Q – I think I have black mold in the wall between my bathroom and the kitchen.  I used a mold detection kit I got from the hardware store and it tested positive for mold.

Should I move out of the house?

Samantha in Stone Mountain

A – Whoa there ma’am. 

First of all let’s look at the info you provided.

You think you have black mold in the wall.  How would you know that?  You bought a mold detection kit at the hardware store and it tested positive.

Here is a tidbit of useful info.

Every mold test sold at the hardware store worth its weight in petri dishes should test positive for mold.

Every time.

Mold is always in the air, no matter how clean you think your house is, unless you are living in a hermetically sealed lab.  It is everywhere.  Fact of life.

So you can kind of throw that out the window (there is mold in the air outside too).

Now I am not trying to make light of what could be a serious situation, just trying to calm you a bit.

If you want a better look at what is in the wall between your bathroom and your kitchen, put on a cloth respirator and knock a hole in the wall between your bathroom and your kitchen.

Think of it this way – if you do have black mold they will knock a huge hole in that wall to aid in the clean-up, so you aren’t doing anything that won’t be done anyway.  If you don’t have it, a hole, even a big hole in drywall is an easy fix.

But you really should call in a mold expert.  They will give you better readings and have better solutions.  Some of the better mold guys can even do the repairs themselves, which is nice – they can get started immediately.

A really good mold guy won’t stop there.  They will tell you why you have mold issues, no matter what kind of mold they find.  That is the real key to getting your problem fixed.

Fixing the after-math of the problem without fixing what caused the problem is as good as doing nothing at all.

I wouldn’t wait around to get the procedure started though.  A serious mold issue can be dangerous.

Should you move out?  If it helps your mental well-being go to a hotel until the mold guy shows up and gives you a real evaluation.