Protect Yourself Against Mould Scams

Because the mould industry is so new, it is currently unregulated and unlicensed. Because the demand for mould testing and mould remediation is so high, there do exist, unfortunately, mould scammers who want to separate property owners from their money rather than from their mould problems. To avoid being a victim of a mould scam, if you have a possible mould problem, please hire a Certified Mould Inspector, Certified Mould Contractor, or Certified Mould Remediator. To find one in your area, please click on: Mould Professionals.. Here are several of the leading mould scams--
 

Insurance Companies and Insurance Adjusters as Scammers

Here are several mould frauds perpetrated by insurance companies and insurance adjusters---

(1) Hiring incompetent, low-paid, company-stooge testing personnel to do the least possible mould testing in the least likely mould-locations in an insured's property so that any actual mould is NOT likely to be discovered.

(2) Utilizing popular but very ineffective air cassettes so that little or no mould will be discovered. Air cassettes test too small of an air sample [150 cubic liters for the most commonly-used cassette] to give a truly accurate insight into a property's real mould infestation problems. Direct sampling of visible moulds and mould culture plates are vastly superior to air cassettes in determining the extent of mould problems in a property and in the identification of the moulds present.
          
(3) If the testing stooges uncover any mould problems, the serious mould test results are not to be shared with the insureds and are to be kept a complete secret forever from the insureds [this common insurance company fraud is one of the causes of actions in the $20 million Ed McMahon lawsuit against his homeowner's insurance company and its two insurance stooge testing and remediation companies. The McMahon defendants kept secret mould test results showing a serious mould infestation in the McMahon residence of the deadly mould Stachybotrys.

(4) Telling insureds that there is no mould insurance coverage even though there is evidence that insurance-covered water damage is the direct cause of the resulting mould infestation.

Ozone Generator
Ozone schemes claim that tenting a home and then injecting massive amounts of ozone gas into a home or other building will kill all of the mould in the building. Ozone can only kill what it comes into contact with. Ozone cannot get at, and thus cannot kill, mould growing INSIDE drywall, wall, carpeting, upholstered furniture, wall cavities, ceiling cavities, and floor cavities. Besides being ineffective at killing hidden mould [the worst type], ozone readily damages all rubber and plastic parts it comes into contact with such as rubber and plastic components of appliances, electronics of all types, exposed electric lines and extension courts, and hvac controls. Ozone is also unhealthy to humans according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

House Cooking
House cooking is when the mould scammers introduce large numbers of mould spores into the home or other building, and then increase the temperature and humidity [e.g., shut off air conditioning, close windows and run humidifiers full blast] to cause high levels of detectable mould to justify expensive mould remediation work. For a more detailed look at house cooking, please click on: House Cooking.

Fraudulent Mould Testing
The mould scammers will bring back to you mould test results showing big-time mould problems in your home or property. Unfortunately for you, the mould samples are NOT actually from your home but are, in fact, samples that had been intentionally infected [inoculated] with large amounts of mould species from other locations or from mould collections maintained by the scammers.

Mould Remediation Shortcuts
Many fraudulent mould remediation jobs end with the mould problems as great or greater than before the remediation work was done because of shortcuts taken by the mould scammers and because of flawed remediation techniques, procedures, and techniques utilized by the mould scammers who only care about getting your money, rather than solving your family's mould crisis. One big shortcut is that many mould remediators often rely on ineffective but cheap chlorine bleach as an alleged mould killer. See the discussion on chlorine bleach below.

Using Ineffective Chlorine Bleach Because it is Cheap!

Many mould remediation companies utilize cheap but ineffective chlorine bleach as their preferred chemical to allegedly kill mould to cut corners and costs in their mould remediation jobs. Unfortunately, chlorine bleach is not an effective or lasting killer of mould and mould spores. Bleach is good only for changing the color of the mould. Three weeks after treatment with chlorine bleach, mould will return just as strong as before. CHLORINE BLEACH IS INEFFECTIVE IN KILLING MOULD FOR FOUR REASONS:

(1) It is too diluted and thus too weak to permanently kill mould. 

(2) What little killing power chlorine bleach does have is diminished significantly as the bleach sits in warehouses and on grocery store shelves or in your house or business [50% loss in killing power in just the first 90 days inside a never opened jug or container]. Chlorine constantly escapes through the plastic walls of its containers.

(3) Its ion structure prevents chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such as drywall and wood---It just stays on the outside surface, whereas mould had enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction material . and

(4) Chlorine Bleach is NOT registered with the EPA as a disinfectant to kill mould. You can verify that important fact yourself when you are unable to find an EPA registration number for killing mould on the label of any brand of chlorine bleach. Use fungicide with quaternary ammonium compound.

To find a Certified Mould Inspector or Remediator in your area of Canada, please visit Canadian Mould Inspectors. To be trained & certified as a Canadian mould inspection, testing, remediation, and prevention expert, please visit: Mould Professional.
 

More News -----
[Toxic Mould Invades house, Sickens Family ] [Mould Terms] [Assessing Health Risks from Pesticides ][ Pre-Purchase Mould Test] [Mould Scams] [Medical Effects of Exposure to Toxic Mould] [Mould in the Bible] [Mould Prevention] [Canada Toxic Mould Lawsuits][ Mould Signs]
[Mold Invades Home In Utah] [More Mould News] [Home Builder Mold] [Mould Worries Real Estate Sectors] [Baby Breathing Problem] [The Future Is In Mould]
 

Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Solutions

Phil can help you fix your own property’s mold problems at low-cost, more safely, and better-in- results than what is done by many mold inspectors and mold contractors.  How can Phil help you?

     1. Read Phil’s five plain-English, mold advice books to master mold inspection, testing, removal, remediation, and prevention for your house, condo, apartment, office,  or workplace.

     2. Buy do-it-yourself, affordable mold test kits, mold lab analysis, video inspection scope, mold cleaner, and mold killer, for the  successful toxic and household mold inspection, mold testing, mold species identification and quantification, mold cleaning, mold removal, and mold remediation to find mold, kill mold, clean mold, and remove mold from your residence or commercial building.

     3. Get FREE mold advice, mold help, and/or answers to your mold questions, by emailing mold expert Phillip Fry at envirodangers@yahoo.com. You can also email pictures of your mold problems in jpeg file format as email attachments.