How a mold job starts: inspection and findings (S520)

In plain English

Under the S520, a mold job starts with an inspection: gathering what can be seen and learned about the past, present and likely future mold and moisture condition of the building, its systems and contents. When actual growth (Condition 3) turns up, a building moisture inspection should follow promptly. The inspection is not an exposure assessment and isn't meant to answer health complaints; if occupants raise health concerns, the remediator should send them to a qualified healthcare professional and not give advice outside their expertise.

The remediator should try to get the building's history and should walk the property looking for visible growth, active leaks or condensation, high moisture readings, water stains, structural damage, how the HVAC runs, odors, the materials and how the house was built, earlier repairs or remodeling, and defects. Whatever the amount of visible mold, the remediator should try to predict where hidden mold is by tracing the path the water took, and should do the moisture inspection to the S500. Opening walls or ceilings to look calls for source controls such as a HEPA vacuum, containment or small localized barriers. Asbestos and lead rules "shall" be followed, and a hazardous-material survey of at least the work area should be part of the report.

One distinction matters a lot to homeowners: a remediator can see actual growth (Condition 3), but cannot confirm Condition 2, settled spores and fragments, by looking. Only sampling and analysis can confirm it, and the S520 recommends that an IEP do so. A remediator may assume Condition 2 from what they see and other data, but should justify that assumption (building and ventilation conditions, how the space is used, cost and benefit, risk) and put it in writing to the client.

From the inspection, the remediator draws a preliminary determination: where growth is or may be, where Condition 2 is assumed, where moisture got in, and whether an IEP or other expert is needed. It ends in one of three places: there's enough information to say the area is Condition 1 and no remediation is needed; there's enough to say Condition 2 or 3 exists and plan the work; or there isn't enough, and an IEP should be brought in to assess it with analytical methods. An IEP should also be recommended when health issues seem related to the mold. Remediators should only do work they're qualified for, with training and experience in water damage and inspection.

The determination and any IEP assessment become the basis for the work plan, protocols and specifications, which at a minimum should consider containment, pressure differentials, hazardous materials, worker safety, contents, removal, cleaning and disposal, occupants' special requests, the remediator's own post-remediation evaluation, any independent verification an IEP or the law requires, and taking down containment.

Texas note: on a Texas project of 25 contiguous square feet or more, the assessment and the written protocol come from a licensed Mold Assessment Consultant, who must be independent of the remediator, and the remediator's work plan has to follow that protocol.

Key points

• Inspection gathers history, visible signs and moisture data; it isn't a health assessment.
• Trace the water's path to find hidden mold; inspect moisture to the S500.
• Condition 3 can be seen; Condition 2 can only be confirmed by sampling, ideally by an IEP.
• An assumed Condition 2 should be justified in writing to the client.
• Three outcomes: Condition 1, Condition 2/3 with a plan, or call an IEP.
• In Texas, a licensed, independent assessor writes the protocol.

Official text

This topic is covered in our own words because the standard behind it is copyrighted; we cite it below rather than reproduce it.

Citations

• IICRC S520, ANSI/IICRC S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation — Secs. 7–7.3.3, inspection, qualifications, initial contact, health complaints, building history, occupant information, building inspection, pp. 39–40. Best practice
• IICRC S520, ANSI/IICRC S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation — Secs. 7.4–7.5, preliminary determination, remediation work plans, protocols and specifications, pp. 40–41. Best practice

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