“Working with EnviroPure was excellent. They were professional, personal, and thorough They listened carefully to our needs and goals for optimal health of our home so that we can all start feeling better. I highly recommend them.”
A lab names the genus behind a dark stain, and the same lab checks the house again after treatment.
We provide black mold removal in Falls Church, VA for dark growth on drywall, grout, wood and basement ceilings. The Fairfax County Health Department says it "does not perform indoor air testing or remediation for mold," and its advice when mold appears is to "have it removed professionally."
We are licensed to use the patented VaPURE process from Pure Maintenance, and mold is all we do. The first step is a free consultation. If you can see mold, a free visual inspection and an estimate follow; if you can't but something still seems wrong, air quality testing through a third-party lab measures what is in the air. How the treatment works is on our mold remediation page.
5.0/5 stars on Google. Every review here is quoted word for word from Google. Read them all on our reviews page.
“Working with EnviroPure was excellent. They were professional, personal, and thorough They listened carefully to our needs and goals for optimal health of our home so that we can all start feeling better. I highly recommend them.”
“This review is long overdue. I discovered mold in a closet in a basement room this past fall. I reached out to several different services for quotes. Ron was very responsive and provided a fair quote. Working with him and his team was fantastic. Ron got my home onto his schedule quickly so that I could accommodate guests for the holidays. He also helped me resolve the cause of the mold, as opposed to just mitigating a problem that would return. He was not only incredibly professional, he was also kind. I wholeheartedly recommend EnviroPure to resolve any mold issue!”
“Very professional! They will explain things to you and they offer free estimates! Most likely will save you lots of money, it’s definitely worth checking them out!”
“Ron and his son did a fantastic job, working around schedules and price was unbeatable value. Thank YOU.”
“Working with Enviropure was a great experience. Ron explained the mold removal process in detail. Jake arrived at the appointed time and the house felt refreshed and clean after the service. I would highly recommend this company.”
“After discovering I had mold throughout my house I contacted EnviroPure. Prior to the treatment Ronald Payne (owner) came to my home & thoroughly explained the entire process of the mold removal dry fog vapor treatment. He was professional & personable. I chose EnviroPure over several other companies. Ronald & Jake Payne did a thorough job removing the mold from my home. I left home for 6 hours as requested & upon my return I could tell that the air was cleaner & fresher with a slight vinegar aroma which dissipated. I just referred a family member & a friend for their services.”
"Black mold" is what most people call any dark growth. Plenty of molds look black or nearly black on drywall, caulk and wood, and color alone can't separate them, by flashlight or in a photo.
A tape lift from the stain or an air sample from the room goes to an accredited lab, which identifies the genus and counts the spores. That is the only way to put a name to what is growing, and it is worth doing when a landlord, a buyer or an insurer wants more than a description.
For questions about symptoms, the county refers residents to material from the EPA, the CDC and the Virginia Department of Health, and your doctor is the other person to ask.
For renters whose landlords won't fix water damage and mold, the county health department points to its Consumer Services Division or the Department of Code Compliance. Which government handles your complaint depends on where you live, though.
Fairfax County has three incorporated towns inside its borders (Clifton, Herndon and Vienna) and two independent cities, Fairfax and Falls Church, and each runs its own government. Many Falls Church mailing addresses, ours included, are in unincorporated Fairfax County. If you rent in one of the towns or cities, ask that government which office takes housing complaints before you file.
Leave the growth as it is until we've seen it. Scrubbing, sanding or spraying it changes what the inspection and any sample can show, and dry scraping can put spores into the room.
Take a photo of each spot, note when you first saw it and whether it has grown, and tell us about any leak, flood or winter condensation in that part of the house, and whether anyone has already tried to clean it. Moisture mapping during the visit picks up from there, because dark growth sits on something that stays damp.
If the growth is in a room you use every day, close the door, keep pets out and keep a fan from blowing across it until the visit.
We start at the spot you called about and work outward. The surface matters: growth on tile, glass or painted metal sits on top, while growth on drywall paper, bare wood or carpet backing has something porous to feed on and hold water in.
Then we take moisture readings around the patch and on the other side of the wall or floor it sits on, and ask about the history of that part of the house: past leaks, a bathroom above, an outside wall that gets the weather. Dark growth that has appeared in more than one room usually shares a cause, such as high indoor humidity, and the readings show whether that is the case. When it is, the fix is ventilation or a dehumidifier as much as treatment.
Dark growth shows up wherever water sits: shower grout, window sills that collect condensation in winter, the drywall under a slow plumbing leak and the joists over a damp crawl space. Each of those has its own moisture source, and the estimate names it along with the trade that fixes it. Closets on outside walls are another, especially behind stored clothes that keep air from reaching the wall.
The treatment doesn't change with the color or the genus. The VaPURE sterilant goes in as a vapor, so it reaches dark growth in grout lines, on joists and inside wall cavities, wherever it is growing. The active component of the sterilant is on the EPA's Safer Chemical Ingredients List.
The water source has to be fixed first, by you or the right trade, because mold comes back wherever moisture keeps arriving. On treatment day the home is empty: people, pets and plants leave, and furniture and electronics generally stay where they are.
The VaPURE sterilant goes in as a vapor and reaches surfaces, wall cavities, HVAC ducting, porous materials and the air. An antimicrobial protectant stage follows, which helps resist new growth once the moisture cause is fixed. Most homes are treated in a single day, and families are back the same evening.
Most homes need no demolition. When a material is too far gone, we say so in the estimate and it comes out. Afterward, air samples go to the same accredited third-party lab, which has no affiliation with EnviroPure.
An accredited lab with no tie to EnviroPure samples the air before treatment and again afterward.
The active component of the sterilant is on the EPA's Safer Chemical Ingredients List.
Pure Maintenance's VaPURE process is patented, and we are a licensed provider of it.
A tape lift answers that. The lab examines what the tape picked up and reports whether mold is present and which genus, so you know what it is before treatment. Moisture readings at the same spot show whether it is still wet. If it turns out to be staining, the readings still tell you whether the leak behind it is active.
The lab report tells you which genus is present and how much is in the air. For symptoms, the Fairfax County Health Department points residents to EPA, CDC and Virginia Department of Health guidance, and your doctor can speak to your situation.
Leave it until the visit. Cleaning changes what the inspection and any sample can show, and once we've seen it you'll know whether it needs treatment at all.
The process is the same whatever the genus. What changes the plan is where the growth sits and what keeps it wet, which is why we map moisture before we quote.
Sills collect condensation in winter, and a little dark growth on paint can be wiped off once it's dry. If it returns within weeks, or the wood under the paint feels soft, the sill and the wall below it are worth moisture readings.
Tell us what you're seeing and where. We'll explain the likely next step and what it would involve, including EnviroPure services, availability and pricing.
Head back to our Falls Church mold remediation team, or browse every service we offer in Falls Church, VA.
Falls Church is home base. The same process and lab testing reach Annandale, Tysons, Oakton and Great Falls, Alexandria and Arlington, and Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac across the river in Maryland. See every area we serve.
Falls Church · McLean · Vienna · Tysons · Great Falls · Oakton · Annandale · Springfield · Fairfax
Alexandria · Old Town Alexandria · Kingstowne · Arlington · Crystal City · Ballston
Bethesda · Potomac · Chevy Chase