For over a year, we had an unpleasant mildew smell that occurred whenever we turned on our heater, and then we noticed many areas of visible mold in our apartment and communal areas. With our landlord not willing to address our concern, we were forced to deal with it ourselves. After discussing our matters with the San Francisco Rent Board, the housing committee, and several experts, we were encouraged to have our apartment inspected by a mold professional. After thoroughly screening mold inspection companies on Yelp, we decided to contact Mold Busters. Cheryl answered and provided highly helpful information and recommendations on more than one occasion. Our interactions with Cheryl were professional and filled with detail. Besides her highly qualified credentials, it was apparent her experience and knowledge were comprehensive. read more

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Cheryl is very thorough in her mold inspection. She carefully documents every problematic area with photos and notes. She really knows her stuff and writes up a DETAILED report with her recommendations for remediation. She showed up on time and was very passionate about her work. Highly recommend Cheryl if you suspect a mold issue in your home. read more

I had a great experience with Cheryl / Mold Busters as a tenant whose ceiling fell in (landlord failed to replace the roof before big rains...). Her expertise put me at ease and made a crappy situation feel safer and more manageable. Prompt, professional communication and immediate follow-up. Highly recommend! read more

Cheryl is incredible. To the other person who said she's a national treasure - I fully agree! I've had the benefit of working with her twice now, on two different homes. I've also worked with one other mold inspector at a different company. Cheryl is scientific, extremely knowledgeable, thorough, kind, and professional. I know that each time I work with her, I'm going to come out with a much better understanding of the situation and how to remedy it. My last home required mold remediation; she gave a comprehensive breakdown of her findings and recommendations, and the landlord did as much as they were comfortable doing. Cheryl came back after remediation to test and make sure the home was back down to normal levels. I would jump at the chance to work with Cheryl again, especially above all of the other mold inspectors with whom I've spoken or worked. She's simply the best. Cannot thank her enough for her help. read more

She was not available but was very helpful in guiding me to other reputable inspectors. Can't thank her enough!!

I can't sing enough praises for Cheryl and the Mold Busters. Cheryl is informative, shares her knowledge easily, she's thorough, professional and a pleasure to work with. My mother's condo flooded and we tested for mold before continuing with repairs and renting (this was coming out of our pocket since my mother's insurance didn't cover this ... Ugh). I found Mold Busters via Yelp. I called several other vendors, but after speaking with Cheryl, it was clear I wanted to work with Mold Busters. Luckily there were no signs of mold. In addition to clearly explaining what she was testing, the process, and providing the results, Cheryl helped me out with some great recommendations for flooring and asbestos abatement. The flooding of my mother's condo was a stressful situation, but Cheryl was really helpful and a ray of light. read more

I was going crazy thinking that I would have to tear out sheetrock, live in the garage during remediation, and spend beaucop bucks. . . Until I called Moldbusters!!! Hurrah!!! Cheryl to the rescue! As others have said more eloquently than I, she is professional, personable and willing to teach you what you should have learned reading "Mold 101" on the website. I could go on and on, but others have already stolen my text. What I do want to say is CALL CHERYL. Trust that she will arrive in a normal car, unadorned with anything advertising that you have mold and she will find the problem and help you to solve it. AND Thank you Cheryl! read more

Cheryl has helped me twice with mold issues. House rentals near water tend to have more of a problem. The first house we rented had an odor in the closet but I was able to avoid the area and it was not dangerous. The second time WAS dangerous and the landlord knew there was black mold. It was a battle. We ended up moving quickly and ended up in small claims court. All of Cheryl's information was spot on. She took tests and pictures which told the whole nasty story. I recommended her to someone today and thought I would finally post a review. read more

Cheryl was awesome she was very professional & knowledgeable and a very honest person.She will take care of all your worries.Thanks again Cheryl !!! read more

