Do Mold Inspections for Commercial Buildings
Do Mold Inspections for Commercial Buildings
Robert Weitz is the owner of RTK Environmental Group, a trusted environmental testing firm that does mold inspections in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. According to Weitz, commercial real estate owners really need to show due diligence by inspecting their properties for any possible mold problems in order to avoid costly real estate liabilities in future.
Commercial buildings vary somewhat from home testing when it comes to inspecting for mold. First of all, we always rely on the four main components of our mold inspection program, which are thorough visual inspections, moisture readings, thermal imaging and analyzing air samples. After that, things change a bit.
Do More Complicated Inspections
It is essential to a commercial inspection for the inspector to be able to analyze the air flow inside a commercial building, and how it contributes to a potential mold problem. In particular, the HVAC (heating, ventilating and cooling) system in a commercial setting is much more critical to a mold inspection than it would be in a residential or home setting.This is due to a more intricate circulation of air.
In a commercial building, much like in a residential apartment building, you have the issue of different tenants. In larger buildings in particular, you often have different tenants on different floors, and a mold inspector may need to gain access to each and every one of them, which can complicate the commercial inspection much more so than a residential one.
Interview the Individuals
Oftentimes, a commercial mold inspector will need to interview the individuals in a commercial space, because very often there are health complaints. This is where we get into the "sick building syndrome," which is a very common phrase today. This syndrome is usually complaint-based, so we want to be certain we have access to the people with the complaints to ask them specific questions. In particular, these questions can concern the time of day during which the complaints are being made. Sometimes people will have symptoms only at certain times of the day.
Determine the Problems
By asking the right questions and getting answers, we can determine where a mold problem can be, if it is not readily visible. That said, we do not test for Legionnaire's disease on a regular basis; we get called in to do testing for that perhaps once a year, so it is not considered one of our mainstream items. We concentrate on doing mold inspections, and there is something to be said for repetition, as doing the same thing over and over again makes you better at it.
Sometimes, the problems we find particularly as far as sick building syndrome is concerned may be indicative of other environmental issues other than mold, such as other air issues that may be either bacterial or viral. Again, these may relate directly to an inadequate or malfunctioning HVAC system. Quite often, this can indicate ventilation problems. In a sick building, you often do not have enough air flow and the air flow becomes stagnant, which can lead to respiratory and headache symptoms in particular.
In the state of Connecticut, the age of the buildings will be a specific peculiarity that makes the area a bit different than other areas. Many of the office buildings there are very old structures. That is significant because old structures have a longer history; you can have mold issues which may have started 10, 20 or 30 years ago. You may also be dealing with water issues that have been solved, but the mold created as a result is still existent. We do mold inspections in Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut, so call us today!
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