Editorial policy
How we research, review and update our guides, how we use images, and how we make money.
Sources
We use official and professional sources first: GOV.UK and the UK Health Security Agency, the Health and Safety Executive, Historic England, the Energy Saving Trust, Electrical Safety First and the Gas Safe Register. Each guide links to the sources it uses and shows the date we last checked them.
How we research and write
We use AI tools to help with research and first drafts. They do not decide what we publish. Before a guide goes live, its facts, figures and safety advice are checked against the sources linked on the page, and anything a source does not support is taken out.
Who reviews a guide
Mould & Mend is run by Mao and Sai, who write under those names. The byline on a guide names the person who wrote and published it. A separate “Reviewed by” line appears only when one of us has independently read the finished guide against its sources; we never add a reviewer’s name otherwise. We have no surveying or building qualifications and say so; the guides rest on the UK guidance they link to.
Evidence labels
- Based on published guidance means the page relies on the sources it lists and has no original photos or measurements.
- Sources checked shows the date we last checked the page against its sources.
- Our photos appears only when a page includes photos we took ourselves, of conditions as we found them.
Images
We use diagrams and illustrations to explain how things work. They are drawn for the site, and if we ever use an AI image tool for one we say so in its caption. Every diagram or illustration is labelled as such and is never presented as a photo of a real damp problem, test or repair. Photos from stock libraries are credited with the photographer and licence in the caption and never described as our home.
Household checks and tests
Simple checks such as a foil test, an infrared reading, a moisture-meter reading or a trial in one room can give a useful clue. None of them diagnoses a building. We say so wherever one appears, and we describe what could have affected the result.
We do not grow mould for tests, mix cleaning products, or carry out cleaning trials where someone at higher risk lives. We do not disturb textured coatings that may contain asbestos or old paint that may contain lead.
Safety and professional help
Where a job carries a risk, the page includes a safety note and says when to contact a landlord, a surveyor, a registered electrician or a Gas Safe engineer.
Advertising, affiliate links and our shop
Mould & Mend is funded through advertising, affiliate links and our own shop, as each is introduced. Adverts are labelled as adverts. Affiliate links, which earn us a commission if you buy, are labelled where they appear. Products we sell ourselves are marked as ours.
We do not accept payment for coverage, and commercial links never change our safety advice. We only describe a product as tested if we have tested it ourselves, and we say how.
How we update guides
We re-check a guide when one of its sources changes and update the checked date when we do. If a correction changes the advice, we note it at the foot of the page.
Corrections
If you spot a mistake, email hello@mouldandmend.co.uk or use the contact page. We correct errors as soon as we have checked them and note material corrections at the foot of the page.