Who you going to call? Moldbuster! Cheryl is a wonderful professional and individual. She is prompt, helpful and considerate! Yes- i did do my research, she is the best by far. There are a few scam artist who will do inspection and remedaition- thst is not a good thing due to conflict of interest and no such discount. Go with Mold Buster- independent, reliable and prompt! read more

Cheryl at Mold Busters is great. Prior to the inspection, she went into details about the process and what I should expect (e.g. inspection shouldn't happen on a rain day). On the day of the inspection, she arrived promptly and performed the inspection professionally and thoroughly. She also made a few great recommendations on things to watch out for and suggested some general best practices to prevent mold growth in our apartment (e.g. don't put furniture up against an outside wall because it traps moisture). Her final inspection report was thorough and the test results offered me a peace of mind that I don't have mold in our apartment. read more

Amazing business, great customer service and HONEST! They could have had me do a big job with them as I was ready and willing. After looking at my problem and talking with me bout the history of the house we came to a conclusion and gave me next steps where I can take care of myself and next steps for my Roofer to avoid future issues. They did not even charge me a single dime. Thank you! read more

Cheryl is wonderful. When I met her I was in a pretty low place in terms of trust for landlord-hired contractors, but she put me at ease immediately by being overtly respectful of me, my space, and my two scaredy-cats. To summarize a month-long saga, I had reported to my landlord some mold growing in my bathroom, which later proved to be due to a leaky pipe under that wall. He first dismissed the issue, then blamed it on me ("I'm not SAYING you're doing anything wrong, but no one ELSE has this problem..."). Finally, after I pointed out that the surface was mushy to the touch, he hired a general contractor to rip out the wall and ceiling without taking any steps to isolate the rest of the apartment from the mold growing underneath. In addition to this, he sent numerous contractors - with keys in hand - to my place at various points in time without notifying me. In short, by the time Cheryl showed up, I was pretty freaked out about my personal space and safety. Miraculously, she was incredibly respectful from the get-go, noting that she understood how invasive the experience was. She was very knowledgeable and explained everything that needed to be done to the place in detail, without being condescending or dismissive of my many concerns. She was communicative about scheduling, and made an effort to not freak out my cats too much (a lost cause, but I at least appreciate the effort). Additionally, the measures she took to contain and clean the mold were in line with the recommendations I'd read online from the EPA and the CDC. My bathroom was sealed off like something out of a biohazard scene, which was a welcome departure from the previous guy's approach. Cheryl truly was a breath of fresh air in a scenario that was beyond unpleasant. I would recommend her in a heartbeat. My only concern is that, if my cheap-ass landlord hired her, it probably means she isn't charging anything close to what's she's worth. read more

My parents' home is in a damp locale and we've always assumed that the environmental surroundings, along with some minor hoarding type activity, resulted in a mold problem in the house. So we recently had Cheryl from Mold Busters come over to test the house. Shockingly, the report showed that there wasn't a significant mold problem (though it did point to areas of mold intrusion that needed remediation). The report also indicated several areas of concern that weren't mold related, and it was nice to see such a thorough report. Cheryl is a very pleasant, friendly professional. She set my parents' minds at ease about what she was going to do, humored them when they asked numerous questions and went about her work without disturbing anything. There's always a certain level of uncertainty with these kinds of inspections (i.e., we have to trust the accuracy of the reports), but with that assumption in hand I was very pleased and impressed with Cheryl's work. The report she produces after the inspection is both comprehensive and readable for the layman and comes with a conclusion about the results. This last point is pretty important, because I was worried that we'd get a lot of data without a simple, professional, plain English explanation of what it all meant. The inspection is not cheap, but considering that this inspection involved professional equipment and expertise as well as lab testing, it certainly was well worth the price paid. read more

