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.

This is where the trouble started.

The homeowner hired the drywaller to remove the mold damaged building materials and thought things were taken care of. The homeowner later became ill and went to the doctor who suggested they have mold testing done at her Carlsbad, CA home. When we were called to do the mold inspection, our consultant found the ceiling void space was still open to the rest of the house and that the drywaller had left some of the removed moldy ceiling drywall inside the ceiling void space.

We also found additional moldy ceiling drywall.  Our mold consultant collected a surface sample from inside the ceiling void space and the sample showed Stachybotrys, Penicillium and Aspergillus mold growing in the ceiling void space. Our inspector also collected spore trap air samples throughout the home and the analysis showed that Stachybotrys and Penicillium/Aspergillus mold spores had been spread from the ceiling void space throughout the rest of the house!

mold growing in ceiling void space

Our recommendations in the written report for the homeowner were to hire a professional mold remediation contractor to contain (isolate) the mold from the rest of the house and to remove the moldy and water damaged building materials.  We also recommended a thorough deep cleaning of the rest of the house and the use of HEPA filtered air scrubbers to capture and lower the levels of Stachybotrys and Penicillium/Aspergillus spores in the air. Thankfully, the homeowner followed our recommendations and hired a professional mold remediation company.

A containment, plastic room with HEPA air filtration equipment, was set up to isolate the moldy ceiling area from the other areas of the house. They removed the moldy and water damaged building materials and air scrubbers were set up throughout the rest of the home to capture and lower the levels of Stachybotrys and Penicillium/Aspergillus spores.

A professional deep cleaning (HEPA vacuuming  and damp wiping) of the rest of the house was done. We returned for a follow up inspection called a post remediation verification or clearance inspection.  Inside the containment, we verified the mold had been removed properly, the work area was clean and dry and the air sample spore levels were acceptable. We also repeated the spore trap air sampling in the rest of the home to verify the deep cleaning had returned the spore levels to be similar to the outside air. Our results showed the mold remediation company had removed the rest of the moldy ceiling materials correctly and had cleaned up the contamination in the rest of house.

If only the roofer had referred the homeowner to a professional mold testing company and mold remediation contractor in San Diego, the job could have been done correctly from the start!  Not only was the health of the homeowner affected, but there was the additional cost for medical care, the additional work done by the mold remediation contractor to clean up the mold contamination to the rest of the home and extra mold testing by our company.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, please consult with mold inspection and mold remediation professionals.  This is definitely a case where using the right professional for the job would have made all the difference!

For a free phone consultation call Environmental Testing & Technology (ET&T) at 760-424-2259 or leave us a message on our Contact Form and one of our mold experts will get back to you shortly.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this blog post helpful.

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!