ET&T also recommended a follow up inspection called a post remediation verification inspection (clearance testing) to make sure the work had been done correctly. This inspection is to verify that all the moldy and water damaged materials were removed properly.

This post remediation inspection includes several criteria:

• A visual inspection is done to make sure all the water damaged and moldy materials have been removed
• Moisture measurements are made to ensure the remaining materials are dry
• Spore trap air samples are collected to make sure the amount of mold (fungal) spores are low in number and of normal types

If everything looks good, we write a clearance report saying they are ready to remove the containment and rebuilding can start.

A few months later, the ET&T team was at a different job for a mold remediation company and they asked about the moldy bathroom job because they remembered we had done the initial inspection. They had set up the containment and had been put on hold by the condominium association to do any further work.

A few more months went by and the condominium association called us to inspect the unit below the first unit. They thought it now showed signs of mold.  We performed another inspection and found mold growing and wet ceiling materials in the downstairs unit.  We determined the problem came from the upstairs unit.

We learned the upstairs unit had not been repaired yet because they were waiting for matching shower tiles to arrive!

The unit owner wanted both of their bathrooms to have the same tile type and the condominium association didn’t want to replace the tile in the bathroom that didn’t need repairs. The repairs were put on hold while they were waiting for the correct tiles to arrive.

Tiled Bath From Upstairs Unit

Now the condominium association had 2 units with mold and water damage to repair!  They had 2 unit owners inconvenienced, the upper unit’s owner for months without one of their bathrooms! All this for matching tile?

Well, after more than 7 months from our original inspection, both units have had the mold remediation work finished and passed the post remediation verification inspection and can now rebuild the bathrooms. We don’t know about the status of the matching tile.

There are at least 2 “better” options the condominium association could have taken instead of delaying the repair:

1. They could have chosen to have the mold removed and plumbing repaired while waiting for the matching tile to arrive. If they had at least removed the mold and water damaged materials from the upper unit and repaired the water leak they would have prevented most if not all of the damage to the lower unit.
2. Another option would have been to simply replace the tile in the bathroom that didn’t need repairs and saved over 7 months of frustration and inconvenience for the upstairs unit owner.  It would have been much cheaper and taken less time to change to different tile than to hold off on repairs while waiting for matching tiles to be found!

The lesson here is that you should never delay the remediation of wet and moldy building materials after you’ve found out that there is in fact a problem. You’re not only costing yourself in terms of more money due to additional damage, but you’re also neglecting the indoor environmental hazard that mold brings into your home, condo or office building. You always want to take care of mold problems as soon as possible. If you have areas in your home that you’re unsure about, or have questions about mold testing for your San Diego home call the experts at ET&T 760-424-2259. Our friendly staff is waiting for your call.

Mold and Water Stains on the Ceiling

What in the world would rain gutters have to do with mold inside my home!  Mold needs water to grow. When the rain gutters and downspouts get blocked, the water can’t flow away from the roof line and your building. Water flows along the path of least resistance and you don’t want that path to be under your roofing materials or inside your walls.

Bubbled Paint and Water Stains on Ceiling

If your rain gutters are clogged or draining slowly the water can overflow the gutters leading to water running down the sides of your building. This can lead to puddles forming up against the outside walls of your property.  If the rain gutters are clogged, water can pool up at the roof line. Areas of your roof that are not sealed well enough may allow the water to seep through the roofing material and into your attic and walls. Once the attic and interior walls get wet, the opportunity for mold to grow is present. Even though we think of our walls as being a barrier to the outside environment, water can soak through and get into the wall cavity space and then to the inside of the building. If this is already your situation, we can help!

Maintenance is key in helping to prevent mold growth inside our buildings and homes!

Just a couple of weekends ago, I was doing some yard work and decided I should check out the rain gutters since rain was in the forecast. I live in southern California and we haven’t had much rain so I hadn’t given the rain gutters any thought since last winter. Our neighbors pine tree had been shedding pine needles like crazy and our liquid amber trees leaves were turning the beautiful colors of fall. Well, my rain gutters near the pine tree were so stuffed with pine needles the gutters were over flowing with needles and the downspouts were completely covered up.  If that wasn’t bad enough, when I went to the other side of the house, the downspout had come off of the gutter completely and was just hanging there.  Even though I am on that side of the house frequently, I guess I never looked up!

