Ep. 54 - Inspecting for MOLD and suspected organic growth in Louisiana - with Kristian Geiger

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Another freaking week, another episode here of the Ride Along with my co-host, Mr.

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Matt Brading out in Houston with Texas Edge and Spec.

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How's it going, buddy?

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what's up?

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ah It's going well.

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It's going very well, but very busy lately.

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Dude, this is good.

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Spring Market, it's rolling along.

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You've been busy.

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That's awesome.

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guy started a new a new guy started with me today.

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New inspector.

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Yeah.

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He did OK.

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He's right now.

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He's just kind of walking around with me, you know, but in upcoming weeks and you know
he'll he'll slowly get more and more, you know, things that he's doing and get his hands

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on more stuff.

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More hands on type training right now.

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He's just kind of shadowing, but will increases his workload coming up in the upcoming
weeks.

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his workload increases as his liability decreases.

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It's based on how it works, right?

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You do now.

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So what do you do for like when you're training somebody, is he just carrying the ladder
open in the windows, running the faucets, things like that?

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Like, what do you have them doing?

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uh carrying a ladder is a huge thing, by the way.

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But so yeah, he has actually done some ladder carrying, but for the most part, right now,
he's just walking.

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This was his first inspection.

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He did do a ride along with me.

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uh We're on the ride along, but another, you know, an actual ride along.

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He did a ride along with me a couple of weeks ago or something like that, just to kind of
see if we wanted to do this.

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And it worked fine.

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And so we said, okay, so right now he's just in the shadowing phase.

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There's more watching.

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Yes, some ladder carrying or it might be like hey girl, we see it reset that GFC I but I
would imagine that by the end of the week He'll be doing some stuff to kind of help out

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the inspection process And that way he's doing a little hands-on and a little learning at
the same time

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Dude, I love it.

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And we've actually got somebody uh riding along figuratively speaking with us today.

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But he is no stranger to the home inspection industry.

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In fact, this guy is one of the best there is out of freaking Louisiana, Eastern
Louisiana.

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Mr.

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Kristian Geiger, how you doing bud?

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I'm doing great man, how are you guys doing?

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Wonderful man.

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I'm just I'm glad you're here.

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We've we follow each other on social media for a minute.

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So I'm glad that we've got you on the show because inspecting in in in LA as you are is
got to be fascinating that I mean, the termites that you guys deal with the just the

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different terrain and part of the Gulf that you guys are on.

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It's very unique.

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Yeah, it is.

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mean alluvial soil always leads to a little bit more foundation issues.

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We don't really have any bedrock that you have to deal with, I believe, in your neck of
the woods.

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But yeah, Formosans are pretty big out here, Formosan termites.

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So it's always something that you have to watch out for.

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Yeah, definitely man.

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So yeah, yeah, Matt's out of Houston.

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I'm out of Tampa Bay, Florida area.

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We don't have rock.

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We just have sand over here.

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Yeah, it's a whole lot of sand.

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Yeah, we don't need base.

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you probably dealt with bedrock a lot more.

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Yeah, no, definitely.

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And that's actually something I want to get into.

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before we before we talk, usually, you know, we'll start the show like I'll ask Matt,
like, what's something interesting that he's seen in the field this week?

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ah But, you know, since this is mainly because, you know, we've had some really
interesting characters on the on the show recently, if you haven't caught up, go back,

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watch the episode with Jesse Hernandez, watch episode with Brian Wall.

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uh We've talked everything from AI to insurance adjustment.

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Um, all kinds of cool stuff, things that intersect with our industry without always just
being strictly about our industry.

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But today it's, it's inspection heavy baby.

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And, uh, so we're going to, we're going to talk a little bit about what we've seen this
week, but before we do that, of course we got to plug inspection fuel cause that's coming

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up.

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I'm going to be a September eight through the 10th in NOLA over in a Kristian neck of the
woods which you going to be there, bud?

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absolutely, tickets are already purchased.

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I will be there.

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Look forward to seeing you guys.

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Dude, this is actually going to be cool because Matt, you know, we've all got something in
common on here.

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And I feel like maybe we need to lobby ah Dave Kogan at porch to maybe be the featured
entertainment of inspection fuel because uh we all play music.

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We all do have a musical background.

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do indeed.

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I used to play guitar for many years and a little bit of singing.

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Brad, you got a little guitar and I believe you slap it at bass, as they say.

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And Kristian, you...

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yeah, so I sang for many years.

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toured the country, played South by Southwest.

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So it's many moons ago, but you know, guitarist, play every day, you're a singer, you sing
every day.

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So, I mean, you still keep your chops sharpened as it were.

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I'm sure it's like riding a bike.

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Okay, so we've got the home inspection band.

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There's another inspector we were just talking about plays drums.

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So mean, we've got we got a four piece band ready to rock, man.

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And, you know, look, the chili peppers pull it off with what three, so for see, there you
go.

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We got this guy's.

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ah Hey, sound off in the comments.

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If you want to hear Matt sing, uh you know, if he's if he's really bad, then just just
stand there and just be like, it's not supposed to do that.

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We'll just hand the mic to Kristian because he's a singer.

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Yeah, that's it.

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He'll take over.

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Alright, so drink of the day.

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Guys, what are we sipping on?

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On Cinco de Mayo.

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Kristian, what you got?

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Well, Cinco de Mayo, have got tequila.

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Dude, that's the proper thing to do.

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But what is in there?

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Is that just a whole tumbler of freaking tequila?

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Yes, it's about, well, no, no, no, no.

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Look, we are trying to get through the show, right?

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No, uh I do have some sprite in here to kind of tame it down a little bit.

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I gotta stay focused with you guys.

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I love it, man.

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What are you sipping on,

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Tequila.

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Just kidding.

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It is though.

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It is.

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I got a ranch water.

