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A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc.

Your South Florida Mold Testing Specialists


Mold Inspection and Testing by 
Certified Florida Mold inspectors
Professional, Detailed, Non-Bias Reports
No conflict of interest; we inspect only!!!
Post Remediation Clearance Testing

Spore Analysis
Remediation Protocol
MEMBER:
IAQA and AmIAQ
IAQA CIE # 01952

To set up an appointment just call us at:
1 (888) 381-6651

Who We Are
  • A Accredited is a fully Certified South Florida mold testing firm serving Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties, including Miami, Ft Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and all of South East Florida. For larger inspections we cover all of Florida and the Caribbean. We provide professional quality mold testing on condos, homes, and commercial buildings large and small.

  • Your local inspector performs inspections and mold testing in compliance with the standards of practice set forth by the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization. Since we function as an independent inspection firm and not as a remediation firm, we have no conflict of interest. We have only protecting your health as our concern.




Do It Yourself Mold Testing Kits



If you feel that you have a mold problem, you can save money on a mold inspection by buying a mold testing kit from your local South Florida building supply store. The kit consists of a standard, plastic Petri dish containing a mold growth media, most likely MEA (Malt Extract Agar.) Simply open the kit and let mold spores fall in it from the ambient air above it. Within a few days, mold colonies will start to grow. Typically, you will see black, white, gray, brown, and green colonies. Colonies with both green and white are also very common. Most colonies will be fuzzy, and the mold types in the mold testing kit will usually be mostly penicillium/aspergillus-type molds, cladosporium, mucor, and a few others. It's very cheap, easy, fast, and quite interesting to see what is floating around in your air.


However the conclusion drawn from the results of this mold testing procedure is very limited. Because the kits do not draw in a given amount of air for a given amount of time, there is no way of knowing for sure if the number of spores that settle in the plate and grow into mold are just the normal expected levels of spores found in every house. Most clean houses without a serious mold problem should be expected to contain very roughly 200 to 500 mold spores per cubic meter of air. Anything over 1,000 is typically considered suspect by many mold inspectors. These numbers are just estimates and do not reflect the real world perfectly, however, similar numbers have been supported by several scientific mold studies over the years
.

Since there  is no control sample using outdoor mold spore testing, you will not know if the mold spores floated in from outside as is expected, or if the mold indoors is different in number and type from outdoor levels and types, which would indicate that the mold most likely grown indoors.

Also, because the mold testing was not conducted by a person trained and experienced in mold testing, you will most likely have no idea of from where the mold came, if it is likely growing inside the walls, why the mold is a problem if in fact it is a problem, or how to properly remove the mold and correct the problem that resulted in mold growth.

If you feel that you have a serious mold problem in your home or place of employment,  you may want to purchase a test kit from your local building supply store. However, you will benefit much more by obtaining the services of an experienced, trained, and properly certified South Florida mold inspector, certified indoor environmentalist or certified industrial hygienist who is familiar with proper mold testing methods and:

1) Building construction and building forensics Because your mold problem is not in a Petri dish or lab it is in a building and is the result of building failure, mold testing should be done by someone who has knowledge of buildings, vapor barriers, roofing, etc.

2) Psychometrics. Psychometrics pertains to humidity, temperature, dew point and air, and a deep understanding of the interrelation of such factors is important. This is very important during Florida mold testing.  

3) Biological sciences. Your mold testing professional should understand at least some basic biological and ecological science principles pertaining to microbiology or mycology (the study of mold).

4) HVAV systems. Your mold testing expert must be familiar with HVAC systems because probably 50% of mold problems are related to HVAC system malfunctions, leaks, or contamination.

5) Sampling reports. Your mold inspector should be properly trained and experienced in investigating and sampling mold, and they should know how to interpret the lab results.

6) Inspection reports. Your mold testing professional should give you a comprehensive mold inspection report documenting visual findings, environmental monitoring results, interpretation of lab results, inspector's conclusions, recommendations on how to control the mold problem and more. A report from the lab alone will only result in you hiring another inspector to get the interpretation of the results. Look to A Accredited for a qualified inspector who has a college degree in education for teaching biology and general science, has health inspection experience, has extensive home and building inspection experience, has earned not one but three mold inspection certifications and also who is a certified indoor environmentalist certified by The Indoor Air Quality Association. 

 

About the Author:

 

Daryl Watters is president of A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc. He provides home, mold, and indoor air quality investigations in South Florida. He is also the creator of MIR forms designed to aid inspectors in the production of computer generated indoor air quality and mold inspection reports. For more information visit www.floridamoldinspectors.us  www.florida-mold-inspection.com www.freemoldinspectionreporting.com  www.moldinspectionreport.com  


Serving...
Homeowners - Home Buyers - Insurance Companies - Real Estate Agents
Housing Authorities - Rental Unit Owners - Commercial Property Owners
Public and Private Schools - Government Buildings


We Service The Following South Florida Counties And Cities:

Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Martin County

Miami - Ft Lauderdale - West Palm Beach - Stuart-

For Commercial, Long Distance, and Larger Mold Investigations:
All of Florida and the Caribbean.




 

To set up an appointment just call us at:
1 (888) 381-6651



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A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc. Broward, Palm Beach, Martin

Toll-Free: 1 (888) 381-6651   
 

© 2003, A ACCREDITED MOLD INSPECTION SERVICE, INC.