Why microscopes are not commonly used at mold inspections:
- Microbiological laboratories have historically been involved, sometimes behind the scenes, in training mold inspectors. This could be perceived as a conflict of interest.
- Inspectors have been trained to function as extensions of the laboratories. "Here is how you take samples. Go and do it, and then send the samples to us." (One fellow student in my mold inspector class remarked, "I'd rather own the lab.")
- The mold industry in this country is geared toward lawsuits. Therefore, protecting one's back becomes a strong incentive. Whatever is done needs stand up in court, and a mold inspector is not a Ph.D. from a certified microbiology laboratory.
(May's note: Inspectors could have it both ways. They could have a proper papertrail for the courtroom, yet do extra testing with an on-site microscope for the sake of the family's health. This is my approach when litigation is a possibility.)
- The common mold inspection protocol is quick - easy in, easy out. You take a look around. You take an air sample on each floor and outside, and you take a tape sample for visible mold. In contrast, I could be at the house for some hours, taking 40-80+ samples. How practical is that? Yet, my most enthusiastic clients are those who have first had a conventional mold inspection - and then saw what I could do with my microscope.
- As with any money trail, if you can convince people that "secret knowledge" is part of the package (you know and they don't), you have a built-in selling point. In actuality, identifying the most common household molds under the microscope is not rocket science. A kindergartner could easily learn to identify Stachybotrys under the microscope. The spores look like dark grapes. Mold inspectors can learn to do this. Courses and certifications are available.
When I started my business in 1994, not even the college microbiology courses were spending much time on indoor mold issues. I had to teach myself using a reference book and hours at the microscope. When I shared the reference book with one of my microbiology professors, he responded, "Great! I've been looking for a book like this." (The book? Identifying Filamentous Fungi - A Clinical Laboratory Handbook, by Guy St-Germain and Richard Summerbell, Star Publishing Company, Belmont, CA.)
The Wild, Wild West
I've heard at more than one training session or conference, "We're in the wild, wild West," when it comes to functioning in the mold industry. As one worker safety expert said, "We have to make decisions before the supporting research exists."
She was referring to the need to decide facets of worker safety before the risk was properly assessed. I'm guessing she meant something like, "Is it really necessary to bundle up workers as if they were space-walkers?" The only credible approach in situations like this is overkill. Do too much rather than take a chance with someone's health. But overkill takes more time, uses more supplies, and costs more money.
I've had to apply this reasoning to my own approach as a mold inspector. Do I suit up like a space-walker at every house? At any house? Do I wear a respirator 100% of the time? I have opted not to, because I can't talk with clients or use a microscope easily with a respirator on. I will use a respirator in a house where I know there's been a mold catastrophe such as from flooding, or during demolition which releases a lot more mold material.
Have there been homes where, after air samples develop, I wish I'd worn a respirator? Yes. But those surprises have not caused me to wear a respirator at every house. Two practices I follow are to look at a dust sample from a suspect area under a microscope to get a sense of how many spores are present. This tips me off to what's in the air. And second, I'll wear a respirator in an at-risk area, such as a damp, smelly basement, when taking air samples at suspect ductwork, or if certain types of testing have to be done.
On the one hand, I consider this dilemma of when to wear a respirator an occupational hazard of being a mold inspector, and on the other hand, I follow leads for different technologies and treatments that may deal with mold in a body. There may be a page added to this website soon in that regard.
| Advantages of using a microscope at mold inspections:
- An on-site microscope answers the question: "How do you clean up mold if you don't know where it is?" By surface sampling, I find out where the mold is.
One phone caller mentioned having a mold-sniffing dog on a pre-purchase inspection. He said that the mold-sniffing dog "sat down" in each room, so they didn't buy the house that they loved. What a lose-lose situation. There's not enough information here for buyers to walk away from a house.
Another client hired a company with a mold-sniffing dog. The handler said there was too much ambient mold odor and the dog couldn't get oriented. He wanted her to have the house remediated first, and then arrange for a second visit with the dog. The dog could then better identify sources of mold growth. She called me instead.
- I can take as many samples as I need to, because lab fees are not involved. I can take surface samples inside sink cabinets, in attics, at representative surfaces in basements and crawlspaces, etc. I can test furniture, pictures on walls, floors under radiators, inside test holes in walls.
I can also test after mold removal to make sure the mold is gone or that sufficient demolition was done.
- I learn where invisible mold hangs out, and I don't miss those areas. See my story of mold at a new house.
- I get immediate answers in most cases. Look under the microscope at the tape sample? Mold is there, or it isn't. (If there's a lot of debris, such as in some ductwork samples, it's hard to see if mold is present. I touch such a sample to a mold plate to see if mold grows.)
- I learn where mold is growing and where it isn't growing. This is very useful when it comes to determining a clean up plan. It also helps to know whether a lot of mold growth is present or only a little.
As one client said (see "Testimonials"), "The other company told me I had mold, which I already knew. You told me where the mold was and what to do about it." Big difference.
- I can also use the microscope in doing in-house assessments of culture plate air samples after the culturable mold spores grow and mature.
- I can use a microscope to look at collected air samples (spore trap samples) to count total spores, as well as to examine other particulate characteristics of the air sample. In my experience, particulate levels differ in rooms with carpeting from rooms without carpeting. Carpeting harbors a lot of particulates.
- I have the capability of doing an in-depth investigation for a relatively reasonable cost. The instructor at my mold inspection course told the class: "May does an in-depth inspection. You will be doing screening inspections." Well and good -- but how many homeowners would choose an in-depth over a screening inspection, if they knew there were different options and if they knew that mold could be missed by a screening inspection.
No mold inspection can guarantee that all mold will be found, but the chances of finding mold are definitely much better with 40-80 samples at a house than with 3-4.
I routinely take samples that would run thousands of dollars in lab fees if sent to a microbiology lab. This in-house analysis is included in my hourly rate.
- Mold professionals know that taking more samples often would be helpful, but they don't do this because of budgetary constraints. They have to limit the number of lab fees.
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