As I began my search for a mold inspection company I quickly found out there's not many reviews of companies in the Bay Area. Of those there are reviews, most all of them are riddled with negative experiences. Luckily, I found Cheryl and Mold Busters on Yelp and was blown away with the disproportionate amount of 5-star reviews. Being north of San Francisco by a good bit, I wasn't sure if she would be willing to make the trek up. I called her on Thursday evening after 5pm. By Friday at 10am we had an appointment set for Saturday morning. When we first spoke she spent 15-20 minutes on the phone just talking about the situation to (presumably) make sure a visit was actually needed. She was very polite and friendly, and obviously knew what she was talking about. Having set the appointment I was already feeling better. Fast forward to the appointment itself, Cheryl called and asked if it would be ok if we moved the appointment back 1 hour, which of course was ok. Instead of not showing up on time she called to make sure I was ok with moving the appointment back a few min. She was at my place for nearly two hours and went through every concern and answered every question I asked, in detail. She visibly inspected my roof, attic, windows, flooring, HVAC system, all rooms, exterior siding and crawl space under the house. She also took several samples to be analyzed by the lab and moisture readings throughout the whole process. Without ripping siding off and tearing down sheetrock (which she would have done if she felt it was necessary) it couldn't have been more thorough. All in all, I'm glad I called Mold Busters. The positive reviews were spot on. It was such a great experience I gave her a bottle of wine from the winery I work at as an extra thank you. Thanks again, Cheryl. read more

I just moved into a new house a few months ago and have since been experiencing sinus and respiratory issues/coughing way more than normal. I had a suspicion that there may be mold/mildew within the walls or ventilation of the house. After sifting through a few mold inspector reviews and rates, I called Mold Busters. Cheryl was able to make it out to the house within a few days of calling. She did a VERY thorough inspection of the entire house and detected several areas of concern that I never even thought to inquire about. Like other reviews have mentioned; she was very informative, friendly, and genuinely concerned about the health issues I've been having since moving. Her reports showed that my room indeed has a high level of moisture and offered some helpful tips as to how I can alleviate the issue. She photographed all areas of concern and inspected our ventilation system. She ended up finding traces of asbestos in the duct's outer coating that is slightly hanging in front of a vent upstairs. I had no idea that every time we turned the heater on, it was blowing past this flammable asbestos lined material. Cheryl's follow up reports have been very helpful in guiding my housemates and me toward proactive steps to take with our landlord so we can fix these issues. I'm so glad we called Mold Busters, I would highly recommend them to anyone having concerns about mold/mildew/ventilation issues within their house or apartment. read more

I called Cheryl looking for a second opinion on a very complex mold report that I received from a third-party lab. She asked me to email her the reports and in less than an hour she called me back and explained everything in detail. She was very patient and addressed all my questions. I offered to pay her for her time and expertise. She said she was just helping someone better understand the world of mold. I would recommend her to anyone looking to resolve a serious mold concern. read more

Cheryl you are truly amazing. I can't thank you enough for your knowledge and time today. I called Cheryl on a Saturday and she called me back on Sunday. This was the best first impression because I wasn't expecting a call until the business work week. My husband and I are renters and we are expecting our first child. My instinct lately has been to clean, clean, clean the house before baby comes. To my surprise, an area in the closet that I had not looked at since I moved in (6yrs ago) had a large 2ft x1ft blob of mold. I immediately freaked out and called my property management company who was unresponsive. I thought to myself "the best way to combat this is to get a professional in here". I went to Yelp and found Mold Busters, which had the most amazing reviews. Cheryl came by on Monday and inspected my closet. She found that there was no moisture behind the wall and that the moldy area was dry. I was relieved. She looked on my roof and thought of every other place the water could have come from. She came to the conclusion that water must had been on an object in my closet and without that area being well air circulated, it developed mold. The handyman for my building happened to show up the same time as Cheryl, so she was able to direct him on the proper way to remove the wall and patch that area with new dry wall. While Cheryl was here I thought, this would be a great time to show her our bedroom window where condensation builds on the window and the sill and frame of the window were moldy. She took the meters and confirmed this was dry rot and we discovered that the window was loose from the frame and was letting in dampness and moisture. She suggested that I open the shade more often to help the area dry more. She also said this was a safety issue. My handyman for the building was still in the unit and was listening to everything. At the end of the day Cheryl provided me with a report of her inspection and I am currently demanding these items to be fixed by the owner of the building. Lastly, Cheryl went one step further and sent my husband and HEPA air purifier information. She recommends that we get one for when our child is born. This will clear out the bad air particles in the room that our baby is vulnerable too. I would highly recommend Cheryl and Mold Busters to anyone who likes answers quickly from an extremely detailed and professional mold inspection company. Mold Busters are top-notch! read more

