People wonder why there is so much value placed on having an indoor environmental professional do the testing and the writing up of a scope of work. A person might think why should I have to spend hundreds of dollars to test or verify what is there, where if I spend ten dollars at the local home improvement shop I can purchase a home mold test kit. There are a few critical reasons for hiring an IEP to do the mold removal scope of work. One of which is that the kit only tells that you have mold.
A mold testing kit may seem like a huge cost savings in comparison to an IEP, in actuality it is not a cost savings. A mold test can only help you in determining if you have mold in your home, but now how to solve the problem or tell you what numbers mean. The test covers the barebones of what an IEP does, and even then it does not do it correctly. An IEP because of their specialized equipment can determine where exactly in the home the mold is coming from, and they can write-up a scope of work. This scope of work is valuable for a mold removal company because it can show what steps need to be taken, along with the techniques that need to be used. Another critical factor is that the home mold tests are not exact.
When using a home testing kit, a person needs to be wary of the outcomes of the test itself, you are not most often a trained environmental scientists, where as an IEP are trained scientists. Not being a trained scientist, means that more likely you need to be wary how you doing the testing since there might be cross contamination. Also, the mold test due to its simplicity, shows all the areas of the home and not the specific room. The IEP’s can pin point exactly where the problem, and how to remediate the problem with the help of a professional mold removal company in a thorough manner.
Another important factor to remember is that the liability without an IEP is on you as a homeowner that the home has all mold removed to the IICRC’s S520 guidelines. Also, if the property owner was to sell the property they could convey the property without a mold related issue. This is important to note in today’s highly litigious society where people file a lawsuit without even a second thought. All of this adds into the value of having an IEP.
The IEP covers important areas that a simple home mold test cannot cover. First is the testing which is much more accurate than the home testing equivalent. Second they are able to advise the mold removal company on how to handle the remediation work, and where it must be done through a written scope. Thirdly, they are able to standup in a court of law as an expert witness in order to protect you from possible litigation.