A listing is specific
InboxMonitor does not say 'your domain is doomed.' It names an address and a list. The first listing costs 30 points and is critical, so the domain shows At risk. Each additional listing costs 5 more, up to 40 points. The summary on the domain page says a sending IP is on a blocklist and that removal is the list operator's decision.
By default the check queries two IP lists: PSBL and 0spam. It looks at addresses it can see from the domain's A records, MX hosts, and explicit SPF ip4 and ip6 entries. Shared Google and Microsoft includes are not treated as your PTR problem, and they are not where you should expect a listing that belongs to you. Spamhaus, domain-based lists, and several other well-known lists are not queried unless they are turned on with the right key or setting. A result that never asked Spamhaus is not a Spamhaus clearance.
A timeout is not a clean result
If a list refuses the query, times out, or returns an error, InboxMonitor does not call that clean and does not call it a listing. The score does not drop for that row. The note says the check was unavailable. Run it again later before you tell a client the address is clear.
Policy-list notes are informational. They do not raise the blocklist finding and do not subtract points. Read the row before you treat every line as an emergency.
What to do when a row says listed
Stop sending from that address until you know why it was listed. Keep sending through a listed IP while you 'see if it clears' usually adds more complaints. If the address is shared with other customers of a host, you cannot clean it yourself. Move the domain to an address you control, or ask the host to move you.
Open that list's own removal page. PSBL and 0spam publish their own process. Follow theirs. A removal request to the wrong operator does nothing. Delisting is their decision. InboxMonitor cannot take an address off, and InboxRescue does not promise delisting either. A written report can include the public delisting steps for a listed address the check actually saw.
Ask why it was listed before you only request removal. Trap-based lists often mean mail was sent to an address that never asked for it. A compromised mailbox, an old purchased list, or a form that did not confirm the address are common causes. If you remove the listing and keep the same practice, the address tends to return.
After the list drops the address
Recheck. The critical finding clears when the queried lists no longer return a listing. Receivers that cached the old answer can lag. The score coming back does not mean every mailbox has forgotten the address.
Then look at the rest of the authentication record. A listed address and a missing DMARC record are two problems. Clearing one leaves the other. The score guide explains which findings cost the remaining points.
Use the daily check so the next listing is an email, not a surprise in a client's screenshot. The free InboxMonitor plan watches 3 domains. It does not promise that mail will leave the spam folder. If you are unsure which address the tool actually sends from, compare the SPF ip4 and ip6 entries with the address named on the blocklist row before you edit anything else.