Cheryl is a SUPERB professional and human being! All the impressive comments the other (60) reviewers wrote about her are absolutely true. She deserves 10 stars, and all our gratitude! read more

I am a small landlord in San Francisco. I was referred to Cheryl, and twice I had the need for her services - I am so glad it was she that I went to! First of all, she did an excellent job getting the mold data, but more importantly, she was great at talking to my tenants when there was a problem -- or if there wasn't a mold problem -- and explaining the situation, what it meant, and whether they should be worried or not and why. This she did on a number of occasions, both in person and via email, without additional cost. She also expedited a few concerns with the contractors that came in to remove the mold - a great third-party (objective) presence. Again, no additional cost. I hope I have no more mold issues...but if I do, I'll definitely begin with Cheryl. read more

Cheryl was informative, friendly, and professional. She gave us tons of information and is going to email us more. She was able to come within a day of calling, and said the mold test results will be back in just 1 day. Amazing, thank you read more

Cheryl is great! She is super responsive and very knowledgeable. Our family benefited greatly from her expertise, and she explains mold issues in a very helpful way. Thank you Cheryl! read more

We live in an old house and have been struggling with mold issues for awhile now. Called Cheryl and she explained kindly and thoroughly where the mold might be coming from and how it's created. So thankful for her expertise and though we do not need her services at this time we will definitely use her if we need mold services in the future!!!! read more

Cheryl is beyond (and I mean BEYOND ) amazing. We've actually worked with her 4 times. Yes, four times. Our first project was a water leak from our newly purchased flat in Nob Hill. An old building that needed her expertise. She was thorough with her inspection and did a spectacular job at treating the area. We had a newborn at the time so we were relieved she completed the job in a clean and tidy manner. Our other three visits from Cheryl were for our other homes purchased, one being she found active mold before purchasing. I smelled something "off" in the flat and she found the source immediately. We were able to negotiate a lower sell price due to the damage/active mold, and when torn out it was incredible to see how bad it was. She has been nothing short of a gem and is extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and responsive. While I hope we never have to use Moldbusters again (we don't plan on moving this time) I would use her in a heartbeat. read more

Cheryl and her team did some mold remediation for us 10 years ago. We were very happy with Cheryl and her team. They did a great job, and Cheryl is a great communicator. I contacted her recently since we think we've got more mold from a different leak. I was sad to learn that she doesn't do cleanup anymore and now focuses on testing. Based on the details I shared with her, she didn't think testing was necessary and offered me resources to help me get someone who could help us. I really appreciated her honesty (telling me I probably didn't need her testing services) and generosity (helping me figure out how to get my problem taken care of). I highly recommend her. read more

I was lucky to have Cheryl squeeze me in the week before Christmas to check out a home I am buying and I am so happy I called her. She was prompt, informative and is still answering my emails! In addition to her professional work she recommended a heating system for me and also how to save money buy installing new windows. She cares about her work and clients and this is reflected in her first conversation with her! Thank YOU! read more

If you have mold, call Cheryl first. Do NOT call a mold remediation company until you have Cheryl evaluate your problem. Trust me, Cheryl saved me thousands of dollars. I didn't have mold. I had black dust. She is very nice, highly qualified and professional. read more

Cheryl is amazing! She was so helpful and detailed throughout the process. She's a pro! I'm a property manager, and this is the 3rd time I work with her. I highly recommend Mold Busters. read more

