Mold remediation in the Midwest, proven by the lab

Killing mold isn’t removing it

Most mold jobs in the Midwest follow the same script: find the visible growth, spray it with bleach or a biocide, maybe fog the house, and paint over the stain. That kills a lot of mold. It doesn’t remove what the mold left behind.

Some indoor molds produce mycotoxins, stable chemical compounds that cling to dust, drywall, framing and belongings. They aren’t alive, so there’s nothing to kill. Dead mold also breaks into tiny fragments that still carry those toxins. A house can pass a basic spore count and still hold a load of contaminated dust in the carpet, the ductwork and the wall cavities.

That’s why we build every project around mycotoxins, not just visible mold. We test for them, we remove the dust and materials they ride on, we break down what remains, and we test again before we call the job finished.

How a Midwest project runs, start to finish

Every project in the region follows the same order, whether it’s a finished basement in Hendricks County or a crawlspace across the state line. The steps don’t change. What changes is where we look first, and that comes from knowing how houses in this part of the country tend to fail.

1. Test. Air samples, settled-dust samples and, where it matters, a mycotoxin panel. Moisture readings show where water is getting in. Lab results come back in 24 to 48 hours.
2. Scope. You get a written plan and price before anything is removed. It lists what comes out, what gets cleaned, and what we expect the clearance test to show.
3. Fix the water. Mold comes back if the moisture does. We identify the leak, the drainage problem or the humidity source and make sure it’s corrected.
4. Contain and remove. Sealed barriers and negative air keep contaminated dust out of clean rooms. Porous materials that can’t be saved are bagged and taken out.
5. Break down the toxins. We treat framing, subfloors and cavities with plant-based enzyme products made to break mycotoxins apart. We use products from US Enzyme.
6. Clean the air and dust. HEPA vacuuming, detailed wiping and air scrubbing capture the fine particles toxins travel on. Ductwork gets cleaned when testing points to it.
7. Prove it. Clearance testing confirms the result. You keep the full lab report.

The full method, with more detail on each step, is on our AME Clearance Method page.

Indiana first, and the states around it

Our office is at 137 Production Dr in Avon, in Hendricks County on the west side of Indianapolis. Most of our work is in central Indiana: the Indianapolis metro, Hamilton County suburbs like Carmel and Fishers, and towns south and west of the city. We also travel regularly to Fort Wayne, South Bend, Evansville, Bloomington and Lafayette.

Beyond Indiana, we take projects in the cities that are a reasonable drive from Avon: Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus in Ohio, Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky, Champaign and the Chicago suburbs in Illinois, and Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo in Michigan. Travel is written into the scope, so you see it before you agree to anything. For projects farther away, we also work nationwide.

Where we find mold in Midwest homes

After enough years in these houses, patterns show up. These are the places we check first:

• Basements. Foundation walls and slabs stay cool and damp. In finished basements, drywall, carpet pad and bottom plates hide growth until someone notices a smell.
• Crawlspaces. Bare dirt floors, missing or torn vapor barriers and poor ventilation keep wood framing damp for months at a time.
• Attics. Warm, moist air from bathrooms and kitchens leaks upward in winter and condenses on the underside of the roof deck.
• HVAC systems. Air handlers and ducts in basements and crawlspaces pull in damp air and spread contaminated dust through the whole house.
• Exterior walls and windows. Condensation on cold glass and wall surfaces during long winters feeds growth on sills, in closets and behind furniture.

How the seasons change what we look for

Midwest mold problems follow the calendar. In spring, heavy rain and snowmelt test sump pumps, gutters and grading, and basement calls pick up. Summer brings long stretches of humid air that condense on anything cooler than the room, from basement walls to supply ducts. In fall, outdoor mold counts can run high, which is one reason we always take an outdoor air sample to compare against the indoor results. Winter closes the house up. Windows sweat, attics collect frost, and whatever is growing indoors has less fresh air diluting it.

None of that means you should wait for a particular season to test. It means we read the results with the season in mind, so a number taken in August isn’t judged the same way as one taken in January.

Choosing a mold company when the state doesn’t check

Indiana doesn’t license mold remediators or inspectors, so anyone can advertise mold removal. Rules differ from state to state across the region, which makes the credentials a company chooses to hold, and whether it tests its own work, the most useful signals you have.

We’re an IICRC Certified Firm, our team holds CMR, CRMI and CCMI credentials, and we’re members of NAMRI, IAQA, NORMI, AMMA and PMII. We’re BBB A+ accredited. Attorneys bring us into legal cases involving mold and mycotoxins, which means our reports are written to hold up when someone else reads them closely.

Whoever you hire, ask three questions: what testing do you do before and after, do you test for mycotoxins, and is clearance testing included in the price? Our guide to choosing a mold remediator has more.

When someone in the house is sick

Many of the families who call us have already spent months trying to figure out why they feel worse at home. Often a doctor has suggested the house could be part of the problem. For those families, a standard mold job isn’t enough. We plan the work around the most sensitive person in the home, test for mycotoxins as well as mold, and with your permission share the results and our plan with your doctor.

We remove mold and mycotoxins from buildings. We don’t diagnose or treat medical conditions. If you have symptoms, please work with a doctor. With your permission, we’re glad to share test results and our plan with them.