Mold, just what is the buzz on this "new" asbestos? What does this mean to the community of realtors and the liability associated with it? Hopefully I can answer that easily.

To clear up one major misconception, Mold is NOT the new asbestos. If you leave asbestos alone, paint it let's say, it will sit there doing nothing at all. Mold, will not just sit there. It will continue to do damage in many ways both structurally and health-wise.

So, you have a listing, an offer and the due diligence portion of the selling period comes up. The inspection report comes back with suspected microbial growth in the kitchen behind the frig and in the laundry area. A certified mold inspector is necessary. I'm sure just the mere mention of this makes your heart flip flop. Now what?

You will need to find a good inspector. All too often I hear an agent say how much will this cost the house is 1800 sq ft. First off, inspections of this sort do not go by the sq ft. They go by the problem. An inspector needs to walk the entire home at least twice. Once to get a visual lay out of the home inside and out and then again to do the testing. Pictures should be taken to document the areas inspected. Finding a good mold inspector can be tricky unless you know where to look. A helpful website is www.normi.org. Listings are there for about every state.

The inspector should do at least 4 tests if not more in the home regardless of the size. Methods of collecting are varied and depend on what the inspector is looking for. Most commonly used are air o cells. These are small casettes that are placed on a unit that is calibrated to suck 15 liters of air thru the cell. The cell is then taped shut and sent to the lab where the technician will read the sample under a scope. There are drawbacks to this method however. The air o cell can miss things going on. It is not a guarantee or a fail safe method. An inspector that will do an air cell read in the home and outside the home and tell you that is all you need is not doing a service to anyone but themselves. I will try to paint the picture by explaining it like this. An air cell generally is set to take a "snapshot" of approximately 3 cubic feet of air in a structure. That 3 feet is changing all the time. Air does not stop moving. So as soon as the cell is done with the testing , the air in that same space has changed as much as twice. An air cell read should be used along with a tape lift or swab test. It might seem redundant but it is not.

A good inspector will look around areas that can be problematic such as HVAC system, all windows, ice maker lines, laundry area,under sinks, behind toilets, attic spaces and access to clean outs in bathtubs is available. The most problematic areas I have found are the HVAC condensation lines that run in the home. All too often the lines are never cleaned or blown out and debris just builds up in there. Water backs up and slowly leaks into the main areas of the home. often this is a longer term exposure to water and the mold growth is significant once discovered. In the meantime, mold has been circulating thru the home via the HVAC system. That slow feed of constant moisture is usually a good breeding ground for toxic mold growth.

Speaking of toxic mold let's clear up some misconceptions on this subject. All black mold is not the toxic variety. All toxic mold is not black, it can be green, yellow, orange, brown or violet. It depends on the food source. Toxic mold or mold in general likes to grow in the dark, without light and moving air.  SO think if I were mold where would I be growing? Changes the perspective a bit.

My biggest thing I want to get across here is BLEACH DOES NOT KILL MOLD...never ever use it. It removes the stain and drives the root system deeper into the material it is growing on. A simple analogy is this, a weed is growing on the lawn. You snip it off and now it looks perfect. However as soon as the moisture comes and it will, the weed comes back better and stronger than ever. Mold does the same thing. Products suchas KIlz and other paint overs will only disgusie the fact that mold is there for a short period of time. Removal of drywall is needed in most cases to stop the growth. In the case of toxic mold, all affected material MUST be removed.

Documentation in research on toxic mold has shown the off gas of this mold to be in the same catagory as anthrax and ricin which are nuero toxins to the body. The AMA has the list of chronic neurotioxins.Not all people react the same to this toxic off gas but when as many as 30-50% do , it can be a huge problem for the folks in that building. Affects of this mold can be allergy symptoms, hives, infections, eye disturbances, memory impairment, weight gain, disorientation, cancer and death. I live and practice in AZ. and even though it is dry out here, I find toxic mold in 8 out of 10 of my inspections and in mainly newer construction. An excellent yet lengthy read on the toxic mold reasearch is Mold Warriors by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker. It has been my mold primer in the medical research arena of mold. For a free E book on mold free construction, contact me and I can email it to you.

Here is what a mold inspector cannot do. They can not move the frig or washer/dryer due to possible breakage issues. They can not go up on a roof. They can not see behind walls and what is possibly there. They can not go into walls on a home that is not owned by the client. They can not move furniture unless the owner is there to move it. Lastly, they can not give a 100% guarantee there is no mold. No one can. Every home has mold in it. It just ruling out the possibles of any dangerous counts or types.

The use of infrared cameras can make the "seeing" behind walls a bit easier as this technology uses a heat differential to read any variances in the drywall. It is a non invasive, non destructive method of looking by reading thermal differences.

In ending on this blog, Mold needs to be taken seriously. Disclosure needs to be done properly. Inspections need to be done even more properly. Getting by on the cheap will not cover the liability of mold if it is found after the closing. There is no commission worth the agony of when the client calls and complains they found mold.