CONTACT INFORMATION Keith Peddie The English Inspector kpeddie@triad.rr.com
phone: 336-378-1514
708 East Lake Drive
Greensboro, NC 27401
Mold Inspections
In an effort to get my clients to have their home checked out,
for the remainder of 2004, I am reducing my environmental testing
by 10%.
Information
Recently, there have been court cases and much anecdotal evidence
concerning environmental problems causing severe personal illness
or property damage. It certainly behooves any buyer at least to
consider testing as part of the home inspection, when the seller
may pay for remediation. Testing cannot prove that adverse conditions
do not exist, only that they were not obvious at the time of inspection.
However it can help safe-guard your investment, and give you some
peace of mind for you and your family.
One half of American homes contain dangerous molds and mildew.
Symptoms of mold related illness range from chronic sinus infections
and asthma to nosebleeds, extreme fatigue, severe headaches, and
dizziness, rashes and central nervous system problems. Medical
studies have found that mold & mildews are the # 1 cause of
allergic symptoms. The black mold, Stachybotrys found in home,
office and school environments has been linked to fatal pulmonary
disorders.
Testing searches for insidious contaminants which cannot be seen,
tasted or smelt. Just because the current owner appear to be healthy,
no assumptions concerning the healthy nature of the house can
or should be made. Children, for example, are at the greatest
risk and individual allergies and living styles vary enormously
between people.
Molds and mildew occur naturally and are found everywhere. Most
are benign and helpful to us, but some can be deadly or could
render the house uninhabitable or very expensive to remediate.
High humidity, flooding or poor drainage are the basic culprits
and this is where remediation would start.
Health effects range from mild to severe, vary between people
and usually affect children worst. General malaise, headaches,
sore throats and immune problems are some of the results from
mold and mildew allergy. If any of your family suffers from these
now, you might just have a problem with your current house. Insurance
companies tend to except mold problems nowadays.
Obviously not all surfaces can be seen or tested. Necessarily
avoiding destructive investigation or disruption of a house, testing
must be limited to those areas which exhibit mold. Swab sampling
of any affected areas will allow the lab to establish the actual
types of mold. As many tests as are necessary should be taken,
although one per occurrence will be enough.
Whether mold is found or not, air-testing is advisable since
spores could be air-borne but invisible. Air sampling of the outside
air gives the testing agency a base-line against which the subsequent
internal samples are compared. The difference between internal
and external results is what the house itself is generating. Samples
are taken at the time of inspection and results normally come
back within a week
Cost - with a home inspection:- per swab or air test $125.00