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I don't have stuff for margaritas, so I got a little lime flavored liquid death, some salt
on the rim and some tequila.

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So, is.

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I'm a liquid death fan.

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Dude, I will have to check it out, man.

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I am just, cheating guys.

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Like I'm just sipping on a nooner.

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And I honestly don't care just because uh yesterday was the final day of Country Thunder
here in the Tampa Bay area.

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And I did good to wake up this morning.

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I tied one on just a little bit.

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And so I'm keeping it, I'm keeping it as light as possible for this episode while still
honoring the segment, you know, try to do anyway.

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But, um, but now, now that we got our something to sip on here, uh, I want to go around
the horn and talk about, what we have seen in the field because it's been an interesting

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week for those of you that, that don't follow Matt, definitely go follow them.

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Kristian, where can they follow you at first of all?

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You can follow me anywhere, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, everywhere.

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I'll follow you anywhere, Kristian.

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Wherever you will go throwing it back to the 2000s.

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yeah.

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So, uh, but no, go follow them because I mean, like we talk about, uh, one of the best
things about the home inspection industry.

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It's like, feel like we were all down to like call our buddies.

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It's like, dude, you wouldn't believe this thing that I saw.

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or I just saw the wildest thing today.

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You wouldn't believe this agent or you know, is it like we tell stories and that often
translates onto social media for the content creators.

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So go follow those guys so you can pay attention to the stories throughout the week.

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But Matt, you have seen some pretty cool stuff and you had a little bit of a war.

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I did.

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did.

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Yeah.

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So today I was um coming out of a closet.

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This was an occupied house.

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They had like a under stair storage inside the closet.

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And I saw I was trying to get back there and make sure there was nothing going on back
over there.

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But I had to like make my way out of it through like their clothing and everything.

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I was wearing my meta glasses here.

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So this is what I looked like.

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Like I had these on.

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And as I came out, there was a door that was open and I hit the door and it smashed my ear
between.

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the door and my metaglacid and it cut my ear open very, very small little work related
injury.

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I think I'm going to live guys.

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But it did bleed though.

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It did bleed.

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I was a bleeder.

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And so yeah, I had to kind of walk around with a paper towel on my ear for a while, I'm
going to make it.

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I'm going live.

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There's plenty of other guys that have had big pillowy coverings on their ears after
they've been wounded.

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look, you could probably run for president next, is all I'm saying.

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The guy's an impressionist, I didn't even know.

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Some say it was just the baddest wound that they've ever seen on an inspection job site.

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can't even touch that.

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I can't even touch that.

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But yeah, I got a small injury on my ear.

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What did you see this week, Kristian?

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What's the coolest thing that you've run into in the field?

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Man, this week uh I would have to say, yeah.

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Well, this week and last week has been pretty heavy with focusing more on the mold
inspections.

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And the interesting thing this week was actually kind of sad.

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I haven't run into this before doing a trailer inspection and uh

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I found a baby, not sure if it was a baby rat or a baby squirrel in the drain and the
mother was nowhere to be found.

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So I had to make a pretty hard decision.

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you know, it's either let it starve to death or, know, kind of quickly, you know, do what
you got to do.

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So I had not run into that before.

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Thankfully, not too many.

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I've never ran into a snake under a crawl space.

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I've never ran into wild animals or anything like that.

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ah But that was pretty interesting and pretty gross.

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this video.

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You put that out on the video.

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saw this video of you in this baby creature.

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Now you very cleverly made a video that was actually very successful for you.

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Am I, am I mistaken with that?

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No, yeah, it's done pretty well.

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uh Well, look, in hindsight, even my wife was like, look, you cut it off face in the
toilet for a reason.

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That's why everybody thinks I flushed the thing.

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But I did not, I'll set the record straight right here, I did not flush it.

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You know, I'm not that cruel.

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But um it's

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Hold on.

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done fairly well.

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The video's done fairly well.

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think it's just a hair over two million uh between Facebook and Instagram.

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Well, Kristian, let's give it a minute for your camera to catch up there.

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I think it's something something kind of froze on you.

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uh Well, while that's.

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both frozen on my end.

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Oop, and he's gone.

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And he's gone.

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You know, we've never had this happen on air before.

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Now I feel like this is actual radio, you know, it's like that caller that that long time
caller first time listener that, you know, shows up when I think that's the other way

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around.

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Yeah.

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But anyway, okay.

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Well, I got a little something too, man, while we're waiting for him to come back online
here.

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uh So yeah, no.

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So okay, when it's, it's awesome to be moving between different locations.

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All right.

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Up in Virginia, you know, again,

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eight or nine years up there.

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can't remember exactly how long it was, but ah every place is just so different.

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And I thought that inspecting in Florida would be much more simple just because, hey, we
got him back.

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There he is.

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ah Now, Kristian, I was just saying, you know, it's neat what you find between different
places of the country.

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I really am kind of still learning some things about the Florida market that where I
thought it would be much more simple down here just because you don't have basements.

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Everything is slab above grade.

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Um, not always the case.

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And, uh, I don't know if you guys do wind mitigation inspections, uh, up on your side of
hurricane alley, but, it's something that I got called for this past week, uh, insurance

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agent I'm friends with, need one done.

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And, uh, you know, I was looking at pictures and she goes, yeah, I think they got solar
panels.

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hate solar panels and go back.

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We talked about solar in a previous episode, but, uh, I get up on the roof.

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It was not solar at all.

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it was actually a hydronic uh solar pool heating system where basically it's just very
thin piping with connected to a manifold at the top and the bottom.

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00:13:10,441 --> 00:13:24,325
It almost looked like a solar panel from a distance, but basically the pool pump will send
it through the filter and then up to this manifold where it will trickle down very slowly.

228
00:13:24,325 --> 00:13:29,745
and get heated by the sun and this thin black tubing and then run back down to the pool.