Great communication, highly knowledgeable, patient, and professional. It was a pleasure working with her and I would highly recommend Cheryl to anyone regarding mold issues! read more

It's rare that the Yelp reviews about someone truly reflect what you get when you meet them. Cheryl is an incredible professional, her microbiology background coupled with a good knowledge of construction allows her to quickly diagnose your mould issues. She gave simple practical advice and allayed our fears of rampant mould. We had a list of questions about how to remedy the issue and stop it happening again. She came on a Saturday morning and even educated our contractor on what he needed to do. You can call her with 100% confidence. Amazing professional!!!! read more

Cheryl was super responsive, when we were concerned about the potential for mold in our studio apartment in San Francisco. A water leak from the apartment above drained into our bathroom wall, and we had a limited time to pursue an insurance claim against the upstairs neighbor. We also had tenants in our studio, and needed to determine whether it was safe for them to remain in the apartment during dry-out, and what remediation steps were required for the dry out. Cheryl fast-tracked the air testing and concluded the tenants could remain without risk of mold exposure, and that no remediation would be needed if the wall dried out in a reasonable period of time. Her follow-up tests confirmed the dry out, and she provided a report confirming no additional remediation required. Thanks to Cheryl's professionalism and responsiveness, we did not over-react or under-react to the neighbor's water leak. We were able to responsibly protect the health and safety of our tenants, and recoup our relatively minimal testing and dry-out costs from the neighbor's insurance. I highly recommend Cheryl and Mold Busters if you have a mold concern that you want to address responsibly without incurring excessive costs. read more

Mold Busters and Cheryl are a class act. She is prompt, communicative, understanding, patient and extremely knowledgeable about her business. She answered all of our questions patiently and she even came back to re-test (when something did not look quite right) at no extra charge! She was also very knowledgeable about Lyme Disease and how it is impacted by mold. I highly recommend Mold Busters. read more

We just recommended Cheryl to our trusted contractor. She was not only a boatload of fun to talk to, she was on time, efficient and extremely helpful to us. We loved the "outside the box" solutions Cheryl recommended after the careful and complete analysis. We had received an initial estimate for insulating our house for ca. $4500 dollars, but after Cheryl's suggestions, cut our cost down 75% (yup!) by implementing strategies that were more cost effective, but also aesthetically more pleasing. Turns out we didn't need simple insulation at all as assumed. Cheryl takes lifestyle into consideration and sees the problems "holistically" (much as I hate that word). Her stellar reviews are well-deserved. read more

Cheryl was friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful about helping us figure what the problem was, and how to remedy it. She gave us many tips on what we could easily do to address our indoor humidity issues. Before calling her I was worried we had a huge problem but was relieved to find out that it was small and easily remedied. She's fast and efficient and goes above and beyond with her services. read more

Ended up not using their services but if Cheryl is any indication of the rest of their crew, they are probably dependable to go with. We had to get an inspection done with lots of time urgency and Cheryl was extremely responsive, and when she couldn't find a timeslot that met our schedule she was very helpful with pointers to other providers, along with a follow up a couple of days later to ensure we'd found someone good and taken care of our need. That's some really compelling customer focus. read more

My wife and I were experiencing symptoms of mold in our home. We called Moldbusters. Cheryl showed up on time and spent a bit over an hour going through my home with me. She prepared a detailed report including the results of the air tests and walked me through the results over the phone. She provided recommendations for a remediation firm as well as contractors who could help me put the house back together after the remediation. One of the great things about Moldbusters is that while the written report was comprehensive in what should be done to be 100% positive all mold was removed, Cheryl worked with me to determine what was really important, what I could probably do myself, and what would probably take care of itself. This included after the remediation was complete. After the remediation, it was still unclear where some of the moisture was entering the house. Cheryl paid another visit and helped me do some detailed inspection of my house's wall interior. For this extra visit and an hour of her time she didn't charge me. Moldbusters went beyond what I would expect to earn five stars. read more

