Is anyone doing any mold testing?

Originally Posted By: jremas
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deleted


Originally Posted By: ismetaniuk
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This membership was a big waste of my time!!!



Igor


Top To Bottom Inspections


Glen Spey, NY

Originally Posted By: jremas
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



deleted






Jeff Remas
REMAS Inspections, Inc.
Northeastern PA & the Poconos
www.NEPAinspector.com

570-362-1598

Originally Posted By: ecrofutt
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I went to the one day Home Test course. Got my mold certification. Was all ready to make “Mold into Gold”, but wanted to research other tool & testing equipment sources before kicking loose the bucks for the Home Test equipment.


Wow, what an eyeopener the research was.
Yes, you can make money for providing a service that people know they want. They just don't know they don't need it.

I won't go into great detail here, but if you search the archives at www.inspectionnews.com for "mold" you'll find plenty of pro & con discussions of it.

Here's my boilerplate text for my report when I see mold/mildew. Check out the internet sources listed.



Erby



What appears to be mold or mildew is present. This should be removed / cleaned and the moisture source eliminated.
The identification of the organism(s) is beyond the scope of this home inspection. If, after reviewing the below information, you have additional questions or want further investigation, I recommend that you contact a Certified Industrial Hygienist, usually listed in the yellow pages under "Industrial Hygiene Consultants" to determine if there exists an ongoing climate for incubation or microbial contamination and that steps be taken to eliminate this climate.

Mold, mildew, fungus and other toxic organisms commonly occur in areas that show evidence of, or have the potential for, leaking, moisture intrusion and/or inadequate ventilation. Any area or item exhibiting such conditions "can" be a health hazard to some people. There is a lot of controversy over the issue of mold and mold testing. Neither the New York City Department of Health or the Environmental Protection Agency recommend measuring airborne fungal levels. The EPA publication "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home" states "Is sampling for mold needed? In most cases, if visible mold growth is present, sampling is unnecessary." Money spent on testing is not available for cleanup.

I recommend that information from the following sources be reviewed prior to spending any money on mold testing. You may want to identify and review other sources of information.
United States Environmental Protection Agency information available on the EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldguide.html provides a document titled "
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home"
Various articles on the Building Science Corporation web site at: http://www.buildingscience.com Click on the link "Learn More about Mold".
The New York City Department of Health Web Site at:
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/home.html
Use the search function for mold.


Originally Posted By: gbell
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Yes it is true that the class given by Hometest leads you to believe that you are going to make a fortune.


The choice to test for mold or not is a choice each person has to make for them. I choose to do the testing because I felt there was no more risk with it than with doing an inspection. Actually it is my opinion that there is less risk. There is no doubt it is much easier to do than an inspection.

But as I said it is just my option. There does seem to be more of you that feel the other way and I respect your decision. Isn?t it great to live where we can each make our own choice? I just wanted to express my feelings so that at least there aren?t just negative comments in this thread.

I will say that I do prefer to do clearance testing rather than selling it to potential home buyers. It has and is becoming standard for remediation and insurance companies to not test since they know they have mold. But they do need a test to show that there are acceptable levels inside the home after cleaning. I have found this to be very lucrative.

I did decide not to hard sell someone on mold. If I find it during an inspection I use a disclaimer like all of you and let the client know that if they wish I can test. But I also give them the name of two other companies that test also. Just didn?t want to make it appear as though I am just trying to sell another service.

For any of you that decide to test I would suggest that you contact any remediation companies, carpet cleaning companies and insurance offices. Make them aware of your service. I have built a good client base from taking this approach.

Check with all the different labs, they are really in a price war now.


--
Greg Bell
Bell Inspection Service

Originally Posted By: ecrofutt
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



I’m really glad to see how fair you are being to your clients by giving them two other names in additon to choosing yours. Eminently fair.


Yes, its great that we live where we have the choices we do. I love it.

You are also right about the lucrative market for clearance testing. Hadn't thought about that one. But then, I'm not sure I want the liability of saying its clear only to find out my lab's results were wrong.

Its nice that we have the boards such as this to share opinions and learn from each other's viewpoints. Thanks for sharing yours.

Erby


Originally Posted By: jfarsetta
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Jeff,


I havent heard that lending institutions are planning on making mold testing mandatory. I doubt if they will, and if they do, I believe they are opening themselves up for some real lawsuits. The reason? A lack of acceptable or unacceptable levels of mold. Absent of these standards, meaningful evaluations of the test results cannot be performed. So what are the banks looking for? Who will determine what is acceptable or unacceptable.

I soft-sell my ability to do any mold testing. I explain what the EPA and CDC recommendations currently are. I go on to explain that if I observe what appears to be mold during the inspection, I would alert them. At that point, I can take a sample for lab analysis. I recommend THEY take the sample to the Cooperative Extension of Cornell University here in Rockland County, NY. For $25, Cornell will identify the mold for them, if they wish.

Erby is right about the insurance issue. I have a good policy through FREA, and am trying to find out if I am indemnified against a claim involving mold. I doubt I am. Testing after a remediative effort is something else entirely. Prior to the remediation, base line readings and analysis can be performed. Afterwards, duplicate tests can be run and the results compared. This type of testing IS recommended by the EPA and CDC. Good avenue to explore, so long as one is duly qualified, has the equipment, and is insured.

Joe Farsetta


Originally Posted By: ismetaniuk
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



This membership was a big waste of my time!!!



Igor


Top To Bottom Inspections


Glen Spey, NY

Originally Posted By: jremas
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



I am trying to find more opinions on this so hopefully we will get more angles on this with all the new people on the NACHI message board. The general consensus is NO MOLD TESTING! We all found out that we are not covered by our insurance, mold is already everywhere and when you go to the EPA’s website, it tells you if you can see mold and it is visible, there is no need to test. The source of the problem needs to be fixed. I can see air sampling for asthmatics & others with respiratory problems, but just to send the report to their allergist for review. The time of day, time of year, humidity, temperature, & lifestyle of the occupants all can change the results of airborne mold testing. I can have a small to negative reading from an indoor/outdoor sample and 3 months later after the family moves in and develops problems the levels can be drastically different and now I look like the bad guy. Nope, not worth it. Pro-Labs found out at the ASHI conference that lots of inspectors are shying away from testing because of insurance problems. This sent Pro-Labs scrambling to find an insurance policy to cover all of their “trained and certified” inspectors. They have not finalized it, but it looks like in order to be covered under the policy, it will cost the inspector between $50-$100 per month. This is not set in stone yet. I believe they will put you in touch with the insurance company and as long as you get trained by Pro-Labs ($99. for the video and test) you can get insurance. Who is lining the pockets now? There are no specific testing protocols by the EPA nor any level guidelines. We test for mold, find it and identify it. Now what? What exactly does that mean? What is the recommended treatment for airborne identification of mold spores when there is no visible mold in the house? OK now, I spent $99 on a certification, I do airborne sampling in your home, we find you have 2 different kinds of mold both inside and outside of your home. Are you going to move out? Are you going to sue your realtor, home inspector, contractor? What does it mean? Are you going to back out of the deal and look for another home? You now pay for testing in 3 different homes that you backed out of because they all have mold. Where is this going to get us? Lots of opinions, lots of questions asked. Lets see some responses.






Jeff Remas
REMAS Inspections, Inc.
Northeastern PA & the Poconos
www.NEPAinspector.com

570-362-1598