229
00:13:29,745 --> 00:13:31,910
And it wasn't a huge pool.

230
00:13:32,071 --> 00:13:36,973
I looked at the cost, it means maybe a few thousand bucks to install.

231
00:13:37,074 --> 00:13:44,819
But for a moderately sized, a small to moderately sized pool, it made so much sense
because it's like, why do you want to pay for another heat pump?

232
00:13:44,819 --> 00:13:52,485
Why do you want to pay for a gas furnace to heat your pool when you can just do it this
way, one and done, and so long as you don't have a hurricane that comes along and mess

233
00:13:52,485 --> 00:13:53,387
things up.

234
00:13:53,387 --> 00:13:58,772
then you've got a fairly consistent source of heated water to keep it pretty livable.

235
00:13:58,772 --> 00:14:00,916
You can keep that pool open through the winter down here.

236
00:14:00,916 --> 00:14:01,846
Yeah, that's pretty cool.

237
00:14:01,846 --> 00:14:03,047
Certainly uncommon.

238
00:14:03,047 --> 00:14:04,510
I haven't ever seen anything like that.

239
00:14:04,510 --> 00:14:17,074
But although I've seen some like solar, like water heater situations, I've seen that like
very, very rarely, but I've come across something like that before, but not the pool.

240
00:14:17,556 --> 00:14:17,959
Yeah.

241
00:14:17,959 --> 00:14:19,680
is what it is.

242
00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:21,962
Much more simplified version of it.

243
00:14:21,962 --> 00:14:23,213
yeah, hey, always learn it, man.

244
00:14:23,213 --> 00:14:24,144
We're always learning.

245
00:14:24,144 --> 00:14:32,931
But there's another thing, another way that we could take this thing too, guys, which is
that ah since we're always learning, we're always adding to the toolkit, right?

246
00:14:32,932 --> 00:14:41,739
And I want to talk to you guys, especially Kristian, you do a lot of mold inspections as
well in your neck of the woods, correct?

247
00:14:41,739 --> 00:14:43,040
Is that kind of one of your specialties?

248
00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:44,366
uh

249
00:14:44,366 --> 00:14:45,097
is.

250
00:14:45,227 --> 00:14:48,874
Yeah, tell me a little bit about that and how you added that to your scope of work.

251
00:14:48,874 --> 00:14:54,653
Because that's what I really want to get into is how we define our scope of work as
inspectors.

252
00:14:55,752 --> 00:15:02,856
So a mold inspection, at least in our area, is not actually considered part of our
standard of practice.

253
00:15:03,017 --> 00:15:10,462
So we will notate things uh that have the appearance of suspected organic growth, right?

254
00:15:10,462 --> 00:15:12,903
We can't call it mold unless it's tested.

255
00:15:13,504 --> 00:15:20,709
But a mold inspection will be done separately, separate contracts, separate scope,
separate terms.

256
00:15:20,709 --> 00:15:25,712
And that way it doesn't fall under our standards of practice.

257
00:15:26,048 --> 00:15:36,533
Yeah, I started that a couple years ago almost the same time that I started home
inspections um It's been a I can't really call it an ancillary service.

258
00:15:36,533 --> 00:15:50,709
That's that is my primary source of income um and so it's been It's been a great uh
learning experience um especially the more uh The more you do it the more you learn the

259
00:15:50,709 --> 00:15:52,808
more you understand what to look for

260
00:15:52,808 --> 00:16:02,196
um And the more you can help your clients, you know because some of them are spending all
kinds of money scratching their head trying to figure out why they're having an issue and

261
00:16:02,196 --> 00:16:03,098
we're able to help them.

262
00:16:03,098 --> 00:16:05,442
And so it's very satisfying.

263
00:16:05,726 --> 00:16:12,048
So out there where you're at, it does require a completely separate license to inspect
from old.

264
00:16:13,576 --> 00:16:19,616
Um, actually no, uh, in Louisiana mold inspectors are not licensed.

265
00:16:19,616 --> 00:16:26,956
Um, you, uh, it has a very low bar for the state of Louisiana, uh, for mold inspecting.

266
00:16:26,956 --> 00:16:29,795
Now obviously remediation, you know, is a different story.

267
00:16:29,795 --> 00:16:32,616
You have to be licensed and insured.

268
00:16:32,616 --> 00:16:38,376
Now, um, I am very heavily certified in the state of Louisiana for mold.

269
00:16:38,376 --> 00:16:41,956
Um, and, uh, so I went through LSU.

270
00:16:42,089 --> 00:16:49,351
through programs that they have there where they certify you and you're taught directly by
a uh microbiologist and a mycologist.

271
00:16:49,351 --> 00:16:59,593
um And then I've gathered many other certifications to make sure that uh I'm giving my
clients a good product.

272
00:16:59,593 --> 00:17:06,275
And in a few weeks, I'll be able to challenge the test for the board certified indoor
environmentalist.

273
00:17:06,275 --> 00:17:12,256
And so that will be a very large piece of uh

274
00:17:12,328 --> 00:17:24,977
uh peace of mind for my clients that they're getting somebody who knows what they're
doing, knows what to look for, and can help them complete a project from start to finish

275
00:17:24,998 --> 00:17:37,397
as far as giving direction to the remediation company, giving direction on what to look
for, what chemicals to use, what methods to use uh to be able to successfully get them

276
00:17:37,397 --> 00:17:39,099
back to a normal fungal ecology.

277
00:17:39,099 --> 00:17:44,459
Now that's awesome man and again that's your your normal gosh that's where you're making
most of your money.

278
00:17:44,459 --> 00:17:49,288
So that's fantastic but when did you kind of realize that that was going to be the biggest
differentiator in your business.

279
00:17:49,288 --> 00:17:51,660
first six months of even being in business.

