Mold Inspection

There seems to be a lot of confusion around viable sampling and when its appropriate to collect viables. The most common sampling method is the non-viable sampling method. I use Allergenco D sporetrap cassettes, on a buck pump calibrated to 15 liters per minute for 5 minutes. During the 5 minute sample, 75 liter of air pass through the cassette, where airborne particles are impacted on an internal slide that is coated with an adhesive substance. I send them off to a lab where a mycologist opens up the cassette and looks at the slide to see what stuck in the adhesive.

Yeah, they're expensive... but they are worth every penny. Today I inspected a home in Santa Rosa where the homeowner complained of mold growth on the exterior wall of the garage. When I arrived, there was a stucco crew setting up scaffolding along the back of the home to remove the stucco and fix the leak. I got out my camera and quickly traced the moisture up the wall and across the ceiling to a point approximately below the master bathroom. I asked the homeowner "whats directly above us?" she told me it was the master tub so we checked it out, and sure enough, it was leaking. She sent the stucco crew home and called Maples Plumbing... Problem fixed!