The Bay Area's Leader in Mold and Microbial Investigations

Mold Industry Scams

The worst perpetrators of mold scams are:

      • mold removal contractors who also offer mold inspections and mold testing services      • all in one mold service firms which offer mold removal service after their mold inspection service as well as their own clearance certificates and post-cleaning results.Their scam is creating non-existent mold problems and charging you thousands of dollars to fix them.

Insurance Scams

it’s hard to imagine insurance companies doing anything improper or unethical. But like any company in business to make money, what is proper or improper, ethical or unethical, right or wrong, is not defined by moral absolutes or standards. It is defined by legal technicalities. Fairness, integrity, and conscience are nice words to flaunt. But the bottom line is always comes down to profit margins, not nice words.Here are some profit-driven business practices of insurance companies to look out for. (DISCLAIMER: Not ALL insurances companies)

Using Heat to Remediate Mold

Some contractors claim that applying heat to a structure is an effective way to remediate mold. This is a bogus claim. While mold can be killed by heat, as can every other living organism, there is no evidence to support the notion that heat treating a house will kill all the mold, and heat will not destroy all of the allergens and irritants that are associated with mold growth.

Insurance Companies and Insurance Adjusters as Scammers.

Here are several mold frauds perpetrated by insurance companies and insurance adjusters.      a. Hiring testing personnel who are loyal to the insurance companies (not the insured) to do the least possible mold testing in the least likely mold locations in an insured's property so that any actual mold is NOT likely to be discovered.

Hire a remediator to remediate. Hire a remodeler to remodel.

The standard rates for remodeling or reconstruction work that involves mold remediation is approximately three time higher that the exact same remodel without mold remediation. That means, by hiring one contractor to do the entire job, you are paying triple the regular rate for the reconstruction work that takes place after the mold is removed. As rule, you save a lot of money by hiring a remediation contractor to remove the mold, then having a remodeling contractor come in to do the reconstruction. Some remediation contractors will insist on doing all the work or none at all.

Check your remediation contractor's experienced and references.

AND CALL THE REFERENCES! Don't take anyone's word for it when it comes to shelling out thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars for remediation work. Ask for references for jobs that are at least 10 to 12 months old. Why? Because every mold remediation job looks great as soon as it’s finished. But if remediation work is not done correctly, it can take several months to realize it. As a rule, if mold does not reoccur in that time, the work was done correctly. A remediation contractor who has nothing to hide, has no problem giving you references.

Free Clearance Testing

Many contractors offer "FREE" clearance testing also, (which is equivalent to grading their own homework). Don't fall for it! Clearance testing is crucial to the mold remediation process and should never be performed by a mold removal contractor waiting to get paid for his work.

Ozone Generator

Ozone schemes claim that tenting a home or building and then injecting massive amounts of ozone gas into it will kill all of the mold in the structure. Ozone can only kill what it comes into contact with. Ozone cannot get at, and thus cannot kill, mold growing inside drywall, walls, carpeting, upholstered furniture, wall cavities, ceiling cavities and floor cavities.

House Cooking

"House cooking" is an old scam designed to get the worst possible test results. The inspector shuts all the windows and turns on the furnace in order to elevate the number of mold spores in the air before taking samples. Some will even turn on ceiling fans and humidifiers full blast. The purpose is to cause high levels of detectable mold to justify expensive mold remediation work.  This scam can also be avoided by not hiring a mold inspector who also profits from remediation work.

Mold Remediation Contractors Who Also Perform Mold Inspections

Most remediation contractors are honest businessmen, but every industry has its “opportunists” – individuals who have no moral or ethical scruples when it comes to padding their profits by getting your repair bill up as high as possible.