Mold Certificates and the Baton Rouge Flood of 2016
The Baton Rouge Flood of 2016, now called by some as “The Great Flood of 2016” certainly left a mess. Mold problems as a result are a hot topic – and rightly so. There are a lot of good contractors and consultants out there helping with projects. But there are some who are taking advantage of the situation.
I’ve seen advertisements for Mold Certificates or Mold Free Certificates. There’s no way anyone can certify that a building is completely mold free. Period. I’m also unaware of any specific legal requirements for producing mold certificates or mold free certificates after completing remediation. So any mold certificates or mold free certificates are probably worthless.
getting dry and cleaned up should be the goal
It drives me crazy to see these ads. Especially when considering the limited resources most homeowners and businesses have for recovery. Wasting time and money on mold certificates or mold free certificates isn’t productive.
I’ve tried to get a copy of one of these mold certificates. Guess what? No one will send me an example. I’ve talked on the phone with a contractor who promises his remediation process would pass any clearance or post remediation verification testing progress – guaranteed. That’s pretty bold, considering I’ve seen plenty of mold remediation contractors do everything right (by inspection) only to have sample results say otherwise.
Suffice it to say my BS detector was going off big time. So I asked how he could certify a building as mold free. Considering the fact that mold is everywhere all the time, and would be again after opening a door into the house or building, he couldn’t give a convincing answer. All he could say was, “Well, there’s inside mold, and there’s outside mold.” But he couldn’t explain the difference, or tell me how he was going to keep inside mold inside only, and the outside mold outside.
But when it came to the important part – backing up what’s on the mold certificates, he wasn’t convincing. In fact, I couldn’t tell how he’d measure and verify successful completion of the remediation, and that the building was mold free, other than “because I said so”. So, no specific test methods, lab results, or anything like that.
Keep in mind there are no uniform guidelines for post remediation verification testing for mold. Zero.
He wouldn’t even read what his mold certificates say.
You gotta be kidding me. But he’ll sell you mold certificates.
When I asked him what sort of disclaimer language his mold certificates contain, he responded by saying I must be a lawyer.
Do your homework and check out your contractors and consultants. If someone seems like a snake oil salesman, well, you might want to go with your instincts. Or better yet, see some real world examples of their work, or talk with someone you trust.
everything’s turned upside down – but common sense shouldn’t be
