The Bay Area's Leader in Mold and Microbial Investigations

Mold Remediation

Mold Remediation Success

Its very satisfying when you walk into a home, look at the water damage, document the affected area with an infrared camera, and conclude that there is a plumbing leak in the wall, only to find out later that you were right-on! I originlly suspected a roof leak, but since the arera of concern was on the lower level, and the upper level had no damage, the water had to be coming from the lower level. We opened a small section of drywall to check it out and guess what.... I was dead-on! There was a plumbing leak that was spraying water on the inside of the wall cavity.

Other Air Quality Services

Real Estate Investigations

Real Estate InvestigationsThere’s a huge difference between a home inspector and an environmental consultant. Home inspectors play an important role in the buying and selling process, but they generally don’t have the education, training or experience to evaluate a home for mold.

Mold Investigation

MoldOur standard mold investigation is anything but “standard”. Having been in the mold restoration industry for nine years, we understand building systems and we understand how to fix them when they get wet. Unlike most environmental consultants.

Total Mold Scam

In the past six weeks, I have had five clients that were all burned by the same company. This company will come out to your house and inspect for mold, then collect air and surface samples and will promise you a protocol (scope of work for remediation). Their protocol is actually an estimate for them to do the work. If you try to contact them to get more info... good luck. The only thing they're interested in is getting the job! Thats highly unethical, to say the least, but what makes it worse is that they also read their own samples. The lab report says "reviewed by (I really cant print their name) Laboratory", but they're actually doing the lab work themselves. In 4 of the 5 cases where I followed after this company, I did not find a mold problem at all.

Do you always have to remove moldy drywall?

Mold growth on drywallWhenever I see moldy drywall, I recommend physical removal. But, every now and then I come across a project where physical removal is not physically or economically possible. The most recent case was a large (22000 SF) home under construction. The drywall was installed over metal framing prior to the roofing system being complete... and the rains came. This particular home is unique in that there is literally hundereds of miles of electrical wires, T1 lines, cable, phone, plumbing, conduit, ductwork, etc, and all of it goes through the drywall in the ceiling cavity.

Mold and Foreclosures

I did a mold inspection in Concord, California, last week. It was a bank owned property that was vacant for about four months. The prior occupant thought it would be a great idea to break off the pressurized toilet valve in the upper floor befor he left, so the water ran for over 120 days... full blast!  To say that there was mold would be redonkulous. There were mold-sickles hanging from the ceiling! Every square inch of drywall in the structure was saturated. Some of the walls looked like leapard skin, some looked like they were made of cotton. There was actully grass growing out of the living room carpet. There was no point taking air samples, the smell of mold was overpowering, instead I took a few surface samples (it was mostly Stachybotrys).

Hot Water in Crawlspace

With the recent cold spell that has effected Northern California, I have seen a rise in mold projects caused by the expansion and contarction of water supply lines. One recent project in San rafael involved a hot water supply line in a crawlspace. The pipe burst approximately five weeks ago but the owner was unaware. They did notice a drop in water pressure, so they turned up the heat on the water heater to co0mpensate for the loss of hot water. They did not know that they were actually increasing the temperature of the water that was spraying under their house. The water and steam buclked the haredwood flooring in aboput half of their home, and caused mold growth under all of their bathroom cabinets.

Mold Industry Resources

Build My Team

Pacific IAQ does not recommend any specific professional for the remediation or management of your project, nor do we recommend any specific legal or medical professional. The following is a list of North Bay professionals with which we have worked successfully in the past, if a specific contractor, physician, attorney, or other professional is not on this list, it is because either we have worked with them and do not approve of their methods, or we have not worked with them and have no knowledge of their qualifications.

Mold and Bacterial Testing and Reporting

Remediation Process

Having a mold problem in your home or office can be a traumatic experience. Most homeowner’s do what comes naturally… they panic.  Once you have determined that you have a problem, whether its water intrusion, mold growth, or a sewage backflow, it’s important that you take a moment to assess the situation before you make any decisions.