I am so fortunate to have found Cheryl at Mold Busters. Three days ago, the results of a mold test I had done with another company came back. That company told me the type of mold I had was toxic; however, they had no suggestions on how to approach it but said investigation and re-testing were in order. I also asked further detail about the report and the answers were very vague. I decided to get a second opinion and found Mold Busters. I called and Cheryl actually answered. I frantically explained the situation and she calmly told me to just send her the report. I was relieved immediately to understand she was a micro-biologist; her demeanor on the phone conveyed she knew exactly what she was talking about. She called back a few hours later and gave me her full assessment, explained that the type of mold found was NOT toxic or "black" mold and said the results were not correlating and I should not be too worried. She gave me this advice with no expectation of payment and she did not try to schedule an appointment to see it herself. I actually asked her if she would come to my house to check it out as she was very knowledgeable. She was able to come the next day and did a thorough inspection of my house, pointing out red flags as well as calming any anxieties I had about the original report. I truly trust her opinion and she told me not to worry about the report. So, my week began with expectations of spending thousands in mold remediation and wondering if every cold or sinus issue I have had is actually caused by the deadly black mold. My week ended feeling confident I do not need to worry as the mold report was explained to me by someone who knew how to read it and that my house was inspected for the signs and none were found. Cheryl is honest, transparent and an expert in her field. If you feel you should test for mold or already have a problem, she is the right one to call! read more

I called Mold Busters and left a message about a situation in the apartment next to me. My landlord had unfortunately hired ServPro of the Sunset who have five one-star reviews. I was shocked at how ServPro didn't contain the mold within the apartment next door, the unbelievable, repulsive smell of mold in the hallway, and my respiratory symptoms. So I called around on the weekend and left a few messages for mold specialists, basically to pick their brains and find out if my life was in danger! Cheryl called me back on Monday afternoon and she was incredibly knowledgeable. It was obvious from the first 30 seconds that I was not a potential customer but she stayed on the phone with me for 30 minutes, explaining how PROPER mold remediation is done. She has a microbiology degree from Georgetown, apparently, and really knows her stuff. She asked a lot of questions, was clearly listening to my answers, and gave me tons of good feedback. She also has a great sense of humor and tells some interesting stories about situations she has dealt with in her business. I told her I want to be BFF's and she should call me for coffee the next time she's in the neighborhood. Seriously, I never do that - I just liked her that much! read more

Cheryl is the truth! Dealing with mold, especially the potentially toxic variety, is never going to be fun, but Cheryl's seemingly limitless knowledge and engaging personality made the process as painless as can be. Communicating with her (text, phone, and email) was always convenient. Her detailed report made solving the problem really straightforward and now I'm breathing easy. Thanks again, Cheryl! read more

I contacted Cheryl after my own exhaustive efforts to handle the slight moldy smell in my bedroom closet. I thought that a damp set of shoes had caused the problem. After finding mold on several shoes in my closet; I ended up throwing some out but then cleaned a few with minimal mold with rubbing alcohol and sunlight/air. Then I had the carpet ripped out of the whole room and painted the room, as well. Oh yeah, and I also had an industrial size air purifier running. After all of this, my friend could still smell mold in my room. !?! At my wits end, Cheryl ran some tests and found some elevated levels in the air. But then she later came back and took a sample from inside the wall and found the problem! I planned a family trip in August, so Cheryl and her team could tear down the wall, perform the remediation and then replaster, fix and paint the walls. Cheryl and her team were so incredibly detailed, thorough, meticulous and professional. While I was away, she sent pictures of the work being done and also dealt directly with my insurance adjuster. When I returned home, I found my room just as neat and tidy as I left it. And she even managed to replace the hard-to-find lightbulb in the closet fixture. Incredible work and a fairy tale ending to my 6 month mold issue! read more