Mold in Home? What Do I Do Now?
Posted on Wed, Dec 07, 2011 @ 01:31 PM
Many homeowners and landlords today are concerned about the potential presence of mold in their home. This is undoubtedly the result of a barrage of education and information that has been made available recently through private and public media. This information is more prevalent now as a result of our knowledge of the relationship with indoor air quality and our health. You may have heard that the EPA states that indoor air can be much more polluted than outdoor air. If you don't already have a basic idea of mold feel free to check out our page on residential mold inspection or the EPA's mold information.
So you think that you have mold in your home. What should you do? Well, lets start with some questions. First off, what is the reason for your concern? Have you experienced a recent water intrusion from a storm, a pipe leak or rupture, an overflowing toilet or sink, excessive condensation on pipes or walls? Have you noticed a musty odor? Are you not feeling well? Have you been feeling dizzy, or have you been coughing more lately? Is it only when you have been in one room or area of the home? Do you have staining from recent ice dams. Are you concerned that there may be mold behind the walls, or that a suspected area that looks like mold is mold on the walls of your finished or unfinished basement?
Thats alot of questions. But you have to start somewhere, and these questions and many more start to narrow down the possibilities and give us a starting point to getting the potential problem solved. The goal is to find out not only if you have levels of mold in your home that are high, but why, and to address that problem first. Thereby eliminating a reoccurance of the mold coming back!
So what is the role of a residential home inspection? Our goal is to provide a standardized cost effective solution for mold inspection. As a certified mold inspector and following sampling standards I will conduct a thorough visual inspection of the home as well as appropriate testing following protocol established by the IESO (Indoor Environmental Standards Organization). The tests can include both swab testing to identify mold types on suspect areas or colonies and air testing for bioaerosols or airborn particles that are from living or originate from living organisms.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM The biggest question that we can help homeowners with that think they may have mold in their home is.... Is mold the problem? If so, what type of mold, and how much? Sampling will allow for the identification of the contaminent and will quantify the level of the suspected contaminent. This will establish baselines for post remediation sampling if problems are identified and remediation is performed.
Following testing, all of our samples are sent to the highest accredited laboratory in the country, Aeroteck lab., where they are analyzed, producing a laboratory report. As a respirnet associate, I have the advantage of belonging to a group of over 80 inspectors nationwide through Respircare Analytical Services. This association provides me with the advantage of all my testing to be reviewed by the founder of the network, Michael Buettner, CIAQM, CRMI, CIE, EDRC., from whom I have received my training as a residential mold inspector and recieved a score of 96 on my examination. A comprehensive report is produced with a moldscore, as well as a straight forward explanation of what the testing results were (that you do not need to be an industrial hygenist to understand). This report will outline a suggested course of action that may be doing nothing at all to hiring a remediation company. Of course, I will be able to help with the understanding of the report and be available for you if you have any questions.
