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Why Use a Mold Dog? |
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In the past two decades in this country, the presence of molds and mold spores inside of buildings has been recognized as a cause of allergic reactions and occasional symptoms of more severe respiratory problems. The method used until the past 15 years had been strictly securing the services of a building inspector to assess the mold problem.
Common mold detection strategies are not effective
The approach most often used has been air-sampling; whereby controlled volumes of air are sucked through a filter with a vacuum pump. The samples are then sent to certified laboratories that specialize in counting and classifying particulates from the air. While this approach appealed to occupants of these buildings because it appeared to measure the number of spores present, it is fraught with problems.
The process requires one or two samples be taken from given rooms, and then compared with samples taken from outside of the house. Unless samples are carefully repeated, the data collected is useless. This means duplicate samples taken from exactly the same place in the same room with the same filter and air pump, and the same volume of air.
At a minimum, three samples should be taken. If the differences are not huge, more replicates may be required to state with confidence that the levels of spores inside the building are greater than those outside. The problems of assessing the actual number of rare spores in the building is also huge; making it necessary to take many more samples to have a statistically valid conclusion. Obviously, this approach is very costly.
The problems with air sampling extend beyond the statistical. Many fungi of concern produce spores that are indistinguishable from each other on an air filter. The property owner should know which mold he has (good or bad) when he pays for a professional inspection.
Surely, the responsible property owner will want to locate the source of the mold spores, fix the leaks or other moisture sources, and replace the affected area with clean material. In that case, air sampling must be regarded as inefficient and costly.
Why use a Certified Mold Dog?
The use of mold-sniffing dogs is a brilliant solution to the problem. When properly trained, dogs are extremely sensitive, walking gas chromatographs with a proven record of locating mold, even when hidden behind partitions or inside of walls.
Dogs have been used for this purpose in Europe for over 15 years; and detection dogs have a long and impressive record in the detection of bombs, drugs, arson, and even termites and bedbugs. Because properly trained dogs can pinpoint the source of the problem, money is saved in unnecessary testing and remediation construction.
How do Mold Dogs work?
As humans, we smell in parts per hundred. Dogs can smell in parts per trillion!!!!
As an example: If you took one half of a baby's tear and hid it on a football field, a dog can find it in less than 2 minutes!
From a single drop of urine, the sniffing dog learns the marking animal's sex, diet, health, emotional state, and even whether it's dominant, friend or foe.
Tracking dogs follow a biochemical trail of dead skin cells, sweat, odor molecules, and gasses.
For dogs, a scent article is like a three-dimensional "odor image": much more detailed than a photograph for a human.
Dogs can track a scent through snow, air, mud, water and even ash.
The properly trained and certified detection dog is recognized in court as a "scientific instrument" (US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals)
Remember: Mold Dogs are Proven, Reliable, and Trusted
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