Safety and Health Procedures When Looking for Mold InspectAPedia® -
A Brief Consumer's Guide to Safety and Health Procedures When Looking for Mold
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Here we cite the importance of using good safety procedures when looking for mold or when cleaning up mold in buildings and we provide links to mold inspection, testing, and
remediation guidelines.
To assure that a mold cleanup has been properly performed, see MOLD CLEARANCE INSPECTIONS.
There are the most common and most serious mistakes that we encounter when reviewing mold inspection and mold cleanup or "remediation" jobs.
Failure to protect the inspector, worker or occupants from toxic or allergenic mold that may be disturbed and brought to
elevated levels in the building during inspection and testing.
These errors include failure to wear proper protective equipment during
inspection and remediation work, and failure to establish and maintain adequate dust control measures during a mold remediation project.
The second example often results in an extended and unnecessarily costly mold cleanup job, while the first example can lead to temporary
or even more serious illness of the inspector or occupants.
Failure to find and remove the problem mold in a building. Too often, incomplete inspection, incompetent testing, or
hasty "magic bullet" approaches to mold remediation result in incomplete work, and often they even result in removing materials
that were not the mold problem while leaving the problem mold in place.
We have reviewed too many projects for which the building
owners have paid a high fee for work that did little or nothing to remove the mold problem.
Mold Cleanup Project Containment Failures: perhaps the most common mold remediation project failure after failing to properly and thoroughly inspect and diagnose the locations and causes of mold reservoirs prior to starting work, is failure to properly control dust and debris caused by demolition and removal of moldy materials such as carpeting, drywall, or plaster.
Reliance on shortcuts for mold inspection, mold testing, and mold remediation.
Examples are sole reliance on
infra-red inspection or mold sniffing dogs or air tests to find mold in buildings, inadequate dryout methods after flooding in
buildings, and use of bleach or fungicides as a substitute for actual cleaning or removal of problem mold.
Such measures are
ineffective and in some cases, they can be dangerous for building occupants.
Guidelines defining what's a "large amount" of mold and what's reasonable for a
homeowner to handle have been published by several states including New
York and California.
People who
are allergic, asthmatic, infant, elderly, immune-impaired, etc., should not disturb mold and should
not be in the area where mold remediation is being performed. Consult with your doctor, health
department or other professional before tackling this job yourself.
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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs
Recognizing Mold: What mold looks like mold identification photos to help identify mold - choosing what to sample in buildings
Recognizing Allergens: What various indoor allergens look like - identification photos to help identify pollen, dust mites, animal dander, toxic or allergenic mold - Common Mold and other Allergens, Irritants, Remedies & Advice
Stuff that is not mold but is often mistaken for it - things you may not want to test. Also, not all "black mold" is toxic - here are examples of harmless black mold.
Mold Action Guide: an easy step by step outline of what to do about mold
Mold Investigation Tips for Home Inspectors how to find mold, where to look, what is likely to be important. Advice to building inspectors intending to inspect or test for toxic or problematic mold indoors, mold inspection methods, and mold test methods which are valid or invalid
Contact Us to arrange mold/IAQ building on site inspection and testing.
InspectAPedia® Home & Site Map - Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice: In-depth research & advice on diagnosing, testing, correcting, & preventing building defects & indoor environmental hazards. Unbiased information, no conflicts of interest.
The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems
Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.
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