Blog
Straight talk about mold in South Florida.
Practical, honest guides from a licensed, independent mold assessment team, written for homeowners, not for contractors.
What you will find here
Safe Haven Inspections is a small, family-operated mold assessment company working across Martin, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties. Landon Heinrichs founded it after 14 years in the field, most of them on the remediation side, cleaning up the problems these articles are about. That background is why the guides here go further than most: he has seen what happens when a moisture problem gets papered over instead of found and fixed.
Everything is written for homeowners, renters, buyers, and property managers rather than for contractors. Expect plain explanations of what mold testing can and cannot tell you, how South Florida humidity and storm season change the picture, what a laboratory report actually means once it lands in your inbox, and when a problem is small enough to handle yourself.
One thing worth stating up front: Safe Haven inspects and tests only, and never performs remediation. The company assessing your property has no financial stake in how large the cleanup turns out to be. If you want the detail behind that, start with what a mold inspection covers, or see the cities we serve.
Hurricane Mold Prevention Tips
Lost power after a storm? Five practical ways to stop mold before it starts: air flow, cleanliness, humidity, water damage, and what to do before you evacuate.
Read moreDo Mold Test Kits Work?
Home mold test kits almost always find mold, because every house has mold spores in the air. Here is what a petri dish can tell you, what it cannot, and what to do instead.
Read moreAsbestos Test Kits: What They Get Right, and the Part They Cannot Mail You
Mail-in asbestos kits use real accredited labs, so the analysis is usually fine. The risk is in the scraping. Here is why collecting the sample is the hazardous half.
Read moreDoes Homeowners Insurance Cover Mold in Florida?
Usually yes, if the water was sudden and accidental, and usually no if it was slow. Here is how Florida carriers actually decide a mold claim, and what changes the answer.
Read moreWhat Black Mold Actually Is, and What It Isn't
Color tells you almost nothing about mold. Here is what Stachybotrys really is, why the black mold panic outran the evidence, and when species identification genuinely matters.
Read moreMusty Smell but No Visible Mold? Start Here
That smell is not your imagination and it is not just old-house smell. Here is what actually produces it, the places it hides in a Florida home, and how to find it without opening walls.
Read moreThe First 48 Hours After a Water Leak
Mold colonizes wet material in about 24 to 48 hours in South Florida. Here is what to do in that window, in order, and the two mistakes that cost people the most.
Read moreLeaving a Florida House Empty for the Summer
The thermostat setting that saves money is the one that grows mold. What to actually do with the AC, the water, and the house before you head north for the season.
Read more