroom, Bagel signaled for mold in many places, but we (and the homeowner) were a little confused because they didn't seem to be high-risk areas. With some additional digging, we pulled out a drawer from the wooden bed frame and discovered mold in the wooden frame of the bed. It turned out that that was one piece of a bedroom set, all of which had mold, and accounted for the unusual locations. One additional piece, located downstairs, was also found to have mold. Not only can the soft areas of furniture have mold from moisture, but the framing inside can also be moldy, due to moldy lumber and / or factories.