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Mold Inspectors: Proceed with Caution!
by Jeff Jeffrey Deuitch

If you are inspecting for mold and promoting yourself as a certified professional after completing only limited training/education, you may want to proceed with caution.

Most states have no regulation or licensing of mold professionals. The increasing demand for mold professionals has led to the birth of numerous organizations, seemingly overnight, which provide brief courses to teach how to be mold assessors and remediators.  The quick completion of these courses is accompanied by a certificate such as “Certified Mold Inspector” and “Certified Mold Remediator.” The term “certified” conveys credibility and experience, which is where some are encountering trouble.

The general public believes that a “certified” mold professional is a licensed and regulated individual who has completed significant education and experience requirements. When the truth is learned, it can create anger among those who believe they hired an expert, especially when it comes to protecting the health of their family.

In reviewing reports from nonscientists who have performed mold inspections, I see almost universally incorrect conclusions when they try to interpret lab data. Nonscientists tend to not fully describe the rational for protocols, fail to describe protocols in detail and fail to explain conclusions based upon the combination of observational data, measured data (moisture in walls, etc.) and laboratory results.

Equally inadequate is when a nonscientist does biological testing and simply hands a lab report to a client with no explanation, conclusion or description of sampling procedures. This leaves clients with more questions than answers. This is how a lack of science education is typically revealed. Realtors are becoming quite aware of the lack of formal education and training among "certified" mold inspectors.

House Bill 315
Major legislation was drafted in Florida this year as a result of economic harm resulting from assessments and remediations performed by inspectors with dubious mold certifications. Full Story   Subscribe  


Jeffrey Deuitch is a clinical microbiologist with specialization in general mycology and a regular contributor to WRE. He is owner of International Mold Group, a mold assessment company, is a Florida State Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser and is trained in home inspections and construction cost estimating. He also owns Manatee Appraisal Service. Jeff can be reached at moldgroup@aol.com.

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