Years ago I crawled under a home for a WDO/WDI inspection and did NOT heed my own training by scoping the situation out before hand. Half way through I noticed that every move I made to go forward caused a thick dust to plume up in this dark, tight and very dry crawl space. I kept trudging forward until I came upon an old container in the middle of this expanse and once I read it, I gingerly turned right around and crawled out as quickly and as smoothly as I could so not to raise any more dust. I didn’t have on my mask.
I know better than to go into situations like this without protection and I’d list the excuses but what the hell good are excuses when the damage is done? Thankfully I don’t run into jugs of chlordane dust on a regular basis but one thing I do see both above and below homes is mold. Now I’m no scientist so I can’t tell you the difference between the dreaded toxic black mold and the odd stuff growing on a teenagers bathroom shower wall. Fortunately for my report I’m not required to either but that doesn’t stop me nor should it stop you from taking precautions. PPE’s (personal protective equipment) is something you should be absolutely WEARING OUT on a steady basis. As a boss I never complain when I have to buy you your 5th mask for the year or boots and gloves. At least that way I know these important steps are being taken to ensure my employees safety and health and how could I put a price on that?
One other point that is equally important is to not spend a whole lot of time dilly dallying around and make sure and list any and all limitations on the WDO/WDI report that may keep you from “seeing it all.” In the case of mold your mask is great but why spend any extra time hanging around doing something stupid like shooting a video? (maybe I haven’t learned my lesson yet) Don’t expose yourself to the risk any longer than you have to but don’t lose sight as to why you are there. Your report and filling out the “areas that could not be inspected” will be further protection down the road.
Check out this quick video of an inspection I recently did where mold was everywhere and how I had to protect myself.
