A few weeks ago, we received a call from a person living in southwestern Pennsylvania who was having difficulty finding a professional mold expert in the region.

After talking with this client about our qualifications, certifications and experience, he knew he had called the right company. Yes, we are mold experts!

First of all, we have taken numerous courses over the years to understand and learn more about mold.  Plus, we are a member of the Environmental Consultants and Affiliates Network (ECAN) and are certified as a Mold Inspector.  In addition, we have done extensive research to learn all we can about mold and how it affects human health.  As a home inspector since 1990, performing probably 15,000 inspections, we have seen nearly everything in homes, including a lot of mold issues.

Unlike many home inspectors, our goal isn’t to scare clients about mold, but to  educate, inform and actually help them.

We provide a free mold assessment with every home inspection.

Our free assessment includes identifying areas of potential mold growth, why it may be growing and how our client can address moisture issues to prevent future mold growth. In addition, we share information about how our valued clients can clean up mold themselves in most cases, according to EPA guidelines.

If we believe mold is present or our client or members of our client’s family have severe asthma or allergies, we may recommend additional testing.

Our indoor air quality sampling (additional cost) provides a detailed report to inform our clients about what allergens they are breathing inside the home.  We adhere to a strict testing protocol to ensure accurate and meaningful results for our clients.  This testing not only informs our clients about what they may be breathing and the levels of allergens in the air, but we also take a “control” sample to determine the levels of allergens that are naturally occurring in the environment outside of the home. In many cases, the solution to these indoor air quality issues may be as simple as replacing the filter (higher MERV rating) in the home’s HVAC system to remove  allergens in the air — and running the furnace or AC blower motor continuously to filter the air inside the home!

Compare this level of knowledge and great care we have for our clients to the horror stories we’ve heard from a few area residents and associates who are mold remediation experts.

In some cases, other home inspectors have tested for mold using swabs, but then don’t identify in their reports where the mold is located in the home.  (Taking a mold swab is much like testing moldy bread for mold — you know it’s mold.)  We have also noticed that a few inspectors who take these swabs don’t always follow strict testing protocols to ensure accurate results.  Each swab is an additional cost to clients but does nothing to inform them about what they are actually breathing every day in the home.  (Just because a small amount of mold may be present somewhere in the home doesn’t always mean it’s affecting the indoor air quality.)  In some cases,  remediation companies have spent two or three hours searching for mold mentioned in an inspector’s report, only to find a very small amount of mold that the clients could have cleaned up themselves using guidelines provided by the EPA!

If only these people had contacted Housebusters!  We could have saved them time, money and a lot of aggravation!

If you have indoor air quality concerns, call the area’s trusted mold experts, Housebusters, at 800-847-3500 or book online.  We are always happy to share our extensive knowledge about mold with our clients and those who have indoor air quality issues!