Mold Remediation Blog

Why We Choose To Be Virginia’s Top Mold Remediation Scholars

And Changed How We Did Almost Everything In The Process

The requirements for becoming a mold remediation specialist in Virginia are as follow:

Call yourself a mold remediation specialist

That is all.

As you can imagine, this can create an industry full of barely informed contractors employing the spray and pray method of remediation. Sadly, we were very much a part of that group until we met someone who actually knew what they were doing.

From that point, we embarked on a journey that would take us from earnest but clueless remediation contractors to the most highly educated mold remediators you could meet.

A Mold Remediation Mentor

When I met Bernie, I was doing what I saw everyone else doing. I did chemical fogging and painted over moldy wood , with no idea that this was not only unsafe but futile.

Bernie Bloom was a mold scholar who loved to share his knowledge if only remediators would stop long enough to listen. He was the kind of guy that, if you asked what the time was, he’d tell you how to build a clock.

So, I stopped. And I listened. And boy did I learn!

I learned that chemicals are rarely needed in mold remediation and can even cause allergic reactions. And that the most important factor in defeating household mold was the willingness to work hard and clean thoroughly.

He also taught me just how much I didn’t know and how to fix that through certification programs and personal study.

Bernie taught me a lot and went on to spread his knowledge as a respected voice in the global mold remediation industry. I was lucky to have been mentored by him for 13 years before he passed away in 2020

The Creation Of Mold Nerds

The more I learned, the more I realized how little we knew. I sought out every mold remediation certification worth having. These included:

Rachel Adams (member of the panel that wrote the S520 Mold Standard) for IICRC AMRT in Indianapolis.
Joe Hughes (creator of IAQ Radio) in Pennsylvania for ACAC CMRS.
Michael Pinto (nationally known consultant for mold sensitized clients) in Orlando for a class on remediating for sensitized individuals then another in Dallas for RIA’s prestigious CMP certification.

I was happy to travel the country to attend conferences on the subject.

I consumed every word written on household mold and now keep myself updated on new facts, ideas, and processes. Mold became my crusade, and knowing your enemy is the first step to victory.

But I had a secondary mission, too. I believe that our civilization is inundated with chemical contacts that are beyond our control, such as pharmaceuticals in our tap water, cleaning chemicals in every building and home, off-gassing chemicals in our furniture and building materials and even chemical particulates in the air we breathe.

So I decided to stop adding to the problem with our remediation efforts and turned, instead, to chemical-free methods of defeating household mold (which also happens to be exactly what the S520 Mold Standard says to do).

Doing so required even more knowledge, which we happily gained.

True Believers

Every technician working for Valor Mold Removal has been certified as a mold remediation supervisor. This level of education is very rare in your typical mold crew, but it has resulted in a company made up of true believers. Not only do they know what they’re doing, they know why they’re doing it.

They believe in what they are doing because they understand the dangers mold presents to Virginia households. They also know why most remediation companies’ methods are not just half-measures but potentially dangerous to the homeowners they are supposed to be helping.

They see the services they offer and the proven methods that they use as their way of helping their little corner of the world.

Each house they remediate is an opportunity to prevent additional harmful chemicals from entering their community.

For us, remediation isn’t so much a job as it is a calling, corny as that sounds.

If you are concerned about mold in your Virginia or DC area home and want technicians who truly care about their customers, contact us at Valor Mold Removal for a free estimate.