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Mold Experts

I follow an Indoor Air Quality group on Yahoo. This post came in recently:

On 4/1/08 12:00 PM, "midsouthbuilders" <no_reply@yahoogroup s.com> wrote:

I am a builder and as such, no stranger to mold contamination. We just
finished a large custom home and within three weeks of occupancy, the
new homeowner was complaining about musty odors. Recognizing that we
could be dealing with mold, I suggested they find a mold inspector and
we would pick up the bill.

I show up about the same time the mold "expert" is completing a few air
samples. He states "these will tell us if there is a problem". I state,
I can already tell you there is a problem because I can smell it.

The "expert" scurries back to truck promising results in three days. I
walk back in to the house and simply follow my nose to the laundry room
where I find a leaking washer water hose. Turn off water, pull washer
away from wall, and presto - mold.

Two days later, mold is removed. Same day a call from the "expert" says
the test show nothing significant going on so it must be the HVAC
system. I thanked him for his time and hung up.

I guess my question is - is there such a thing as a mold "expert"?
Cause I think I could be one...

Will

The only real experts are called Industrial Hygienists. Everyone else should be suspect. The lack of regulation in the Mold Industry can be a real headache for all of us. Normally I would say Buyer Beware but without some education buyers may make the choice based on the biggest yellow page ad, telephone salesperson or web hit. I keep names of several companies I feel are reputable if I need to take the investigation further but the reality is that in most cases if you find the water leak, you have now found the source of the contamination. Fix the leak Who cares what kind of mold it is, get rid of any materials that are heavily contaminated and clean the rest. This will deal with 85% of the issues I have seen over thousands of inspections. If you have a client who is considering a Mold Inspection have them look at our web page on it.

http://www.paccrestinspections.com/mold_inspections.htm

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

Posted by Rick Bunzel on 04/15/2008 12:34 PM

Comments (5)

mold, mold inspection, investigation, home inspection, bellingham, anacortes, mt vernon, burlington, oak harbor

Post is included in group: Home Inspections Q & A

5 Comments on Mold Experts

APR

2008

I am dealing with a possible "mold" problem now. The air is being tested -- we know the source is a lack of ventilation in the roof and the "mold" is on the rafters. Now, the question will become -- what is the proper clean-up if it turns out to be the so-called "common household non-toxic mold". Can a company use a biocide or is the ice blasting and or ozone necessary-- this is very confusing. Please help. I am in NH>

Joan,

Dry Ice or Soda Blasting are the best ways of dealing with this. This is the most common type of mold problem I see in the Pacific NW. Ozone is a joke as it is difficult to seal the attic and get high enough concentration and then if you do, the dead spores are still visible in the wood. When the next inspection occurs the inspector will call out the problem again. If the conditions that created the issue in the first place aren't resolved you won't know until the mold really advance because you dead colonies will hide the new colonies.

Some clients have used bleach and water or even deck brightener with mixed results. Blasting is the way to clean it up with the conditions that created it are fixed.

//Rick

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

APR

2008

Rick, good post---industrial hygenist every time---just throwing good money after bad otherwise.

NOV

2008

Hi, I have recently had a pipe that backup some sewage waste on a small portion of my carpet in the basement. We tried getting as much liquid as we could out of the carpet and placed air on the surface to help dry the area before we could get the area cleaned. Now that the area is finally dry and cleaned I am concerned that there may be mold in the carpet. There was some small areas in the unfinished part where water mold appeared. How do I know if mold got into the carpet and what is the best way to kill it now if so before it gets worse

NOV

2008

Mold will grow very quickly in carpets if they are allowed to stay wet. How did you clean the carpet after the sewage was on it? If you heavily shampooed it and dried it, most likley any mold spores were cleaned off the carpeting. You can also do the sniff test, does it smell moldy? Mold can't exist without a regular source of water. If the carpets dry and doesn't smell, your OK

//Rick

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

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