How to tell if mold is hiding after a roof leak
When water gets behind walls or under floors after a leak, invisible mold can trigger unexplained health symptoms like lingering coughs without any visible growth to confirm it. Professional inspections are prohibitively expensive and often viewed with skepticism, leaving homeowners paralyzed between the high cost of tearing up their house and the fear of ignoring a hidden hazard.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using damp rid air freshener bags and dehumidifiers in the basement
- 2Running fans and checking humidity levels
- 3Checking the underside of the subfloor and joists from a crawlspace
- 4Having an inspector take air samples
- 5Hiring an independent mold testing company that does not sell remediation services to take baseline and indoor samples
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m worried that all that subfloor is moldy under my hardwoods and needs replacing but it would be a big decision to start ripping everything up when I don’t know.”source ↗
“I’m not sure it’s all from the bathroom, I’m worried about humidity in crawlspace, there is a moisture barrier under the house now but there wasn’t one for about 20 years before I moved in.”source ↗
“I’m not sure if that is sufficient or not with all the info about dangers of mold now.”source ↗
“My fiance has started getting a cough lasting for over 2 weeks. He is not sick. I’m terrified it’s a mold cough from mold, but I don’t see any visible mold.”source ↗
“I feel like getting a mold inspection would give me peace of mind, but I have heard they are scams. I also truly cannot afford it right now, but of course would get one if I needed to.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 8How to clean mold on furniture after rain gets inside
- 7Is the black stuff in my air conditioner mold or dust?
- 8How to clean mold under water damaged flooring without DIY experience
- 2Why is condensation causing mold and ruining my appliances?
- 13How to find where a roof leak is actually coming from
- 15Water dripping from electrical switches behind walls