280
00:17:51,660 --> 00:17:55,794
So ah I say the first six months, the first six months of consistent work.

281
00:17:55,794 --> 00:18:07,275
So I got licensed in as a home inspector in September or October of 2022, I believe it is.

282
00:18:07,607 --> 00:18:17,085
So, I mean, it's not licensed in our state, but so you definitely have to make sure that
you're getting somebody who is very qualified for what they do.

283
00:18:17,085 --> 00:18:33,428
uh So my professor, the person who taught me is one of the top uh expert witnesses in not
just Louisiana, but really across the nation for mold inspecting, but also, you know,

284
00:18:33,428 --> 00:18:36,881
things to look for philosophies.

285
00:18:36,939 --> 00:18:39,949
You know, there's not all mold inspectors are the same.

286
00:18:39,949 --> 00:18:47,053
Um, you know, yeah, some of them, uh, it's just, you know, call it like it is.

287
00:18:47,053 --> 00:18:51,101
You know, some of them are have unethical practices, you know?

288
00:18:51,101 --> 00:18:54,404
And so you hear that you hear that I hear that every week.

289
00:18:54,404 --> 00:19:03,953
That's the biggest concern that, uh, my clients have is, um, the horror stories they hear
about mold remediation companies and, and mold testers.

290
00:19:03,953 --> 00:19:04,781
So.

291
00:19:04,781 --> 00:19:13,685
uh You definitely have to make sure that you bring and exude confidence and trustability
to your clients.

292
00:19:13,987 --> 00:19:24,259
These horror stories you talk about, that like people that maybe had a mold inspection or
these, they had a mold inspector out, but they recommended a whole bunch of remediation

293
00:19:24,259 --> 00:19:30,296
that maybe wasn't necessary because of some feedback they're the remediation company or is
that what you're talking about?

294
00:19:30,296 --> 00:19:31,857
oh

295
00:19:32,104 --> 00:19:32,644
Yes.

296
00:19:32,644 --> 00:19:40,346
So, um, the biggest conflict you'll have out here, which is, um, something that you're not
supposed to do.

297
00:19:40,346 --> 00:19:54,109
And of course they legally try to find ways around it is let's say the inspector is, has
his own mold inspection company and his wife just so happens to run a remediation company.

298
00:19:54,390 --> 00:19:58,851
And so that is convenient, right?

299
00:19:58,851 --> 00:19:59,848
Um,

300
00:19:59,848 --> 00:20:00,249
dink.

301
00:20:00,249 --> 00:20:01,620
as luck would have it.

302
00:20:01,620 --> 00:20:07,301
And so they obviously they trade work back and forth and there's a clear conflict of
interest there.

303
00:20:07,421 --> 00:20:20,535
As far as the inspector side, uh you do have some inspection companies, uh ones that are
used quite a bit, who will take a single air sample and walk around an entire house with

304
00:20:20,535 --> 00:20:27,006
it and collect air out of the entire house and pass that off as a mold inspection.

305
00:20:27,007 --> 00:20:27,377
Right.

306
00:20:27,377 --> 00:20:29,255
So traditionally,

307
00:20:29,255 --> 00:20:31,055
the way it's done.

308
00:20:31,055 --> 00:20:40,915
Depending on the openness, if there's an open floor plan or if it's an older style home
where you've got lots of hallways and twists and turns, if it's an older home, you

309
00:20:40,915 --> 00:20:46,635
generally want to stay somewhere between the five to 700 square feet per air sample range.

310
00:20:46,635 --> 00:20:54,155
And if it's a large open floor plan, you could very reasonably get away with 800 to 1000
square feet per sample.

311
00:20:54,155 --> 00:20:58,949
But the idea is you want to break the house down into segments.

312
00:20:58,949 --> 00:20:59,199
Right?

313
00:20:59,199 --> 00:21:06,344
So if one segment has extensive mold in it in the air, then you're able to narrow your
focus down to that one spot.

314
00:21:06,344 --> 00:21:12,068
And so what some of these other companies will do, they will walk through with a single
sample, they'll find something.

315
00:21:12,068 --> 00:21:14,830
And now you have no idea where it came from in the house.

316
00:21:14,830 --> 00:21:26,918
And so that incentivizes them to be able to come back and charge a client again to do a
more focused inspection, ah which they should have done in the first place.

317
00:21:26,918 --> 00:21:28,155
So yeah, these are

318
00:21:28,155 --> 00:21:31,959
These are some of the things that the clients hear about.

319
00:21:31,959 --> 00:21:37,304
And some of the times it's some things that are actually done to them.

320
00:21:37,344 --> 00:21:39,486
So it's not just rumor or speculation.

321
00:21:39,486 --> 00:21:48,056
These are things that I've personally in last two weeks heard about from a client who
reached out to me for a different mold inspection.

322
00:21:48,056 --> 00:21:49,096
Man, that's nuts.

323
00:21:49,096 --> 00:21:52,988
So this is where, you know, it does benefit to have licensure, right?

324
00:21:52,988 --> 00:21:56,999
Like for the state of Florida, ah mold inspections have to be done.

325
00:21:56,999 --> 00:22:01,860
Like Ryan Wall, who we had on the show previously, he's now licensed for mold as well, I
believe.

326
00:22:01,860 --> 00:22:07,442
ah You know, Ryan, correct me if I'm wrong at that, but I'm pretty sure you said on your
site that you are.

327
00:22:07,442 --> 00:22:12,516
ah But anyway, that's kind of the different process down here.

328
00:22:12,516 --> 00:22:14,134
I don't hate that, right?

329
00:22:14,134 --> 00:22:15,340
Because again, there's...

330
00:22:15,340 --> 00:22:18,385
There are things there that protect the consumer, right?

