I came across a blog site today that had my head shaking so hard I could hear the wind in my ears. For starters, it was one of those anonymous blogs; no name, no contact information, no clue who is writing.
The writer was ranting about how wrong it is to use dogs to find mold, how it’s cruel to expose dogs to moldy environments and all that. So that got the head going some more. Our sister company at 1800gotmold.com uses certified mold detection dogs, pioneered their use, in fact, in combination with all the high-tech instruments in the field – like infrared thermal imaging, electronic moisture detectors, laser particle counters and such.
And then this ignoramus claims a mold test kit (he doesn’t specify which one) is just as good as a dog! Outrageous.
The GOT MOLD? Test Kit is indeed the best home mold test kit on the market, bar none, and the easiest to use and the most bang for the buck… But it’s no match for our dogs.

Our original mold dog, Oreo, can walk into a house, look around and then bolt right to a wall, where she alerts. It’s as if she can see the trail of mold-produced gases (MVOCs) in the air, and can see exactly where they’re coming from. Uncanny. So she’ll nail that spot, then jump to another spot, as if to say “This is where it ends.” And she’s always right.
That’s what all the high-tech gizmos are for: to confirm what the dog knows but can’t prove (at least not to us stupid humans).
Now back to the ignorant anonymous blogger. He talks about mold detection and mold remediation (the actual tearing out of moldy materials) as if they’re both part of the same process. Sadly, for an awful lot of mold contractors, they are, despite the fact that state after state is passing laws to prohibit detection and remediation being done by the same company.

Never the Twain Should Meet

We made our choice a long time ago. We will have nothing – nada, zip, zilch – to do with remediation. We won’t take a nickel from a remediator even if we recommend them for a job. The closest we get at 1-800-GOT-MOLD? to remediation is as a consultant to our customer. We’ll define the scope of the project, write a remediation plan, supervise the setup of the remediation job to make sure the contractor isn’t going to contaminate the rest of the house, and do final testing to determine whether the job was done properly. The customer pays us to hold the remediator’s feet to the fire.
The GOT MOLD? Test Kit is a great place to start if you suspect you have a mold problem but aren’t sure. It’s easy to be unsure about mold. Lots of so-called mold inspectors are so unsure about mold they can’t see it when it’s staring at them. My son once went on a job where three other mold inspectors had said they couldn’t find anything. He walked into one room and almost fell over backwards. One entire wall was black with mold!
Needless to say, Oreo never got out of the truck. You don’t need a dog to tell you what’s right in front of your face. And we don’t ever expose a dog to a moldy environment unnecessarily. They are family. They sleep in our beds, crawl in our laps, just like any other household pet, which is why my head was flapping so hard at the anonymous blogger’s claim that using dogs to find mold puts the dogs in danger. Not on our watch, it doesn’t.
So yes, a mold test kit, providing it’s a GOT MOLD? Test Kit, is a good first attack on a suspected mold problem. It can confirm, or contradict, your suspicions. And it’s never wasted money. If you still need a dog and an inspector with a lot of fancy gadgets to find hidden mold, the $99 you paid for the kit is credited back when you call 1-800-GOT-MOLD?
And if you really want a jump start, here’s a freebie: We have published a free ebook, “How to Find Mold and Moisture Problems in Your Home and What to Do About Them: Secrets of the Professionals,” which you can get right now, just by clicking on the title.
Good luck, and stay dry.