Is air sampling for mold a necessity?

I lost a home inspection job for this weekend and I believe I know why.  The job involved not just the routine inspection but also had a suspected mold problem.  Although I would have liked the income, I am more concerned that the potential client decided on another inspector because he was convinced that air sampling for a potential mold problem was needed.  The client said that possible mold was present and described construction that could create moisture conditions conducive to mold growth.  But, I told the client that usually air sampling for mold is not needed because no matter what, if you see mold, you clean it up.  If you find moisture problems that could lead to mold growth, even if no visible mold growth is present, you attempt to eliminate them.  A skilled inspector should be able to recognize both without the need for air sampling.

The truth is that no where is there a requirement for air sampling.  In fact, air sampling is usually not recommended.  The main reason is that the complexities of mold and sampling for mold usually creates more confusion than explanation.  The results are usually confusing, and many times do not mean anything.  Over the years, I have found that nearly every time I have collected air samples--and a lot of other types of mold samples other than clearance samples--the results create confusion and misinterpretation.  When I have been an expert consultant in legal cases, I most often do not have trouble discrediting others mold sampling results.  And the truth is to get any kind of statistical accuracy upon which to make significant conclusions, many more samples are needed rather than the two or three most so-called "mold experts" collect.

Over the years, I have found that when so-called experts do not really understand what they are doing, they rely religiously on protocols they learned in their two or three day mold courses.  Those courses teach them how to conduct sampling, but usually do not dig very deep into the logic behind the sampling.  In most cases, the limitations of the sampling are not explained.  Further, I suspect that even when the limitation are explained, most attendees at these classes do not really grasp those limitations because they do not have the background to understand them.  I know my background and all of the various bits of expertise, special training  and experience I have needed to understand those limitations, and it took over 25 years to get it.  So, I suspect highly that a person coming from a non-science background with less than a week's training probably does not understand them.

The thing is air sampling for mold is a tool, just like many other tools needed to investigate such problems.  In fact, I can think of nearly 20 different types of sampling used to investigate mold problems.  In fact, many various air sampling methods exist besides the usual Air-O-Cell cassette usually used by so-called "mold experts" and I know of at least three air samplers that collect samples similarly to the Air-O-Cell.   I have found that many of the other sampling methods even provide more useful information than any air samples.  With air samples, you HAVE TO understand how air travels throughout an area to determine the validity of the sample and whether it provides information about a risk.

But, the most important tools that an investigator takes into an area is his/her visual acuity and knowledge.  I specifically stated visual acuity because the inspector needs to have an eye for detail.  I have been on many inspections with clients where I have pointed out possible mold or signs of moisture problems that the client did not even see.  The stuff between the ears can only be gotten one way and that is through long hours of learning, knowing the right people and a lot of hard work.  No one is going to stuff that expertise into someone's head in a couple of days.

So, when it comes right down to it, I lost an job opportunity because someone else was much better at selling a likely unneeded service than I was at convincing the client that the service was NOT needed.  At the same time, the client had a part in my loss and  I don't mean by just selecting the other person.  No, the client also came into the picture with beliefs--things read or heard.  In fact, I could hear doubt in the client's voice when I said that I rarely take air samples.   When I get these calls, I try to educate the client.  Sometimes, I succeed and sometimes I don't.  My only request to anyone reading this is that you listen and learn to ask the right questions.  I also recommend that you also dig deeper into the expertise of the person offering you advice.  It could save you a lot of money in the long run.