Mold Inspection & Air-Quality Testing

A mould inspection has one job: find the water. Mould grows where moisture stays, so an inspector looks for the leak, condensation or damp foundation that feeds it, then maps how far the growth has spread behind finishes.

Health Canada sizes mould by area. Small is one to three patches, each less than 1 m² (10 square feet). Medium is more than three patches, or patches greater than 1 m² but less than 3 m² (32 square feet). Extensive is a patch larger than 3 m². Health Canada says you can generally clean small and medium areas yourself, and recommends that a qualified professional assess and clean up large areas.

Mould remediation is not regulated as its own trade in Ontario. We found no Ontario statute or regulation that licenses mould inspectors or sets indoor mould limits, so a report is only as good as the person who wrote it. Ask what the inspection includes, whether air samples are part of it and what they will tell you, and whether the report names the moisture source.

We found too few published Ottawa prices for mould inspections to quote a range. Get the price, what is included and the report format in writing before the visit.