Some states require mold removal specialists to be licensed, while others require licensed mold testing companies to create remediation protocols that any contractor can carry out. You can use our state licensing tool to find requirements in your area. In either case, it’s imperative that you hire an experienced professional for mold removal to ensure the safety of your home and your family.
It’s possible to scrub mold off of visible surfaces yourself, but it’s not usually a good idea. Mold is not only a potential health risk, but it’s also difficult to treat in its entirety, especially because it can grow behind walls and in other hidden areas a DIYer might miss. Since mold is a serious and often pervasive issue, you should hire a professional that will remove all of the mold—including any that might be hidden—run industrial air scrubbers to remove airborne particles, and complete mold testing to ensure the underlying problem is solved.
The most effective way to remove mold includes testing affected surfaces and the air for spores, creating a protocol for removal, carrying out the steps within the protocol, running air scrubbers for the recommended amount of time, and then completing a post-remediation round of testing to confirm the issue is solved. Since this work is very involved and there are health risks if done incorrectly, you should always hire an experienced professional to handle mold removal.
The average cost for mold remediation is around $2,200, and most projects fall somewhere between $1,100 and $3,300. Your total will depend on many factors, including the surface area that is affected by mold, the extent of the issue, how much building material your professional needs to replace, whether or not testing is necessary for safety reasons, and existing indoor air quality.
Mold removal will take between one and five days in most cases, but severe mold issues can take several weeks to correct. Your timeline will depend on how much mold there is in your home, where the mold is located, and how much testing and aftercare is required. If you have mold behind your walls or you have an excessive amount of mold that requires removal and running air scrubbers for several days, you could be looking at over a week for the process to be completed.