Who is Your Mold Inspector?
Did you know that many mold inspectors don’t have any formal education and merely attend a three day course to become a “Certified Mold Inspector”? There are currently NO State of California licenses or registration requirements for mold inspectors. We’ve met former home inspectors, plumbers, pest control operators, entrepreneurs, realtors, and office supply salesmen who are now “Certified Mold Inspectors” and are supposedly experts. Some “certifications” can simply be bought right off the web.
Furthermore….is the inspector insured? Do they carry General Liability and Professional Liability insurance? Many inspectors don’t. We do – General Liability, Professional Liability, and Worker’s Compensation.
What laboratory do the using for the mold samples? The least expensive (i.e., more profits for the inspector) or the best?
Does the inspector also do remediation, thereby potentially creating conflicts of interest? Or they accept referral fees from remediators? Although unethical, there are no laws against this.
Would you trust this person to safeguard you and your family’s health, not to mention protecting your property values?
Why Use Gold Health and Safety Consulting for Your Mold Investigation?
Lots of people got into mold inspection because they thought it was an easy money making opportunity. We’ve been conducting mold investigations since 1996, before much of the media hype of “toxic mold.” This was also well before the proliferation of hundreds of inspectors into the field that have little or no relevant health and safety education or training.
Unlike many Certified Mold Inspectors, we have extensive education and experience in the environmental health and safety field. Our President is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), which is the certification recognized throughout the world as having the highest level of expertise in the Occupational Health and Safety field. The CIH designation is recognized by the Federal EPA, Federal OSHA, Cal-OSHA and California EPA. The “Certified Mold Inspector” designation is not.
Most Certified Mold Inspectors are not qualified to take the CIH exam. Aside from degree, experience, and exam requirements, CIHs must also complete extensive continuing education requirements in order to stay certified. As a result, we read professional publications and attend professional educational seminars each year by reputable groups in order to keep our knowledge current. That’s why we get asked by attorneys to help them out with their clients and cases. We regularly get asked to review work performed by other, less qualified inspectors.
We’ve conducted thousands of mold investigations, and we’re in the profession to stay. We are members of several professional associations, including the American Industrial Hygiene Association, Indoor Air Quality Association, and American Society of Safety Engineers.
Many mold inspectors simply take samples. We provide understanding to our clients so that they can get their problems corrected. Our standard investigations include recommendations and a Scope of Work, when warranted.
We only use laboratories that have high quality standards and that are certified by the American Industrial Hygiene Association. Many inspectors use lesser quality labs that charge lower fees, or in some cases uncertified labs.
Ethics and Mold Investigations
We maintain a reputation for remaining objective, unbiased, and ethical.
We only take the samples that we need in order to get the job done, and that our clients approve of. Many inspectors will over-sample a job because they have huge mark-ups samples fees which brings in most of their profits. Often, inspection companies pay their inspectors in part by how many samples they collect. We find this unethical because it can lead to collection of samples that are not truly needed at added expense. Unfortunately, the Client doesn’t know any better and gets taken advantage of.
We take very few surface mold samples because typically they are not needed (see our “Mold Fact Sheet” for an explanation). We also have reasonable mark-up on our samples, even though we use a more expensive and very well qualified lab.
We have a strict policy prohibiting accept any compensation of any sort (referral fees, finders fees, kickbacks, gifts, etc.) from mold remediators or other contractors. We avoid any situation with mold remediation firms or contractors that would create a conflict of interest. We only refer our clients to remediation firms that we believe provide quality work.
Value and Pricing
Our price is very competitive, and often is better than mold inspectors with much less qualifications and experience. We check our prices against both less and similarly qualified inspection firms regularly. Most Health and Safety Consulting companies with similar qualifications charge over twice what we charge for mold inspections.
We typically cost about the same or less than less experienced mold inspectors because we get straight to the problem and avoid unnecessary samples (see “Ethics and Mold Investigations” above). Also, our reports tell you what you need to know to move forward with mold remediation rather than leave you hanging or needing to pay extra for a Scope of Work.
When you choose Gold Health and Safety, you get solid expertise that you can count on at a great value.
Insurance Coverage
Most mold inspection firms carry no insurance. We’re fully insured for General Liability and Professional Liability. Copies of proof of insurance are available on request.
Watch the American Board of Industrial Hygiene’s “What is a CIH?” video to learn more about Certified Industrial Hygienists and what they do.