Your health is your most important asset. Having an inspection helps to protect that asset as well as your investment or the health of others.

I must apologize in advance as this page will get long with what may seem to be an overload of information.

When having a contractor perform remediation, an inspection provides a scope of work which defines everything from the work areas as well as the level of containment. This can prevent unnecessary demolition from being performed, preventing unnecessary chemicals and ensuring any work is properly performed with attention to keeping the areas outside of the scope of work from being contaminated.

Why pay for an inspection and testing when a contractor will do it for free? A good remediation company will defer you to a competent inspection company. A remediation company that works in conflict of interest will sell you on the idea it’s “free”. In reality it’s not free, they are hiding their costs in the work they know they will get from you (or hidden from not getting a job of a previous inspection) when they perform any remediation and repairs. How do you know they are actually finding fungi? How do you know they performed the work correctly? By having one single entity do everything you remove all checks and balances that keep companies honest and working with integrity. Is the “inspector” a semi-trained sales person who is going to feel out how much work they can get the company? Or would it be better to have someone come out who can give an objective inspection with appropriate sampling to come up with a realistic approach to solving the entire issue?

Fact: not all Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) issues are fungal (mold) related! There are many other reasons for concern which might be improperly diagnosed with an inadequately trained inspector.

Fact: often times remediation companies only fix the current issue and don’t offer observations which will prevent further issues.

Fact: companies are in the business of making money. Where are they making money if one aspect is “free”???

A good inspection and testing will determine if the fungal presence is something that can be wiped off, solved in another manner or if remediation is warranted. Fungi is everywhere, determining if it’s an issue, how it was caused and how to proceed is our specialty. Hopefully once everything is completed that’s the last of that issue and if we spot anything that may present an issue in the future, we’ll let you know.

The following photo depicts a Post Remediation Verification (PRV) where the contractor had the client call for testing. The top of the air scrubber (high volume, high efficiency air filter) was probably cleaner than half the containment. The client had no idea how poor the work was or that only half of the remediation was performed. These are the checks and balances that mustn’t be skipped on. The client would have paid full price for half the work and open for a lawsuit.

The following photo depicts cross contamination of drywall dust, wood dust and other contaminants from simple (non fungal/water damage) construction activities. The work was performed in an upstairs bedroom and due to open doors, no containment and personnel activity the dust settled on the dinning room table. Through inspections and observing settled dust, patterns and diminishing levels it was determined that the entire 8,000′ house must be completely cleaned from the ceilings (10′ high) to floor and all personal possessions within.