If you live in Fort Myers or anywhere in Southwest Florida, you have likely seen the ads: “Free Mold Inspection! We check your home at no cost to you.”
It sounds like a great deal. Why pay for a professional mold assessment when a local company will come out and do it for free? But as many Lee County homeowners have discovered the hard way, “free” is often the most expensive word in the remediation industry.
At Florida Mold Consultants, we believe in total transparency. Here is the uncomfortable truth about free mold inspections, and why paying for an unbiased assessment is the only way to protect your wallet and your health.
The Conflict of Interest: Why “Free” Isn’t Free
Think about it: How can a business afford to send a technician, a truck, and equipment to your home for $0? The answer is simple. They are not there to inspect; they are there to sell.
Most companies offering “free inspections” are actually Mold Remediation (cleaning) companies. Their business model relies on finding mold so they can charge you thousands of dollars to remove it. This creates a massive Conflict of Interest.
- If they don’t find mold, they lose money on the trip.
- If they “find” mold (even if it’s just harmless dust or humidity stains), they generate a huge invoice.
This is why Florida Law has stepped in to protect consumers.
Florida Law: Assessment vs. Remediation
Did you know that under Florida Statutes Chapter 468, the state recognizes that this conflict is dangerous? The law typically prohibits the same company from performing both the Mold Assessment (testing) and the Mold Remediation (cleaning) on the same project within a 12-month period.
The state wants to ensure that the person telling you “you have a problem” isn’t the same person who gets paid to “fix the problem.”
What We Do Differently (The Consultant’s Role)
When you hire Florida Mold Consultants, you are paying for unbiased answers, not a sales pitch. Because we do not perform remediation, we have zero incentive to “find” mold that isn’t there.
A paid, professional inspection includes:
- Moisture Mapping: Using thermal cameras and moisture meters to find hidden water sources behind drywall.
- Air Quality Sampling: Collecting air samples to send to an independent, certified laboratory.
- The Protocol: If we do find mold, we write a legal “Scope of Work” (Protocol). You can hand this document to any remediator and say, “Do exactly this, and nothing more.”
The Hidden Cost of Free Inspections
We often see homeowners who accepted a free inspection and ended up with a $15,000 quote to “gut the house” for a problem that could have been solved with a $500 dehumidifier and a deep clean.
By skipping the professional assessment, they had no baseline data. They had no lab reports to prove what kind of mold it was (Toxic Black Mold vs. Common Cladosporium). They simply had to trust the salesperson.
Don’t Guess. Test.
Whether you are buying a new home in Cape Coral, renovating after a storm, or just smell something musty in your condo, get the truth first.
An independent inspection is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that you aren’t being scammed. Protect your investment with data, not sales tactics.
Need an Unbiased Opinion?
If you suspect mold in your Fort Myers or Naples home, call Florida Mold Consultants today at 1-800-352-6653. We don’t clean mold—we just tell you the truth about it.