Chattanooga Mold Removal Co. works the Tennessee River valley and North Georgia on one principle: find the surface that sits below the dew point of the air touching it. Every free inspection produces surface temperature, dew point, and moisture readings before a scope is written.
Why we measure temperature, not just moisture
A moisture meter tells you a material is wet. It does not tell you why, and in this valley the why is frequently that the surface is cold rather than that something leaked. Comparing surface temperature to the dew point of the surrounding air answers the question a meter alone leaves open — and it is predictive, identifying the wall that will grow something next winter before it has.
The sentence we put in every scope
One line naming the water source. “Growth on the north bedroom wall is condensation-driven; wall surface measured below dew point during the inspection” is a diagnosis. “Remove and treat affected drywall” is a labor description. Only the first tells you what happens next February, and we would rather be judged on that sentence than on a price.
Why our number is sometimes small
Because condensation has cheap corrections and a real share of what we find is condensation. A bath fan run to the outside instead of into the attic. Air circulation into a closed north-facing closet. A spare room kept within a few degrees of the rest of the house. These cost hundreds, and where they are the answer, a containment setup is the wrong thing done competently. A company that only sells remediation will always find remediation.
What the readings protect you from
Mold is a market with a wide honesty spread, because it trades on alarm and the customer usually cannot verify the diagnosis. Numbers close that gap. A dated surface temperature, a dew point, and a moisture content are things you can hold, take to another company, and use to compare bids that would otherwise be incomparable. We hand them over whether or not you hire us, including when they say you do not need us.
On credentials, plainly
Neither Tennessee nor Georgia issues a mold-specific contractor license, so nobody in this market can point to a state credential and be done. What we can do is name the written standard we work to — IICRC S520 — put it in the scope, and produce readings on request. Ask any company here for those two things, us included. The answer is more informative than a logo.
Who we call when it is not our job
A dispute, a real estate transaction, or a physician-raised health concern gets an independent hygienist, not us testing our own work — the party defining the problem should not be the party billing for the solution. A defined roof leak gets a roofer before we quote anything. And a suspected plumbing failure gets a leak test first, because a covered cause found early changes both the scope and who pays.
What we won’t recommend
- Remediation with no water source named. Then it is scheduled to happen again.
- Testing to decide whether to remove visible growth. The removal is identical either way.
- Attic ventilation before air sealing. It can pull more humid air up out of the house.
- Sealing a crawl space that is still taking water. Source first, then remediate, then seal.
- Alarm as a substitute for a scope. If the proposal leans on the word “black,” read the line items.
Get a free Chattanooga mold inspection
Tell us what you are seeing or smelling — dark spots on a cold exterior wall, a musty smell in one room, condensation on a window frame that never dries, staining in a closet on the north side. The visit includes surface temperature readings and a trip under the house. You will hear back before the end of the next business day.