IMPORTANT INFO TO KNOW BEFORE TESTING YOUR HOME.

When homeowners suspect their home may be causing mysterious symptoms, they often pick up the phone and call an air quality professional to test the home. If their suspicions are confirmed and the results show the home has a toxic mold problem, the homeowners are often faced with extensive and extremely expensive repairs.

Doing nothing is not an option. Both water intrusion and mold damage are dynamic (ever-changing) and growing problems that do not correct themselves. In fact, mycologists (those who study fungi) agree that certain species of mold reproduce exponentially. Moreover, certain species of molds produce mycotoxins (“myco” means “fungi”; “toxin” means “poison”) that separate from the spore and linger in the air for long periods of time. These mycotoxins can be inhaled, absorbed by the skin pores and fall onto food and eaten. Whatever the path of entry into the body, mycotoxins can cause health problems, especially for those with weakened immune systems, infants and elderly people.

The bad news doesn’t end there: if the problem becomes known, it can devalue the home. This is because of the paper trail and witnesses that now exist when a home is tested by anyone other than the homeowner and analyzed by a lab that has the subject property address on file. Why? A homeowner must disclose any and all KNOWN environmental conditions if the home is listed for sale.

There are ways to avoid a value hit but they involve taking your own sampling and avoiding a paper trail that leads directly to your property address.

In some cases, it is impossible, even undesirable, to sidestep the paper trail.

Either way, POA has negotiated discounted testing options, not offered to the public. The lab with which POA negotiated these rates is one of the most influential labs in the world
-- Prestige EnviroMicrobiology, Inc.

Read on to determine which type of testing (with or without property address) is best for your particular situation.

Stealth Testing
Property address NOT required

If you fit into any of the following categories below, you may want to consider “stealth testing” – that is, testing that does NOT require a property address. The analysis is sent to an email address directly from the lab and does not include a property address. (You will need to allow emails from info@prestigeem.com so add this email address to your address book.)

• Occupant suspicious mold is causing health problems but does not want to label the home or office as a “sick building”;
  
  
• Homeowner trying to determine cause and extent of water damage for the purposes of making repairs or before an insurance claim is filed*;
  
  
• Patient requiring immediate medical attention and needs to show doctor documentation in order to receive proper treatment.

CLICK HERE FOR THIS OPTION

Property-specific testing
Property address IS required

Avoiding the paper trail may be a moot point if any of the following circumstances, all of which require documentation, apply:

• The person doing the testing is considering buying or is currently renting the subject property;
  
  
• An insurance claim has already been made involving mold. (Delays caused by the insurer may have turned mere water damage into a mold problem. Even though the policy may cap or exclude mold remediation, the carrier may be on the hook for these cost to repair if the carrier acted in bad faith.);
  
  
• The home is the subject of litigation; or
  
  
• The homeowner is using the defect as reason to reduce property taxes.

CLICK HERE FOR THIS OPTION

POA encourages anyone suspicious of a mold problem to test and has negotiated discounts for those who opt to do so. POA does not suggest that homeowners commit fraud and not disclose a KNOWN problem. But, we recognize that many people who SHOULD test do not do so because of the paper trail most testing creates. If there is no paper trail, the only ones who know for certain the property is contaminated are you and your maker. POA will never interject itself into that relationship.