The Bay Area's Leader in Mold and Microbial Investigations

Blogs

What is the cost of Mold Testing? (follow-up)

This is a follow-up on my last blog because I have already had 2 calls and people want to know... "whats the catch?".  There is no catch! I have one price for a mold inspection anywhere in Napa, Sonoma, or Marin county... period. I dont charge mileage, equipment rental, travel, tolls, etc. It is, for the most part, all inclusive. I say "for the most part" because my standard mold inspection includes up to two outside baseline air samples, two inside air samples, and one surface tape-lift sample. That is perfect for 95% of the homes I vist.

What is the cost of Mold Testing?

I have had a lot of online questions regarding the price of mold testing and investigations. Why dont I publish my prices online? Its because I have the lowest prices in the north bay and I dont necessarily want to give my compitition my price list. Right now I enjoy the competetive advantage of offering the best service at the lowest price.  If you think you need my services... just call me and we can discuss the prices. It may suprise you how affordable mold testing can be.

AmIAQC and IAQA part ways!!!!

Big news in the mold industry. The American Indoor Air Quality Council (AmIAQC) and the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) have terminated their unification agreement. The 2006 unification agreedment basically seperated the roles of the two organizations; The IAQA would become the training and membership organization, and the AmIAQC would become the certification organization. This put an end to the days when people would take a 3 or 4 day class where the exam was given on the last day.

H1N1 Swine Flu Cleaning

I had a call from a guy in San Francisco about which product is best for disinfecting a school after a student has contracted H1N1. Thats such a good question that I decided to do some research on the subject. Heres the deal... no one knows! The problem is that there is no surrogate for testing whether or not a product will be effective against H1N1. Whats a surrogate? Well... take Anthrax... no one has Anthrax laying around that they can use for testing the efficacy of a product, but there is a surrogate organism that is very similar to Anthrax that can be used for testing.

WHO Mold Guidelines

The World Health Organization just put out their "Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality - Dampness and Mould" report. This is the first WHO publication that deals strictly with mold and IAQ. I skimmed over the 248 page download but have not had the time to really study the document. When I have time... when will that be?... I will dissect the document and post my opinions. So far, I am pretty impressed. They recognize microbial pollution as a key ingrtedient of indoor air pollution, and also recognize the need for remediation. When I get the chance, I will add this download to my website.

Mold in Santa Rosa

Whats up with Santa Rosa? I have completed 7 mold inspections in Santa Rosa this week! I also did a mold inspection in Petaluma and one in Carte Madera. Then I had a Post-remediation Verification (clearance) in Calistoga and one out in Sebastopol. This is the busiest week I have had in months... whats the deal. Is the economy finally rebounding?

What is the cost of mold remediation

If you want your mold removed properly, then you probably should hire a professional remediation contractor. Not all contractors are created equally, and not all have the knowledge and experience to clean up a mold problem in your home. The cost of hiring a professional mold removal company is going to depend on the size and complexity of the project. When I owned a remediation company, my projects ranged from $1000 to $900,000, with the average being around $3500.

Do Mold Spores Have a Smell

I was doing a mold clearance in Petaluma over the holiday weekend and the question came up... do mold spores have a smell? The question came up again during a mold inspection in Santa Rosa this morning so I thought it was worth a blog.  The smell associated with mold growth is usually associated with the microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOC's) which may or may not be associated with the actual spore.  When you smell that musty, moldy odor, it is usually a good indication that there is mold growth in the vicinity...

What do I do if I have mold in my home?

Well, if you are in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, or any other city in Sonoma, Napa or Marin county, then the correct answer may be to call Pacific IAQ. Every home is different and every situation is unique, so there is no standard answer to this question. I get calls all the time from people who just want some info on what to do.  My answers vary depending on the situation but one common theme is to STOP THE SOURCE OF WATER! If you have questions, do not hesitate to call me... it costs you nothing... and I always recommend what I believe is best for you, not Pacific IAQ.

Landlords, Tenants and Mold

I got an amazing call from a guy in San Rafael this morning. His daughter has been renting a home for about six months and recently noticed that the floor was sagging in front of the dishwasher. She has a 12 month old baby and is currently pregnant. She did some additional investigation and found significant mold growth inside the lower cabinets and on the wall behind the dishwasher. The deterioration was so bad that the drywall was falling off and the framing behind could be removed with your fingers.