Mold

The basic inspection will attempt to identify defects, moisture issues and conditions conducive to mold and decay that are detectable within accepted inspection standards. Unusual and dangerous mold will generally not exist if all systems of the house are correct and functioning properly. These systems are included in my basic inspection. Home inspection standards do not include identification or testing for molds. That is an extra, specialty service. Some home inspectors offer mold inspections and testing as a sideline. I have chosen to leave this to the specialists whose main or only business is environmental inspection. Any home inspector can become a mold or radon “specialist” by taking a few hours of on-line classes and a self administered, “open book” test, or attending a 1 to 3 day course. My philosophy and experience both as a builder and an inspector is that specialty areas are many time, best left to the specialists. I don’t think I would be comfortable if my general practice physician also wanted to be my specialist for all health concerns. As a general contractor, I have personally done most of what it takes to build a house, including electrical, plumbing, roofing, wall board, etc. It doesn’t make sense for me, or give my clients the best service by representing myself as an expert in all disciplines of this complicated business. There is more involved in determining if you have a serious mold issue than having a few samples lab tested. There are many variables and these tests can be highly unreliable and misleading. The only person who is truly qualified is someone with advanced education and training as a hygienist and air quality specialist. In my opinion, if a home inspector is actively promoting mold investigations and testing and offering to do it for a fee, it could be motivated more by increasing their bottom line than by protecting their clients. Seriously consider it before you hire a general home inspector to be an all inclusive specialist. Being a knowledgeable, competent generalist is a specialty unto it’s self. These links will give you hundreds of pages of information regarding Mold issues. [copy & paste] http://www.buildingscience.com/resources/mold http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldresources.html http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.html This is an excerpt from the study conducted by a group of physicians in the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, listed below: http://www.acoem.org/guidelines.aspx?id=850 “In recent years, the growth of molds in home, school, and office environments has been cited as the cause of a wide variety of human ailments and disabilities. So-called “toxic mold” has become a prominent topic in the lay press and is increasingly the basis for litigation when individuals, families, or building occupants believe they have been harmed by exposure to indoor molds. This evidence-based statement from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) discusses the state of scientific knowledge as to the nature of fungal-related illnesses while emphasizing the possible relationships to indoor environments. Particular attention is given to the possible health effects of mycotoxins, which give rise to much of the concern and controversy surrounding indoor molds. Molds and other fungi may adversely affect human health through three processes: 1) allergy; 2) infection; and 3) toxicity. One can estimate that about 10% of the population has allergic antibodies to fungal antigens. Only half of these, or 5%, would be expected to show clinical illness. Furthermore, outdoor molds are generally more abundant and important in airway allergic disease than indoor molds — leaving the latter with an important, but minor overall role in allergic airway disease. Allergic responses are most commonly experienced as allergic asthma or allergic rhinitis (”hay fever”). A rare, but much more serious immune-related condition, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), may follow exposure (usually occupational) to very high concentrations of fungal (and other microbial) proteins. The present alarm over human exposure to molds in the indoor environment derives from a belief that inhalation exposures to mycotoxins cause numerous and varied, but generally nonspecific, symptoms. Current scientific evidence does not support the proposition that human health has been adversely affected by inhaled mycotoxins in the home, school, or office environment.” ——————————- And from Building Science Corporation’s Joseph Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng. who is an ASHRAE Fellow and an internationally recognized authority on indoor air quality, moisture, and condensation in buildings. “How Do I Know If The Mold is Cleaned Up If I Don’t Test? The mantra for clean-up is “clean and dry.” If you don’t see it or smell it on a surface you probably don’t have it. And if you do have some, even though you don’t see it or smell it you certainly don’t have much of it. A little bit of residual mold is not a problem unless moisture is available. Remember, mold is everywhere. Even if the clean-up removes 100 per cent of the mold, spores that are in the air will reintroduce mold back into the cleaned area. The “white glove test” and common sense are currently the best approach. No dust and dirt – no mold. ‘If all surfaces are free of debris, dust and dirt they will be free of mold.’ There may be residual mold left in the building that is unseen, but this is acceptable. The object is not to sanitize or sterilize the building. The object is to avoid exposing people to large amounts of mold. Bear in mind that many of the molds that colonize buildings are common in the outdoor air where spore levels may be very high. Even if the clean-up does remove 100 per cent of the mold, outdoor air will quickly reintroduce mold spores into the cleaned area. This is why the underlying moisture problem must be corrected to prevent the recurrence of mold.” For the full research report copy & paste this link: http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0209-mold-testing/view?searchterm=mold%20testing,%20research%20report%200209 Also, SEE MOLD INFORMATION in the links section on the right side of this page. Edit This