Twelve Questions to Ask a Mold Company Before You Hire Them

By John Calhoun, owner of Mold Remediation Gettysburg PA · Updated October 20, 2026

Here’s how to tell, in about fifteen minutes at the kitchen table, whether a mold company knows its business. Ask these twelve questions during the estimate visit and listen to how they’re answered. The right company gives straight answers and is willing to write them into the quote. Print this page if you like. Nobody good will mind.

Who you are

1. What’s your Pennsylvania HIC registration number? Contractors doing $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must register with the Attorney General, and the number belongs on their estimates and contracts. Look it up on the AG’s HIC registration search.

2. Can I see your certificate of insurance? The state law requires at least $50,000 of bodily injury and $50,000 of property damage liability coverage. Check that the business name matches.

3. What training does your crew have? Pennsylvania has no mold license, so credentials like IICRC or ACAC certification are voluntary. They’re a good sign, not a guarantee. More in does PA require a mold remediation license.

What you found

4. Where is the water coming from? The answer you want names a source: a drain line, a window, a downspout, condensation on a cold wall. “Humidity” with no explanation isn’t an answer. The EPA’s core advice is that the key to mold control is moisture control.

5. How far does it go, and how do you know? Ask whether they used a moisture meter, checked behind the surface, or opened anything up. Readings on paper beat a guess.

How you’ll do it

6. Will you remove the growth, or spray it? You want physical removal of moldy porous material and cleaning of the rest. Spraying alone kills mold without removing it.

7. Do you use ozone or foggers? The EPA says ozone at levels that meet public health standards doesn’t effectively remove mold, and no federal agency has approved ozone generators for occupied spaces.

8. How will you contain the area? Plastic, an air scrubber, sealed vents, bagged debris. The setup is in plastic walls and air scrubbers.

9. My house is old. Are you lead-safe certified? In Gettysburg borough, Census figures show about 87% of homes were built before 1980. The EPA requires firms paid to disturb paint in pre-1978 housing, beyond small amounts, to be certified.

10. Does this need a permit, and who pulls it? Gettysburg Borough requires a land use permit for projects in town, and the historic district reviews exterior changes. The contract should say who’s responsible.

How you’ll prove it and get paid

11. How will you check the work before it’s closed up? Look for moisture readings against dry reference material, a visual check, and testing only when there’s a reason for it. See how to know a mold job is actually finished.

12. What deposit do you need, and is everything in writing? Pennsylvania limits deposits on jobs over $1,000 to one-third of the price, apart from special-order materials, and requires a written contract over $500 with a 3-day right to cancel. This isn’t legal advice; the Attorney General’s office has the details.

Answers that should make you pause

• “We don’t need to find the source. We’ll treat it.”
• “You need air testing” when the mold is plainly visible.
• “Sign today and I’ll knock off 20%.”
• “Insurance? Don’t worry about that.”
• “You need a new HVAC system and a whole-house dehumidifier” before anyone has named the moisture source.

The longer list is in warning signs to look for before you sign.

Ask me the same twelve

I’m John Calhoun, and I’d rather earn the job by answering these than by talking fast. When I walk a basement, the first thing I want to know is the same as question 4. You can read how I handle mold remediation, or start with the overview of mold remediation in Gettysburg, PA. Then hand me the list.