mold inspection

[Joseph Ball]

How does one become certified to test for mold?
I am in Florida, where mold was first invented.

[tszczepanski]

You're not serious, are you? Try reading some of the other posts regarding mold.

By the way, it seems this message board is for regulars and PhD's only! (JUST KIDDING - SHEESH! Almost forgot - I'm not funny.)

Remember, it's mould, not mold (Ohhh, I just kill me!).

[Mike R. Byrd]

I'm considering MOULD testing as an ancillary service for my HI business. Any feedback? what classes did you take? do you simply test? or do remediation?

thanks.

[tszczepanski]

Mike,

Mold growth in a home is simply an indicator of a water/moisture related problem that need to be repaired. From a home inspection standpoint, that's all I feel you need to address. Testing for levels, type, etc. of mold is still up for debate depending on who you talk to.

Be careful and good luck. Seriously.

[David Nice]

Originally Posted by mbyrd

I'm considering MOULD testing as an ancillary service for my HI business. Any feedback? what classes did you take? do you simply test? or do remediation?

thanks.

I took Pro-Labs old course. (Yes the one they did that REALLY WAS an ESA course).

I then took the same course directly form ESA and their advanced course. I found the basic course to be much the same as the old one but the difference was that ESA provided a course book that can be used as a constant reference. (Same with the advanced course).

With Pro-Lab you were given someone to call with questions. (Not very practical of you forget something important when just getting started).

ESA also provides good deals from many labs so you can find one that you are comfortable using. I can't speak to Pro-Lab's lab services as I have yet to tray them out.

Pro-Lab also has their own courses so you can ask members than attended those about them. Ther's tons of information to check out to see if you would like to get involved on mold inspections.

You can find ESA at: http://envirosolution.com/

[Russell J. Hensel]

RESEARCH before you decide to use a lab..a lab that has a sister company is a mold remediation company? See what I mean.......One hand washes the other. Just research and do NOT just go by price.

[David Nice]

Originally Posted by Russell J. Hensel

RESEARCH before you decide to use a lab..a lab that has a sister company is a mold remediation company? See what I mean.......One hand washes the other. Just research and do NOT just go by price.

Good point Russel. I think ESA has a leg up in that they are NOT a lab. They also provide a lot of intro offerers by a variety of labs. Pro-Lab education is to sell Pro-Lab products and services, which is OK. I just don't like the "Pre-Pay" model they use.

I don't want to pay for the lab services every time I order swabs, Air-O-Cells, Micro 5's, etc; just because they are a bit cheaper or "wont be undersold".

I want to keep my cash flow healthy, not their's. I would rather pay for lab services out of the money I collect from clients than to shell out my hard earned money in advance. I'll use that for marketing, thank you.

[jkawas]

I have taken both ESA and Pro-Lab courses and they are both great. ESA offers many benefits for members. Thier provide you with excellent agreement forms. Pro-lab is a great company with fantastic customer service. Call Ben (800-427-0550) at Pro-Lab and he will answer any questions you have.

[Iaqforum Deuitch]

Originally Posted by dnice

Good point Russel. I think ESA has a leg up in that they are NOT a lab. They also provide a lot of intro offerers by a variety of labs. Pro-Lab education is to sell Pro-Lab products and services, which is OK. I just don't like the "Pre-Pay" model they use.

I don't want to pay for the lab services every time I order swabs, Air-O-Cells, Micro 5's, etc; just because they are a bit cheaper or "wont be undersold".

I want to keep my cash flow healthy, not their's. I would rather pay for lab services out of the money I collect from clients than to shell out my hard earned money in advance. I'll use that for marketing, thank you.

There are many good labs out there. There is a good bit of controversy involved when any lab submits remediation recommendations on their lab reports. I do not want to single any one out in particular, but this practice is becoming more common. Many labs will simply not do this due to the issue that the lab tech has not been anywhere near the property. I was informed about a law suit against a lab that was doing this, which was generated by the fact that upon review by a technical expert, the sampling protocols were found to be biased and flawed. The lab interpreted the data on the report and made recommendations for remediation thus resulting in a large expenditure for remediation which was later found to not be needed.

Jeff Deuitch
Microbiologist
Administrator, The Indoor Air Quality Forum
www.iaqforum.net