Announcing TIJ's Newest Forum

[hausdok]

Hi All,

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Payam Fallah to the moderator staff of TIJ. Dr. Fallah realizes that mold is one of the most vexing issues that home inspectors face and he wants to help inspectors understand what they are dealing with and keep it in perspective. We're delighted to welcome him to the TIJ family.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Richard Moore]

Welcome aboard!

In case Dr Fallah is modest, here's a brief resume.

http://www.idehl.com/bio-fallah.asp

[pfallah]

thank you Mike for the introduction. I am looking forward to share what i know on the topic with others. I hope we can separate facts from fictions about mold, fungi, indoor air quality etc.

regards

[sepefrio]

Welcome, I already got a Topic for ya! I've held off on mold and air quality certs so I could focus more on core items and to keep my business simple. Well the more I am here the more I am believing having these certs are core and I simply need to get them.

Can you recommend a course track, series of books, beginning middle end of process and such. Basically, if someone wants to do this and do it the RIGHT way, not the "just good enough" way, how is it done?

[pfallah]

John:

if you absolutely have to have a mold certification, IAQA organization offer courses that are simple and straight forward for sampling.

The best book i can recommend you to read and use as reference, is Bioaerosos: Assessment and Practice, 1999, by American Conf. of Gov. Industrial Hygienists. They cover everything and it is THE book of the industry.

best

--payam

[Jim Morrison]

Welcome Dr. Fallah,

Unfortunately, there are many worthless mold certifications in the field of home inspections. What would you suggest are the minimum qualifications a person must possess to provide a meaningful evaulation of mold in a residence?

[hausdok]

Hi Jimmy,

More important than that, what should be the minimum education and experience one should have before one opens up a school teaching home inspectors how to work the mold rush. There are folks out there teaching this stuff that have probably opened a book in their life.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[pfallah]

Jim:

there are indeed many ridiculous certification out there; a few you can even get online as long as you pay the fee! Everyone can open the book and learn how to sample. It is not rocket science. Honestly, you guys, the home inspectors, have to have a broad knowledge of everything about the building before you could start inspection. You have to be knowledgeable and be experienced to do a decent job of inspection. I am not qualified to inspect houses but pretty much everyone can do Mold sampling as it is very easy to do. The challenge is how to interpret the results and this is what many out there have done such a terrible job of that they have given the industry a bad name. Education has some to do with it but common sense is more important. For example, when some inspector find a single Stachybotrys spore they exaggerate and say they have to clean up the place, containment etc. when we know spores can get in from outside very easily and finding a few spores in the absence of growth means very little and is insignificant. The most important thing is visual inspection and common sense.

to be continued...

[Caoimhín P. Connell]

Jim:

there are indeed many ridiculous certification out there; a few you can even get online as long as you pay the fee! Everyone can open the book and learn how to sample. It is not rocket science. Honestly, you guys, the home inspectors, have to have a broad knowledge of everything about the building before you could start inspection. You have to be knowledgeable and be experienced to do a decent job of inspection. I am not qualified to inspect houses but pretty much everyone can do Mold sampling as it is very easy to do. The challenge is how to interpret the results and this is what many out there have done such a terrible job of that they have given the industry a bad name. Education has some to do with it but common sense is more important. For example, when some inspector find a single Stachybotrys spore they exaggerate and say they have to clean up the place, containment etc. when we know spores can get in from outside very easily and finding a few spores in the absence of growth means very little and is insignificant. The most important thing is visual inspection and common sense.

to be continued...

Hhmmm...

I think I've heard this before somewhere....

Welcome, Payam!

Cheers!

Caoimhín P. Connell

Forensic Industrial Hygienist

AIHA, OHSI, ASTM (D22, E30, E50, E58)

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG