People wonder why an indoor environmental professional is placed so highly on testing and writing a scope. A person might think why they should have to spend hundreds of dollars to test or verify what’s out there, where if I spend ten dollars at the local home improvement store, I can buy a home mold testing kit. There are a few key reasons for hiring an IEP to do mold abatement work. One of them is that the kit just says you have mold.
A mold testing kit may seem like a huge cost saving compared to an IEP, not really a cost saving. A mold test can only help you determine if you have mold in your home, but now how to solve the problem or tell you what the numbers mean. The test covers the basics of what an IEP does, and even then it doesn’t do it correctly. An IEP due to their specialized team can determine exactly where the mold comes from in the house and can write a scope of work. This scope of work is valuable to 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 home mold tests are not accurate.
When using a home test kit, a person should be careful about the results of the test itself, they are not usually a trained environmental scientist whereas an IEP are trained scientists. Not being a trained scientist means that you will more likely need to be careful about how you test, as there could be cross contamination. In addition, the mold test for its simplicity, shows all areas of the home and not the room in particular. The IEP can pinpoint exactly where the problem is and how to fix it with the help of a professional mold removal company in a thorough way.
Another important factor to remember is that the responsibility without an IEP rests with you as the owner that all mold has been removed from the home per IICRC guidelines S520. Also, if the property owner were to sell the property, he could move the property without any mold-related problems. This is important to keep in mind in today’s highly litigious society where people file a lawsuit without even thinking twice. All of this adds to the value of having an IEP.
The IEP covers important areas that a simple home mold test cannot cover. First there are the tests, which are much more accurate than equivalent home tests. Second, they can advise the mold removal company on how to handle the remediation work and where it needs to be done through a written scope. Third, they can appear in court as expert witnesses to protect you from potential litigation.