Quite often people don’t know what they want or need or know the right questions to ask in those situations. He should be thankful you didn’t charge him and gave the advice you did. If he were smart, he’d take that back to his boss and show how he saved the company money.
Why put in new ductwork, until you know what the mold spore levels are with the air handler turned off? If the mold spore levels are high, the mold spores will just go in and contaminate the new duct work. Also when a HVAC system has mold growths in it, the whole systems needs to be cleaned.
This was brought up in my conversation James, and is a good point. They told me they are purchasing some industrial dehumidifiers for the building. We had conversations about why there is mold in the original ductwork, and how to keep it out of the new ductwork. They don’t have any gutter or foundation, or drainage of water issues that I could find, so I assumed the moisture is being generated by the AC units themselves.
They are bringing in the HVAC guys and a Hygienist next week, supposedly.
I work for my clients satisfaction, here in Florida you need a degree to obtain a mold assessors license, besides when it comes down to money flowing from my client to me… the customer is always right. 
Great point. Realizing my customer’s satisfaction was contingent on them having enough evidence from my findings to sue someone, possibly even me (Since it was a Law Firm), I just wasn’t ready to part with that much of my time or my money.
Some of those jobs just ain’t worth the grief that is likely to be afflicted. 
Two sticky situations that I hate being an inspector or appraiser on:
1). I hate doing work for Attorneys that are either the Buyer or Seller on the deal. Many Attorneys seem to look at things through an entirely different set of eyes (the eyes that see lawsuits and litigation). I just find it disquieting to have to walk on eggshells and avoid landmines.
2). I hate doing work for Realtors that are either personally Buying or Seller the house. You will be hard pressed to find anyone that is more of a “know-it-all” than a licensed Realtor that is Selling their own personal home. Very sticky situation and bound to get ugly if/when you find issues.
I don’t do anything in a commercial setting especially mold testing. (I can’t say anything I had a one off church last week) However in residential mold testing I always ask the person why they want the test and then they give me a reason and I explain to them that most testing is irrelevant. If I find mold during an inspection I call it apparent microbial growth that cannot be confirmed unless a mold testing is preformed. I also tell them that if they don’t want to know the type of mold then a test is not relevant clean it up, control the water and move on with your life. I do sell some mold testing however to people that just want to know no matter what I tell them they want the test. I have done testing in buildings that did not need it and it was tested just because they wanted it to be and nothing more. I don’t feel that I was ethically in the wrong since I explained to them that most mold testing is not relevant but they wanted it and ordered it before I even got to the home to take a look.
Taylor, if you understood mold testing you would not give such wrong advice.
Mold testing tells mold assessors like me how much area needs to be cleaned and how thorough the cleaning needs to be performed. Also informs us on home good the cleanup was performed. I got a legal case now that a mold inspector did not think the proper testing was needed in a mold clearance on a rental house, the tenant is sick and she hired a large lawyer firm that specializes in mold cases to represent her. She has a good history of medical records that points to mold being the cause of her rapid health problems. Even if I wanted to help this, take a two day mold class I am now a mold inspector, inspector there is no way I could have defended him. Too many current studies say this inspector gave the wrong advice.
Hey Cam, long time, hope all is well for you and your family.
Now how can you say such a thing? that’s just plain wrong. Sure some of us make money from mold testing and Air sampling is a big part of the whole process. Heck even some very good money (isn’t that 1 reason why people work ?) in fact. Since my 2013/14 medical issues after getting back to work I have been focusing on mold and Radon testing and I have been doing 2-5 mold testing jobs per day 6 days a week now.
Air sampling can be quite valuable for the client. 1 quick example is lets say a home appears to be perfectly clean, no visible issues whatsoever. The client calls and tells us they have a child (or themselves or whomever) that feels some symptoms like a scratchy throat, or eyes or anything funky while in the home. But when they go out of the home they seem to feel fine, but when they return, the funky symptoms come back.
So they call us, we do some air sampling and find a few different types of mold in the basement, and also in the air distribution system. Further investigation finds some mold growing behind the drywall near a basement walkout door and also growth in the duct work. Client calls the mold remediation co, they do a mold duct cleaning, some air scrubbing, remove a few sheets of drywall, kill all the fungi growth. We now go back and do a post remediation test, all air shows up clean, and what do you know, the clients families symptoms seem to have gone away and family feels much better now.