Once again, I need to follow my own advice. My rain gutters are not very accessible to clean out so I will need to hire someone to take care of that.  It looks like a tree trimming is in order as well, sounds like 2 jobs to be hired out to prevent a mold problem inside.  The cost of this maintenance will be much less than a costly mold remediation project.

For a free phone consultation concerning a mold or water damage issue in your home or commercial building, call Environmental Testing & Technology (ET&T) at 760-424-2259 or email us at info@etandt.com to see if you need a mold inspection.

Today many of us rely on automatic systems to do the watering for us. If we still stood outside and watered with a hose we wouldn’t spray the wall for 5 to 10 minutes at a time in the same place. Why do we let our sprinkler systems do that? I know in my case, and many of my neighbors, the sprinklers run at night and we don’t realize there is a problem until it is too late. Sprinkler systems are a wonderful convenien

ce in our busy lives, but we need to maintain them!

As mold and moisture inspectors, we at Environmental Testing & Technology (ET&T) frequently find sprinklers to be a major cause of mold problems inside buildings.

Here are some sprinkler system problems we at ET&T run into all the time:

• Sprinkler spraying on the walls of the building (sprinkler overspray).
• Plants and grass growing right up against the wall.
• Sprinklers installed too close to the building.
• Broken or leaking sprinkler pipes.

If your sprinklers look like the ones above, you may have a mold problem brewing and you may need a professional mold inspection!

Give Environmental Testing & Technology (ET&T) a call at 760-424-2259 or email us at info@etandt.com for a free phone consultation.

Don’t let this sad mold story happen to you!

Our walls are like a sandwich. There is the outside wall, the insulating space and then the inside wall. The outside wall keeps getting wet from the sprinkler system, then the insulation material gets wet, then the inside wall gets wet.  Before you know it, you have a funny smell, then you have a water stain inside, then you see a small spot on the wall, baseboard, or flooring.  You clean off the spot, but the spot keeps coming back.  That spot is probably mold!

This photo is of an inside wall that had a sprinkler that sprayed the on the outside wall.

A small spot on the wall can mean a big problem inside your property.

If this is already your situation we can help! For a free phone consultation call Environmental Testing & Technology (ET&T) at 760-424-2259 or email us at info@etandt.com to see if you need a mold inspection.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this helpful.

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Mold Growing on Walls

An important part of a mold inspection is a visual inspection where the mold inspector is looking for mold growth, water stains, color changes or warping to the walls, ceiling, flooring and baseboards.  They need to look outside too, because sometimes the water problem started outside, not inside.

Moisture Meter

If the inspector finds what might be mold, they will take a surface sample with tape or a swab to have it identified by the lab. The mold inspector will also take moisture measurements to see if there are wet building materials. Mold needs water, moisture or dampness to grow.

The mold inspector may take air samples inside and outside.  To collect the air samples the inspector will use a pump that pulls a specific amount of air into the sampling container.

The sample is then sent to the lab to find out what mold spores are in the air samples. It is important to take several air samples so there is enough scientific information to decide if there is a mold problem or not.

Some mold testing companies take one air sample inside and maybe one outside and based on that little bit of information tell you everything is fine or everything is horrible.

It probably isn’t enough data to make that decision.

You want to have a written report that has all the information from the visual inspection, the laboratory report and an explanation of what it all means and what actions you need to take. Some mold inspection and testing companies in San Diego just give you the laboratory report and don’t help you understand what it means or what to do next.

If the inspector finds a mold problem in your building you may need to have a professional company called a mold remediation company remove the mold safely. You want to make sure the mold is removed correctly so it doesn’t cause problems in other areas of your building.

The mold inspection and testing company can write instructions, called a Scope of Work for the remediation company to follow.  Once the mold remediation company removes the mold, but before they remove their equipment, you should have another mold inspection done in the work area.