331
00:22:18,385 --> 00:22:28,002
And it weeds out some of these people who are going to mess the industry up for perfectly
exceptional inspectors like yourself, who are going to go through and actually look out

332
00:22:28,002 --> 00:22:29,898
for the good of the homeowner.

333
00:22:29,898 --> 00:22:37,863
Well, and also like if you're licensed, then they're probably going to have some sort of
code of ethics that they have to follow, which would eliminate, you know, the people that

334
00:22:37,863 --> 00:22:40,175
you were talking about, or at least to some degree it would.

335
00:22:40,175 --> 00:22:44,477
But, know, I want to talk about in getting prepared for the show.

336
00:22:44,618 --> 00:22:53,063
We were talking to Kristian about, you know, some upcoming work you have, and you have a
rather large mold inspection this week, I believe.

337
00:22:54,057 --> 00:22:55,018
Yes I do.

338
00:22:55,018 --> 00:23:00,718
The details are still being finalized but it's somewhere around 75,000 square feet.

339
00:23:00,939 --> 00:23:02,952
It's a rather small inspection.

340
00:23:02,952 --> 00:23:04,108
Yeah, yeah.

341
00:23:04,108 --> 00:23:07,100
yeah, it's a little tiny.

342
00:23:07,100 --> 00:23:09,476
uh Yeah, it's.

343
00:23:09,476 --> 00:23:12,169
start asking questions about this, be honest with you.

344
00:23:12,169 --> 00:23:14,452
Like, I don't know how you even go about it.

345
00:23:14,452 --> 00:23:16,014
I don't know how you go about pricing it.

346
00:23:16,014 --> 00:23:17,245
How do you break it down?

347
00:23:17,245 --> 00:23:21,702
Like give me, give me the cliff notes on this massive structure.

348
00:23:21,702 --> 00:23:24,842
it depends on what function you're going to serve, right?

349
00:23:24,842 --> 00:23:33,962
So I can do the inspections and the assessment, but those two things aren't necessarily
done with the same price point, right?

350
00:23:33,962 --> 00:23:42,282
So if I'm going to come in and just do a basic inspection, typically with these types of
buildings, it's narrow hallways.

351
00:23:42,762 --> 00:23:47,282
It's, you know, eight, eight and a half, nine foot ceilings.

352
00:23:47,862 --> 00:23:48,822
So.

353
00:23:48,936 --> 00:23:53,440
you know, they're dropped tiles, a lot uh of these types of inspections.

354
00:23:53,440 --> 00:24:00,987
So it does introduce a different dynamic um because you want to sample indoor conditioned
air, right?

355
00:24:00,987 --> 00:24:04,660
You don't want to sample outdoor, unconditioned air.

356
00:24:04,660 --> 00:24:08,533
um And so with these older buildings, they're very leaky, right?

357
00:24:08,533 --> 00:24:11,686
So you have to pay attention to that and just make notes.

358
00:24:11,686 --> 00:24:16,900
um But the basics of it, something like this, if you were going to do the assessment,

359
00:24:17,094 --> 00:24:20,836
The first thing you have to do is figure out where they're getting the problem from.

360
00:24:21,597 --> 00:24:30,261
You you do your initial air sampling and swab sampling or tape lifts or what have you,
just to get a baseline.

361
00:24:30,942 --> 00:24:42,368
But the purpose of the mold inspection is not just to get the fungal ecology of that space
or of that room, but also to find out where the moisture is coming from.

362
00:24:42,388 --> 00:24:42,798
Right?

363
00:24:42,798 --> 00:24:46,120
So if you are going to do the assessment and

364
00:24:46,202 --> 00:24:57,128
create the scope of work for the remediation company, then you'll have to have a firm
grasp on the condition of the building envelope.

365
00:24:57,128 --> 00:25:03,992
You'll have to have a firm grasp on where the moisture problems are and have a way to
eliminate those.

366
00:25:03,992 --> 00:25:10,616
If you don't eliminate those, there's no point in starting any kind of remedial work
whatsoever.

367
00:25:10,616 --> 00:25:14,417
That has to be addressed first before you can start that process.

368
00:25:14,417 --> 00:25:15,582
um

369
00:25:15,582 --> 00:25:18,906
And so it is a long and drawn out process.

370
00:25:18,906 --> 00:25:27,364
is uh time consuming and it does take foresight, but uh it's something that can pretty
easily be done.

371
00:25:27,364 --> 00:25:33,230
I mean, the difference between a large project and a small project is simply time, right?

372
00:25:33,230 --> 00:25:38,415
The principles and the aspects to get from point A to point B are still the same.

373
00:25:38,405 --> 00:25:43,129
so Kristian, when you're, when you're doing a property this size, first of all, it brings
up a couple of questions into my mind.

374
00:25:43,129 --> 00:25:50,684
Number one, if there's no licensing board in Louisiana for mold, ah who establishes the
standard of practice for a mold inspection?

375
00:25:50,684 --> 00:25:53,716
Is that InterNACHI or how do you come about that?

376
00:25:54,341 --> 00:26:01,082
So the EPA has guidelines, The CRC the cleaning residential code.

377
00:26:01,723 --> 00:26:11,766
There are a lot of different regulatory boards that are national, CESB, that speak on best
practices.

378
00:26:12,129 --> 00:26:14,310
But then you have opposing philosophies.

379
00:26:14,310 --> 00:26:16,640
So this is where it gets kind of murky.

380
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:25,192
you have um the ICRC and then you have other philosophies such as NORME.

381
00:26:25,192 --> 00:26:31,254
And the very, very basic uh differences on the cleanup.

382
00:26:31,254 --> 00:26:40,936
But um your standard mold inspection remediation process is going to be testing, find out
what your ecology is, fix the problem.

383
00:26:41,164 --> 00:26:47,968
And then you have to, obviously in fixing that problem, you have to remove those mold
spores.

