How we make money — and what we won't take money for

Affiliate links

This Moldy House is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate-advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com. When you click a link to a product on this site and buy it on Amazon, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

We may also participate in other affiliate programs (e.g., manufacturer direct, smaller specialty retailers). Where we do, the same rule applies: a disclosure block appears at the top of any article that contains affiliate links.

Referral relationships

A few categories — particularly mold inspectors, remediators, indoor-air-quality consultants, and certain testing labs — work better as a personal referral than as an Amazon link. Where we maintain a referral relationship with a specific provider and may earn a finder's fee or first-month percentage from successful introductions, that relationship is disclosed in the article that mentions them, by name.

We will not accept a referral fee from any party we are also reviewing, comparing, or rating. The reviewer and the affiliate roles are kept separate.

What we will not take money for

• Sponsored posts. No "this article brought to you by." Ever.
• Paid placements in product roundups. Position in any "best of" piece is decided by us, on the merits, with the criteria spelled out in the article.
• "Exchange" reviews where a vendor sends a free product on the condition that we publish a positive review. We will accept review samples (and disclose that we did), but the review is honest.
• Affiliate links on health pages. The trust line. If an article is primarily about symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment thinking, you will not see a "buy this on Amazon" link in it.
• Fees from any remediation company we name in a critical context. If we say a particular practice is a scam, we are not paid by anyone benefiting from it.

Editorial independence

Affiliate revenue does not influence what we cover or how we cover it. The categories we publish in (and choose not to publish in) are set by editorial priorities described in our Editorial Standards. The fact that a product earns affiliate revenue does not move it up in a roundup, and the fact that a product does not earn affiliate revenue does not move it down.

If we ever recommend a product we've personally bought with our own money, we say so. If we ever recommend a product we received as a sample, we say so. If we recommend a product we have not personally tested, we say that too.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure: the founder

The founder of this site went through a mold problem in their own house. Where any person, company, or product mentioned on the site played a role in that experience, that role is disclosed in the article. Where the founder has any financial interest in a product, service, or company beyond Amazon-style affiliate commission, it is disclosed in the article and listed here as it arises.

Current direct interests beyond standard affiliate programs: none.

How to flag a missed disclosure

If you think we have a relationship that should be disclosed and isn't, email our contact address and we'll fix it. Quietly missing a disclosure is a mistake; ignoring one when it's pointed out is a problem we don't want to have.