This inspection is called a clearance or post remediation verification (PRV) inspection. This inspection makes sure the mold remediation company removed all of the mold and damaged building materials and that the air in the work area is clean enough for the mold remediation company to take out their equipment without causing problems in the rest of the building.

During the clearance inspection the mold inspector should do a visual inspection to insure that all the mold growth was removed, that any water damaged materials have been removed and take moisture measurements to make sure the building materials are dry.

Air Sampling in a Properly Contained Area

Air samples inside the work area and outdoor air samples are collected to verify that the work area has mold spore levels that are acceptable.

Make sure they give you a written report that describes the area that was repaired and says it is dry, the damaged materials have been removed and the mold spore levels are OK. This report is the disclosure paperwork you may need if you sell your property in the future.

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you found this helpful.

ET&T is a certified San Diego mold inspection and testing company who offers mold testing, a customized plan for the appropriate mold removal (Scope of Work) and clearance testing. Call ET&T at 760-424-2259 for a free phone consultation or send us an email at info@etandt.com .

1. How do they do mold testing?  First off, they shouldn’t just do testing, they need to do a thorough visual inspection too! They should look for water damage, do moisture measurements and look for mold growing. Testing alone is just part of the picture to find out if there is a mold problem or not. They should sample mold they see to make sure it really is mold and to find out which type. They may also take air samples to see if the air inside shows mold spores that are different types than outside or higher numbers of spores than outside.
2. Does the inspector have any certifications and do they do any continuing education? California doesn’t have any licenses for mold testing, but there are certifications which require classes and continuing education to keep current. Examples are: Certified Microbial Consultant (CMC) and Certified Microbial Inspector (CMI).
3. How many mold samples will they take?  Some companies take one inside air sample and maybe one outside air sample. Based on just those samples tell you everything is horrible or everything is fine. That may not be enough data to make an accurate decision if there is a mold problem or not! How many samples depends on the size of your property and if you want the whole property tested or if you have certain areas you are concerned about.
4. What are the qualifications of the person analyzing the samples? What quality control program do they participate in? Maybe they don’t do any quality control! An example of a quality control program is EMPAT.
5. What is the turn around time between the inspection and the report?  You want them to have enough time to write you a good report, but not so long that you keep having to delay repairs being made.  The inspector can give you some information during the inspection.  They can also give you updates when they get the laboratory results. Depending on how big your project is, usually a couple of days to a week is a reasonable time to expect the final written report.
6. Who actually writes the inspection report? Some companies don’t have the same person write the report as did the inspection!  How can someone write a detailed report about the inspection if the haven’t seen your property?  Makes me wonder how helpful that report would be!
7. What type of report do they give you?  Some companies just give you the laboratory data and don’t tell you what it means or what to do next?  You need to know if repairs need to be made. You should ask if they write specific repairs for your property or just give you a general template.  Ask if they can send you a sample report or at least explain what you will be getting.
8. Do they do the repairs? Some think it is a conflict of interest to do both the testing and the repairs. If they don’t do the repairs, ask if they can recommend someone to do the repairs?  If they have been doing mold inspections for years, they know who does a good repair job and who doesn’t. Ask for 2 or 3 referrals so you have a choice.
9. How long have they been in business? You want to make sure they have experience and will still be around if you need anything from them later on.
10. Are they a member of the Better Business Bureau, if so what is their rating? You can contact your local Better Business Bureau and find out what the rating is.

The questions I listed above relate to the most frequent problems we have encountered throughout the years.

Environmental Testing and Technology (ET&T) has been doing mold and moisture inspections in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas since 1986.  We often receive calls from unhappy people who have hired a different testing company and ask us what the other company’s report means and do we think they did the job right.

Sometimes we look at the other company’s report and can help them, other times we can’t figure it out either!  Unfortunately, some of these unhappy people end up hiring us to do a good inspection with proper documentation. This costs them more money and time delays which can simply be avoided by hiring a good testing company from the start.

I hope you found these questions helpful & let us know what you thought, we like the feed back!

If you have any questions, please contact us at 760-424-2259 or email us at info@etandt.com.

Thanks for reading!