384
00:26:47,968 --> 00:26:49,929
You have to get those four counts down.

385
00:26:49,929 --> 00:27:02,345
um You know, it's interesting, the second edition of the bio aerosols remediation and
control is an interesting point it makes where it says that the spores viability, so

386
00:27:02,345 --> 00:27:07,938
whether it's alive or dead, can propagate or not, does not in any way affect its toxicity.

387
00:27:07,938 --> 00:27:10,219
um And so

388
00:27:10,424 --> 00:27:17,649
it could be completely dead um and still have many of the same health effects to the
person.

389
00:27:17,649 --> 00:27:25,444
um with regards to a large building, that's very difficult to get a good control of the
building envelope.

390
00:27:25,444 --> 00:27:29,757
I mean, in this case, it's two buildings, it's multiple floors.

391
00:27:29,757 --> 00:27:34,060
um It's just tens of thousands of square feet, right?

392
00:27:34,060 --> 00:27:36,192
um It's an older building, right?

393
00:27:36,192 --> 00:27:38,578
You still have a lot of asbestos in there.

394
00:27:38,578 --> 00:27:40,796
You still have a lot of lead-based products.

395
00:27:40,796 --> 00:27:44,890
oh And so it's definitely a process.

396
00:27:45,172 --> 00:27:46,472
Sure, yeah.

397
00:27:46,652 --> 00:27:53,552
Now, when it comes to determining your standards, which did you go off of when you were
setting it up?

398
00:27:53,552 --> 00:27:54,892
CRC or?

399
00:27:54,959 --> 00:28:02,163
Yeah, I mean, you know, you always want to go with the most stringent when health concerns
are involved.

400
00:28:02,223 --> 00:28:09,607
In my opinion, obviously, now I'm not an authority on that, but you know, you always want
to realize why you're there.

401
00:28:09,607 --> 00:28:11,948
You know, you're not there just to get paid.

402
00:28:11,988 --> 00:28:14,049
You're not there to solve a problem.

403
00:28:14,049 --> 00:28:20,192
You're there to, or to remediate rather, you know, you're there because likely someone's
feeling sick.

404
00:28:20,653 --> 00:28:21,293
Right.

405
00:28:21,293 --> 00:28:25,155
You're there because likely someone is not feeling well.

406
00:28:25,300 --> 00:28:38,931
Um, and so if you look at two different methodologies and one of them is more stringent
and would lead to a, maybe a better health outcome and one of them is less stringent, you

407
00:28:38,931 --> 00:28:43,725
would always, in my opinion, you would want to lean towards the, the more stringent of the
two.

408
00:28:44,847 --> 00:28:49,654
You know, you're talking about healthy people being healthy or people being sick.

409
00:28:49,654 --> 00:28:53,919
And that reminds me of uh your line of work prior to inspecting.

410
00:28:54,501 --> 00:28:58,997
You had something kind of interesting going on before you got into the inspection field,
did you not?

411
00:28:59,448 --> 00:29:07,423
Yeah, so many, years ago, many moons ago, I was an EMT with Acadian Ambulance.

412
00:29:07,984 --> 00:29:20,231
And so I've seen, uh unfortunately, a lot of a lot of carnage, a lot of uh lot of things
that uh and some of which relate directly to the things I now expect.

413
00:29:20,432 --> 00:29:28,782
You know, it didn't happen often, but, you know, I did happen upon a few deck failures,
right?

414
00:29:28,782 --> 00:29:35,617
broken bones and cervical spine damage and issues.

415
00:29:35,617 --> 00:29:50,147
And some people ending up with paralysis, others with paresis, which is like a uh loss of
full strength either on one or both sides of your body hemispherically, either left or

416
00:29:50,147 --> 00:29:53,730
right.

417
00:29:53,730 --> 00:29:57,042
I've seen uh people that have been shocked.

418
00:29:57,323 --> 00:29:59,774
I never came across anybody that got electrocuted, right?

419
00:29:59,774 --> 00:30:00,865
So there is a difference.

420
00:30:00,865 --> 00:30:11,730
oh But you know, it's many of the things that we deal with and many of the things that
maybe you get pushed back on on your reports.

421
00:30:11,730 --> 00:30:14,461
Where people tell you, oh, it's not that big of a deal.

422
00:30:14,461 --> 00:30:20,233
Well, I've been on the other end of that out of the inspection field and it is a big deal.

423
00:30:20,294 --> 00:30:20,783
So.

424
00:30:20,783 --> 00:30:23,222
a big deal until it happens to you, you know.

425
00:30:24,310 --> 00:30:24,690
Yeah.

426
00:30:24,690 --> 00:30:25,991
Yeah, absolutely.

427
00:30:26,004 --> 00:30:32,474
what was the title for when you are over the condition where you lose strength on both
sides of your body?

428
00:30:32,781 --> 00:30:34,933
So it's something called paresis.

429
00:30:35,534 --> 00:30:37,416
So yeah, paresis.

430
00:30:37,416 --> 00:30:51,183
Yeah, so the Cliff Notes on it is basically, you have some movement on that side, but you
are weakened to a noticeable degree, right?

431
00:30:51,183 --> 00:30:58,688
so you're dealing with some, some very serious health issues there, which makes sense for
why you want to go with a beefed up standard of practice for sure.

432
00:30:58,688 --> 00:31:04,672
ah Now tool wise, I mean, do you, do you find that it's advantageous to continue to

433
00:31:04,834 --> 00:31:12,946
add to what you have to offer to clients in terms of exceeding the basic standard for a
mold inspection?

434
00:31:13,007 --> 00:31:24,410
And at what point do you uh kind of cap that where it's like, at the same time, you don't
necessarily need all of these excessive things in order to do the basic job that they're

435
00:31:24,410 --> 00:31:29,492
tasking me with, which is evaluating the condition of this environment.

