Free Mold Inspection Myth
You've all seen it if you've searched for Mold. Companies offering Free Mold Inspections! Sounds great at first sight. As a consumer, free can't get any better, right? Wrong! In this blog we will take a look at what you're really getting with that "Free" Inspection.
1. Mold is not regulated in the State of Tennessee - As a consumer, this should scare the heck out of you. This means that anyone can open a mold business today, with no training or experience and have your money tomorrow. I have been in the mold industry for 12 years and seen all types of "mold experts" come and go. Construction, pest, foundation, and re-mediation companies trying to make a quick dollar off of your lack of knowledge as it relates to mold. Often times "mold" companies will offer miracle spray products at a fraction of the price of actual re-mediation. If you're a consumer, this sounds great, right? I've killed the mold and saved a ton of money in the process. Wrong! Mold re-mediation and removal should be performed a certain way, anything less is a band-aid! Killing mold alone won't solve your problem.
2. Free Inspection gets the foot in the door - As a consumer, you have to ask yourself, how and why is a company able to offer free inspections? It's easy, once the foot is in the door they are selling you a mold removal job that could be in the thousands. The question now becomes, can I trust that the mold re-mediation job is needed and that it is being done by a qualified professional the right way. As a consultant, I work with clients who have often received three estimates from three different companies. They have also received three different prices and three different scopes/methods of work. Lets look at an example: Jane has mold in her basement and has three different estimates:
Company A: $500.00
Company B: $2,500.00
Company C: $4,500.00
Jane doesn't understand why company C is price gouging, after all, Company A has promised her to kill the mold and company B is providing her with a nice dehumidifier making the claim that it will eliminate her problem for good. What Jane doesn't understand is that she is about to blow $3,000.00 at no benefit to her. In a few months time she will be going through this process again because the mold is back. Company C is correcting the source, removing the mold, and documenting the process through testing and validation. Jane won't have to deal with the problem any longer and the work has been documented by professionals so that if Jane ever wants to sell her home, she has documentation to prove that it was done correctly and the problem was eliminated. It's easy to look at the above pricing and think that Company A is great and Company C is out to get my money! However, it is actually reversed. Company C will eliminate your problem, Company A and B have just made you a lifetime customer!
3. Who is providing the Free Inspection? Often times the person providing you a "free inspection" is a salesman who is not certified in mold removal and gets commission off of each job sold. The more expensive your job is, you guessed it, the more money they make. Hey consumer, while your doing the mold re-mediation, why not purchase this $7,000.00 dehumidifier and encapsulation system, I promise, you need it. As a consumer you have to understand the game and you have to know what your getting yourself into. Before you know it, your free inspection has turned into a $7,000.00 expense that you didn't need in the first place.
So what is the solution? Hire Twofold Mold Inspections, a company that has no interest in mold re-mediation but only in educating you helping you make the right decisions when it comes to mold in your home. I am here to protect the consumer. I provide you with testing if necessary and detailed reports that identify the source and proper procedures to remove it. If you do have a problem that requires professional re-mediation, you can be confident that you won't be taken advantage of and that the problem will be fixed for good! Remember folks, Bob was eating pop-tarts and watching cartoons yesterday morning....today, he is at your door step giving you a free mold inspection! Hire a professional!