Messages posted by: docshane

Mold does not spread and grow without a constant moisture source.
The mattress looks to be fine. Those black lines are not mold, but synthetic fibers that make up the bottom cover of mattresses. Mold does not grow in fine streaks as you have show. That is good news because the mattress is no doubt, fine. Especially if it had a mattress cover.

The black mold on the window sill looks like Cladosporium sphaerospermum. This mold loves window sills that have been wetted by any means. It usually does not get into the air if left undisturbed. It can be cleaned off with soap and water. The issue is controlling the water issue that caused the mold to grow.

I hope this helps.

doc

Anybody know if this ice is coming from and why is it thawed in certain places?

Richmond, KY

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7% believe is a dangerous place

Bill,

Good points. I agree

There is no test that can do VOCs and mold at the same time. They are fundamentally different tests. You may be thinking about mycotoxins being measured with the VOCs. That would even be problematic for reasons too lengthy to go into here.

A sorbant tube, tedlar bag or summa canister are used for VOCs and measure only what is in the air over a long time (hours).

Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to the guy who is going to say that "he knows it is mold..."
You are quite correct in the way you should say it, "it has the appearance of mold, microbial growth, etc.." And recommend that it be tested if the client want to know for sure.
An air test needs to be performed also to determine if the mold on the wall is the same as in the air. Many times there is a problem type(s) and amount of mold in the air and it is different than what is on the surface. This is a good indication that there is probably a hidden mold problem / water leak.

doc

A clothes dryer can actually increase the levels of radon in a home my increasing the stack effect (drawing air into the home from the outside - below slab).

The same is true for any evacution fan(s) running in the house.

You, of course, mean “Accredited”. AIHA does not “Certifiy” laboratories.
With that said, InspectorLab participates in the AIHA EMLAP program and have a 100% CORRECT rating for all organisms. InspectorLab is should be AIHA accredited by the end of next quarter 2015.

I can provide you with one. I will email it directly.

doc

Since only 1/10,000th part of radon transfers to the air from water there would have to be an awful lot of radon in the water to have a spike. Actually, one might argue that showering is a type of mitigation for radon in water.

That being said, I have seen (I believe from Mike Kitto, the NY state physicist) some small study on the subject. I wlll search my library for it and forward it.

If the home is small, the venting low, the radon concentration in the water is very high, and the shower long enough, I believe there would be a spike in the radon concentration in the home, albeit transient. That would mean that the person in the shower would be having an acute exposure to high concentrations of radon.

The 2013 Task Force set up by the Office of the Governor of Colorado stated that, "Examples of situations where marijuana cannot be sold include when a sample tests positive for mold or some other contaminant and the entire batch must be destroyed.." The fact that marijuana will contain mold is a 100% surety. I suppose the question might be if it contains viable mold. I need to check.

The Channel 7 new story that was posted made me laugh because the owner of the testing company said, "black mold may bad when you smoke it..." Huh!?

With that said, testing marijuana as a food product is a good thing.

The marijuana plant itself is extremely sticky and holds everything that touches it tightly. The same applies for herb tea. Several years ago I was involved in testing a food supplement that was the "cure de jure" for overweight people. This supplement contained, in order of abundance, 1) tea / herbs, 2) caffeine, 3) mold of all sorts. Here it was the caffeine that helped you lose weight and not the supplement "herb".

Stay tuned. I will find out what the microbiological standards are and if they are the same for food products and plants.

I am so curious as to the "elevated Cladosporium" with an open house. There should NOT have been any "abnormal" numbers of Cladosporium inside vs outside. Not sure what to say more on that.

You wrote:
"think of some way to perhaps identify what the purpose of the sample is for (make the person collecting the sample go on record), instruct them to seek advice or recommend further evaluation if being presented to a lender or other party which could have a very real impact on the sale or something which can stop this type of abuse. You can't control what some guys will do with the report.."

We can't control how people will use or parse our reports. It is always a concern. Reputations are built and/or destroyed on how people use data (don't get me started on that one!).

I have always taught that a person should know the answer to a question before they start. That way you will not be confused about the answer when it appears. Some people call that "hypothesis testing". The reality is that we all have to trust each other to do a good job and call each other to accountability when we don't. Hopefully, the mistakes will not be willful (that is the bad). I love to be corrected (but I hate to be wrong). It is a humbling thing and a great way to learn.

I have a file of people that have altered reports (not from InspectorLab) that I have been to court on. One guy shot himself in the head during court recess rather than be convicted!

but I ramble...
Thanks for the discussion!

doc

No question that a HI who took a mold sample should not recommend a remediation. Training is so very important also.What I wanted to do however, is direct my attention to some of the other comments.

I hope that my comments will not sound too self-serving, but they are given with many years of experience in the mold testing, sampling and teaching business.

Mold sampling can be an important way to evaluate the condition of a home. A 203K inspection evaluates (among other things) the overall condition of appliances and if they are performing their intended function(s) properly. One of the ways to evaluate this is a mold inspection/test. The 203K inspection is also looking out for the FHA's best interests and a mold inspection/test is a way to do that. It is always a good idea to have specialty inspections and tests.

I am puzzled about the comments about "elevated mold spore counts in the absence of ANY MOLD does not constitute a clean up"? Perhaps a more elucidated statement would help me understand how to respond to that one.

In my experience, a HI that does not use an experienced scientist associated with a laboratory to help evaluate a mold report is on dangerous ground.

There are no "golden spikes" that solve or see all problems in anything diagnostic. A complete diagnostic evaluation must have a multi pronged approach. Furthermore, lenders want to spread risk and a mold assessment is one way to do that. I speak with and write letters to lenders all of the time about this. I have also spoken with lots of REA to help them understand the role of mold sampling.

Finally, one of the reasons a mold warranty is the direction mold testing should go is that for the first time there is some kind of assurance that the client is getting something that they can hold and know that they are not just getting some latin names associated with numbers. I believe that a quality lab and a qualified scientist is a great team most able to offer home owners something of value beyond the reporting of mold.

Space limitations confine my brief comments. As always, I welcome discussions of every aspect of this industry. This brings light and knowledge to all and we all benefit. When we all benefit, our clients benefit and the world is a better place. I believe this and not just as a cliche.

doc

I read with interest the statement: "was no one ever dies of aids, they die of a cold or something else.."

This is somewhat true. Let's talk about an aspect of this that I know about. Many aids patients die of an infection different from the AIDS (if you have AIDS you definitely have HIV). These are called "Opportunistic Infections". Fungal infections are part of opportunistic infections.

I was once told by an infectious disease physician in San Francisco that more AIDS patients die from fungal and other opportunistic infections than actual AIDS infection.

Think about intravenous drug users and snorters. Heroin, cocaine and the like all have massive amounts of fungi in them (there are plenty of papers supporting this). When you inject these fungi into an already immunocompromised person the results are often devastating.

Yet another reason not to inject or snort!

doc

InspectorLab does well water. We do 48 hour TAT standard for Bacteria, Lead, Nitrates, Nitrites (these are the FHA required analytes). We can do more metals with the same TAT, but usually not necessary.

Remember to send in the sample with our kit that includes Ice Gel Packs and Foam shipping container. The COC must contain the time of day and date sampled because bacteria analysis has a 24 hour window. The water must be collected with the appropriate water bottle.

Also remember to send the sample in Mon-Thurs. Receiving a sample on Friday means a 100% (Saturday work) charge because a tech must come in on Saturday to read the bacteria.

doc