436
00:31:30,164 --> 00:31:36,824
I mean, everybody's different, but personally, I feel like your first tools that you
should use are your eyes.

437
00:31:37,084 --> 00:31:37,524
Right.

438
00:31:37,524 --> 00:31:39,484
We should use the visual.

439
00:31:39,484 --> 00:31:41,484
It is a visual inspection.

440
00:31:41,784 --> 00:31:42,784
Right.

441
00:31:43,444 --> 00:31:52,204
You know, it, doesn't do anybody that good to go dig through a 40 or 50 year old home too
much.

442
00:31:52,204 --> 00:31:53,344
Like no house is perfect.

443
00:31:53,344 --> 00:32:00,060
No house is going to have everything functioning correctly, but we are there as home
inspectors to observe function and safety.

444
00:32:00,060 --> 00:32:00,801
Right.

445
00:32:00,801 --> 00:32:03,622
So function and safety is what we focus on.

446
00:32:03,622 --> 00:32:05,883
Now you can go overboard.

447
00:32:05,964 --> 00:32:06,364
Right.

448
00:32:06,364 --> 00:32:13,048
So I think I've talked to Matt about this before and other other inspectors where let's
say you're using a thermal camera, right?

449
00:32:13,048 --> 00:32:20,493
A thermal camera uh looks at the something that's either hot or cold.

450
00:32:20,493 --> 00:32:24,616
So it displays it in many different colors.

451
00:32:24,616 --> 00:32:25,236
Right.

452
00:32:25,236 --> 00:32:29,999
But typically something that's cold is blue and something that's hot is more orange or
red.

453
00:32:30,043 --> 00:32:37,105
Now, evaporative cooling from something like a leak is going to draw that heat away, so
it's going to show up as blue.

454
00:32:37,105 --> 00:32:39,935
However, it's not always as cut and dry.

455
00:32:39,935 --> 00:32:46,887
So there are times where I've had a wall that's completely saturated and it does not show
up on thermal.

456
00:32:46,887 --> 00:32:51,298
And so it's reached the same temperature as the room now, right?

457
00:32:51,298 --> 00:32:54,129
So it blends in with the rest of the room.

458
00:32:54,129 --> 00:32:59,390
And so there are some dangers with relying solely on your tools.

459
00:32:59,506 --> 00:33:00,960
ah You do have

460
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:04,120
to know what you're working with and know your tools for sure.

461
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:12,320
And I mean, I've said, I've made videos on this tons of times where I say, you know, the
first tools we need to walk in with our eyes and our brain, you have to look and you have

462
00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:13,500
to think, right?

463
00:33:13,500 --> 00:33:19,440
And you have to think about that same stuff whenever you're using the tools, you just have
to use your eyes and your brain when you're using the tool as well.

464
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:21,620
I mean, without the tool, you have to do that for sure.

465
00:33:21,620 --> 00:33:25,480
That's your first, the first thing that you should be using.

466
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:29,799
But even when you're using your tool, the tools and the specialized tools that we have,

467
00:33:29,805 --> 00:33:38,623
You still have to think about things, look at things, you know, with the knowledge of, you
know, and the experience that we have to know what you're looking at.

468
00:33:38,623 --> 00:33:47,000
Because like you said, you look at something and it just because it's one temperature
doesn't mean just because it's blue doesn't mean that it's wet.

469
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:48,411
That just means that it's cold.

470
00:33:48,411 --> 00:33:55,807
And so you got to you got to be able to know where these problems might exist and think
about it think about what you're seeing and verify that kind of stuff.

471
00:33:55,807 --> 00:33:57,454
Anyway, picking up on your land.

472
00:33:57,454 --> 00:34:02,555
said was that the tools should be the seasoning and not the meal.

473
00:34:02,956 --> 00:34:03,316
Right?

474
00:34:03,316 --> 00:34:11,838
So the tools should be used to add emphasis to your inspection, but they should not be
solely relied on.

475
00:34:11,838 --> 00:34:20,280
Look, I love Tony Sacheris and hot sauce like the rest of us, but I'm not going to take
shots of Tony's or take shots of hot sauce.

476
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:21,961
They add flavor to the report.

477
00:34:21,961 --> 00:34:23,754
They add flavor to the meal.

478
00:34:23,754 --> 00:34:28,426
but they should not be relied on as the basis of your report.

479
00:34:29,190 --> 00:34:33,263
Now I hear that, but at the same time, like everything, you gotta season, man.

480
00:34:33,263 --> 00:34:34,556
You gotta use some seasoning.

481
00:34:34,556 --> 00:34:43,685
And there's some of you out there that don't, and you need to come to New Orleans next
year, or I'm sorry, in September to find out what season is all about because they some

482
00:34:43,685 --> 00:34:44,516
good cooking down there.

483
00:34:44,516 --> 00:34:47,074
ah Just to write them out a seasoning.

484
00:34:47,074 --> 00:34:51,955
I mean, I think, you know, you have to figure out like, I know we're talking about
seasoning.

485
00:34:51,955 --> 00:34:54,386
we talking about tools or we're talking about inspection report?

486
00:34:54,386 --> 00:35:02,748
But in terms of the seasoning in the report, I mean, I do think that you need to figure
out where you're going to draw the line in terms of how much, you know, tools and tech

487
00:35:02,748 --> 00:35:14,911
you're going to bring in because, know, at least in huge or in Texas, the the Texas real
estate commission and the standards of practice that we go by says that we do not have to

488
00:35:14,911 --> 00:35:16,001
use special.

489
00:35:16,495 --> 00:35:21,275
But I can't imagine doing a home inspection without my thermal camera.

490
00:35:21,315 --> 00:35:22,451
I wouldn't do it.

