Whenever possible, the following services are performed by professionals from Ultra Clean Cleaning & Disaster Restoration. However, at times these services may need to be contracted to an outside company.

• Inspections - Office, school, hospital, residential, commercial and industrial buildings all have the potential to become mold infected if there are leaks, floods, or humidity control problems. Mold can grow practically anywhere when there is sufficient moisture. Prior to testing, an inspection is performed in an effort to find water damage and visible indications of mold growth. An inspection often can identify the problem without testing.
  
  Non-invasive inspections cover building areas and surfaces that are accessible and visible without cutting holes or removing building materials. This type of inspection has limitations but may be necessary because the owner may not authorize any activity that damages the building.
  
  Invasive inspections include at least some cutting or drilling into floors, walls, or ceilings to look for mold or water damage. A fiber-optic borescope is used whenever possible because only a small hole is needed to see into a wall cavity. Ultra Clean Cleaning & Disaster Restoration does not repair any holes made for inspections.
  
  
• Moisture Testing - Moisture is the key to mold growth in the indoor environment. Therefore, ultrasonic or probe type moisture meters are used to test building materials and surfaces for abnormal moisture content. This type of testing is particularly effective soon after a leak or a flood because the results are predictive of where mold is likely to grow, or may be starting to grow in concealed spaces. The moisture test can help delineate where selective demolition and mold remediation are needed.
  
  
• Materials Testing - Many types of materials can either contain high amounts of mold spores or even be supporting mold growth with little or no visible indication. Fiberglas insulation is an exampple of such materials. Collection of material specimens for analysis of mold contamination can be a helpful took in locating mold problems.
  
  
• Surface Testing - There are times when the naked eye cannot discern whether a surface has mold growth, settled mold spores, or no contamination. In such cases, two types of testing can be used to determine the status of building surfaces. Once is a microscopic technique that provides a subjective evaluation of the nature of particles on a surface. The other method collects surface dust to perform a more detailed analysis of a microbial content.
  
  
• Contents Testing - When a building has mold growth identified on at least some of its surfaces, there is the potential for the contents of the building to become contaminated with spores or mycotoxins released into the air by the mold colonies. Almost all settled dust in buildings has some mold spore content that is usually low to moderate in quantity and reflective of the species array in the outdoor environment. However, when mold grows in a building, the mold particle content of the settled dust can become high, and the types of mold found are reflective of the more hazardous species that can thrive in indoor environments.
  
  
• Air Testing - This tool is used in situations where there is no visual indication of mold, yet there is concern that there may be concealed mold growth in the building. Air testing, along with a careful analysis of the data, can often detect evidence of mold that might not manifest itself. Other occasions when air testing can be used is when there may be litigation and the air test data is needed for evidence, or when data is required to substantiate an insurance claim. Air testing methods are available to identify viable mold spores, total mold tissue, mycotoxins, mold-emitted gases (MVOCs) and mold cell glucans (proteins).
  
  
• Reports and Recommendation - The explanation of the outcome of mold inspections and tests is a critical element of our consulting services. Mold contamination in buildings is typically a complex issue that is not yet covered by regulations or even broadly accepted guidelines. Many aspects of mold issues are controversial and the health hazards are not always clear. Many practical considerations come into play. For example, it may not be possible to fully define the extent of mold growth and the source of moisture causing it until at least some demolition of building surfaces provides access and visibility. Owners and remediation contractors typically would like to know the cause and location of all concealed mold and water damage before beginning remediation. We strive to provide this information; however, complete identification prior to beginning demolition is seldom possible due to the inherent nature of mold growth in buildings. Reports from Ultra Clean Cleaning & Disaster Restoration provide insight into problems, along with options for practical, systematic steps to address mold issues.