Now in my book I see a win, win for my clients and myself and all due to a few affordable and much necessary mold testing.
This is just 1 simple and very common type of request we get for mold testing. Another very common reason we get is the client has a family member with bad allergies and would just like to know their is no elevated levels of any microbial growth in their home.
Remember that mold can grow and be present in areas that are not readily accessible (behind walls, under floors, behind fresh paint etc)
thus the need for Air Sampling.
Jim
Good point Jim. As a property manager I’ve used the testing to confirm that the remediation of mold was successful. This reduces the liability of the Owner, and shows that he did his job in confirming the results.
We presently do a fair amount of commercial mold testing in our area. The number one reason for commercial mold testing is typically because someone complained of a health issue. They’re going through the process to cover their butts so if something has or does happen they can say that they took the appropriate means and measures to rectify the situation.
Without knowing mold testing, I can see where this gets very confusing. Different molds need different conditions to grow and can tell you many things about the past conditions or the present conditions that are occurring and what a likely culprit could be.
Stachybotrys is different than Cladosporium. So your focus can be on what conditions CAUSE the mold. What I do know, is that often times people are assuming that the past conditions are known of the house. All these naysayers of mold testing assume that you know what is happened in that house over the past year, two years, three years whatever the case may be. But what of the house was significantly filled with mold and then improperly cleaned? Where does that mold go? Does it just disappear? So although you see nothing at the time of the inspection the house smells like potpourri and everything looks freshly painted and clean. Yet your air quality sampling brings up 78,000 spores.
You have no idea what is happened in that house in the past. You have no idea what somebody else is trying to hide. You have no idea of anything in your assumptions because everything looks good now that yesterday they look exactly as they do today. When the facts are the host could’ve looked extremely different yesterday than they do today and you’re under the assumption that their consistent.
Your job is never to assume. It is to inspect, and perform the due diligence that your client asked for in the most professional way possible. On that sample on that guys website. From what I could see the spore counts on any of those would have caused a cause for concern.
Remember mold testing is a tool that goes along with the visual assessment. Is not to be used on its own.
See mold? smell mold? You got mold
Job 1, find the moisture intrusion.
Fix it.
Clean the mold.
Testing? it does not tell you much more than what type of mold may be present.
It may be necessary after remediation to prove its gone.
Mold testing can tell an assessor, how much area needs to be cleaned and how through that area should be cleaned. Being able to interpret air tests correctly is the hardest part.
Mike what about when you are having some type of ill feeling when in your home, then when you go out it goes away, then upon returning it dtarts up again, and repeats the pattern??
Then a bit of air testing and some inspecting and bamm you find some very elevated levels of Stachybotrys mixed with a little Bipolaris and Chaetomium then topped off with a twist of Cladosporium.
The remediation co reminds leaking window well fixes the leak and removes the drywall under the window…Bammm mold growing. Treats the mold, replaces insulation, drywall etc…
Now we have a win, win for everyone and what do you know, the families illnesses go away. Who would thought !!!
Just sayin…
Jim
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I have no problem recommending a industrial hygienist and having client consult with their doc.
That is were it belongs IMHO.
The testing that Jim describes would be the prerequisite for contacting an Industrial Hygienist, and possible a doc, IMO.
Without it, the IH may say “why am I here?”, followed by the same question the doctor may have.
If the test(s) indicate high levels, then it’s feasible to call in the HI, and maybe your doctor.
If the levels are normal, you may just have a cold. :neutral:
What are high levels and who set those levels and how does one account for natural variability?
BINGO !!! Exactly. The IH would need to know what is going on with the air quality as the DOC as well before any further action can be taken.
Jim
Mike you know there are no such set Levels of mold growths. The levels of concern are determined by several methods one of the most widely used method is the comparison of the inside and outside samples. Oh and did I mention training and experience?
Anyway it is a great needed service for those that need it, as well as a great ancillary service for those trained and qualified to perform it properly.
Jim
EXACTLY
Would you care to hazard a guess of the percentage of unneeded mold testing done each year?