491
00:35:22,446 --> 00:35:25,449
So Kristian, here's another thing, getting back to standards of practice.

492
00:35:25,790 --> 00:35:35,931
How much of the level to which you exceed basic standards for a mold inspection, how much
of it is actually determined by your competition and what they're doing?

493
00:35:37,345 --> 00:35:48,151
You know, obviously you do want to uh take a look at what the um the tools that
everybody's using, right?

494
00:35:48,151 --> 00:35:52,633
You do want to have what you need to service your clients.

495
00:35:52,633 --> 00:35:56,305
But as far as I mean, I was just asked this today.

496
00:35:56,305 --> 00:36:05,260
I was asked uh for a different project if I knew two other mold inspectors um that I could
recommend for the bidding process.

497
00:36:05,372 --> 00:36:06,643
And I can only think of one.

498
00:36:06,643 --> 00:36:11,016
Like I really don't know a lot of mold inspectors, ironically, in Louisiana with tons of
mold.

499
00:36:11,016 --> 00:36:13,658
I really don't know a lot of other mold inspectors in my area.

500
00:36:13,658 --> 00:36:27,227
So as far as what equipment they use, um I really rely heavily on the instruction from my
professor from Bill Fahini um to know whether I'm kind of going the right direction or the

501
00:36:27,227 --> 00:36:33,381
wrong direction, things I should be using, methods, techniques, know, things like that.

502
00:36:33,381 --> 00:36:33,963
But

503
00:36:33,963 --> 00:36:41,487
um As far as as that relates to the home inspection to the standards of practice um At
this point, I've got a whole different contract.

504
00:36:41,487 --> 00:36:53,793
I've got a whole different I'm no longer under the standards of practice whenever I'm
doing my mold inspections So I don't really have to worry about that per se um But uh you

505
00:36:53,793 --> 00:36:57,095
know Oddly enough for the inspection side.

506
00:36:57,095 --> 00:37:03,038
There's really not there's really not a tremendous amount of liability by the time they
call you

507
00:37:03,189 --> 00:37:05,579
They already have a problem.

508
00:37:06,820 --> 00:37:08,280
They already have a problem.

509
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:13,201
So all you're there to do is give them a 10 minute snapshot.

510
00:37:13,282 --> 00:37:13,652
Right?

511
00:37:13,652 --> 00:37:17,333
So the amount of time I generally run my samples is 10 minutes,

512
00:37:17,333 --> 00:37:20,863
Now definitely, we want to hear from you guys that are listening here as well.

513
00:37:20,863 --> 00:37:30,798
Truly, like, where do you guys draw the line as far as uh the inspection standards of
practice or if you're in mold, you know, what standards of practice do you go by if your

514
00:37:30,798 --> 00:37:31,868
state's licensed, right?

515
00:37:31,868 --> 00:37:41,782
I know Florida licensed other states not necessarily so much, but how do you choose that
line to where you exceed it uh or where you just do the minimum if you're one that just

516
00:37:41,782 --> 00:37:43,453
prefers to kind of.

517
00:37:43,613 --> 00:37:47,086
not make it any fancier than it necessarily needs to be.

518
00:37:47,086 --> 00:37:49,407
We want to know where you guys cap it at.

519
00:37:49,407 --> 00:37:51,009
And we want to know what's in your tool bag too.

520
00:37:51,009 --> 00:37:52,259
That's a fun thing to talk about.

521
00:37:52,259 --> 00:37:53,400
So sound off in the comments.

522
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,252
Let us know what you're carrying with you.

523
00:37:55,252 --> 00:38:04,369
And let us know the coolest thing that you have picked up and added to your toolkit this
year, because we're all looking and learning and trying to figure out what's the next fun

524
00:38:04,369 --> 00:38:08,832
gadget that we need, an expensable item for next year's returns, right?

525
00:38:08,832 --> 00:38:09,822
For next year's write-offs.

526
00:38:09,822 --> 00:38:20,482
mean, as much as I don't really like use a whole bunch of gadgety stuff, I am awfully
interested in, you know, the latest and greatest new toys and tools.

527
00:38:21,159 --> 00:38:22,242
absolutely, man.

528
00:38:22,242 --> 00:38:22,702
Absolutely.

529
00:38:22,702 --> 00:38:25,026
Well, Kristian, it's been awesome talking with you, man.

530
00:38:25,026 --> 00:38:29,062
I'm excited for for getting the the band together in New Orleans.

531
00:38:29,062 --> 00:38:32,038
It's gonna be fun, proverbially speaking.

532
00:38:32,604 --> 00:38:33,455
I look forward to it.

533
00:38:33,455 --> 00:38:34,696
I love being on stage.

534
00:38:34,696 --> 00:38:44,095
You know, love being with guys like yourselves and uh playing some good music and, you
know, uh you know, it'll be fun.

535
00:38:44,095 --> 00:38:52,163
Let's let's make let's try to I know one of you one of you high powered inspectors knows
somebody who knows somebody who can make this thing happen.

536
00:38:52,163 --> 00:38:54,525
So uh I'm dependent.

537
00:38:54,525 --> 00:38:56,196
I'm dependent on you guys.

538
00:38:56,332 --> 00:39:01,615
either way, there's gonna be good times to be had in New Orleans for inspection fuel for
sure.

539
00:39:01,615 --> 00:39:05,236
So I'm looking forward to seeing you there and you too, Brad, for sure.

540
00:39:05,236 --> 00:39:07,427
But yeah, we'll all get together no matter what.

541
00:39:07,427 --> 00:39:08,888
It's gonna be a good time.

542
00:39:08,939 --> 00:39:10,254
Yep, definitely sign up guys.

543
00:39:10,254 --> 00:39:11,879
The link's going to be down in the description.

544
00:39:11,879 --> 00:39:16,083
So until next time, we'll see you right back here, right on the run along.