Welcome to our mould and indoor air quality information web site.  Here you'll find information on mould growth as well as indoor mould testing and mould inspections for the Toronto and southern Ontario area.  If you need a mould inspector for the Toronto and GTA area...look no further.

We have Canada's first Certified Mould Detection Dog.  Together with our state-of-the art Indoor Air Quality Testing instrumentation, our mould K-9 and our expertise, we're confident we can assist you in your environmental issues in your home or office.  Indoor mould testing has just become easier, faster and more precise with Canada's first Certified Mould Detection Dog.

We have an extremely valuable tool in our indoor mould inspection service.  "Quincy" is a five year old yellow Labrador Retriever that has been professionally trained and certified to sniff out mould.  You've heard of bomb detection dogs and drug detection dogs?  Now there are mould detection dogs.  There are over 50 Certified Mould Detection Dogs in the United States and we have Canada's first!

If you've had roof leaks, basement leaks, plumbing leaks, high relative humidity or condensation indoors, you could have a hidden mould problem.  80% of indoor mould issues are hidden and don't produce odors or visible growth.  They can however, cause a variety of health problems.  When mould growth is disturbed or improperly removed, mould can produce spores that can affect furniture and other belongings causing a more wide spread mould issue.  In addition, inhaling mould spores is what triggers the health issues related to mould growth indoors.

The age of the building has no bearing on whether there could be a mould issue.  

See a quick news video on our mould inspection approach from Discovery Channel.

An air quality assessment together with a mould inspection can uncover hidden sources of pollutants in your home or office.  A proper mould inspection should never be just a quick visual inspection and a few air samples.  Proper mould assessments should begin with a comprehensive instrument survey for air quality to identify and locate hidden pollution levels indoors.  This will assist in determining where and what type of laboratory analysis is appropriate and will assist in identifying the cause of an indoor mould problem.  A qualified mould inspector should also identify the source and extent of the moisture damage that lead to the mould problem using thermal imaging and moisture meters.  This can determine if area are still actively growing mould.  Finally. the mould detection dog can locate specific area of mold growth.

Read what CBC Marketplace had to say about our company   Features More about mould By Charlene Sadler  |  Monday, January 11, 2010, 11:59 AM     No Comments   Mould can be a deal-breaker when it comes to buying a house, but it's even worse if you find mould after you've paid for an inspection and bought the property.   Mould can be difficult to detect and even more difficult to get rid of. And while many inspectors fail to detect mould, or are unable to because it's hidden by gyproc, they also sometimes "detect" mould that isn't there, and then recommend expensive cleaning options.   That was the case with one Toronto homeowner, Antony Anderson, who got worried when he saw what looked like a soft-white coat forming in his basement floor.   Anderson hired a contractor who told him he had a big problem that would cost thousands of dollars to remediate. For a second opinion, Anderson brought in Frank Haverkate, of Haverkate and Assoc., and to his great relief, Haverkate said the white fuzz was actually efflorescence, caused by lime leaching from concrete. It signified a moisture problem but it was harmless.   "It's a big conflict of interest because you're dealing with a client base that has no clue with what is going and believe what you say. So these types of inspectors could go in and point everything out that isn't true, then tell them they need thousands and thousands of dollars worth of clean up," said Haverkate.   "Anybody can say they're certified to inspect mould. All it takes is a one-day course," he said.   Haverkate charges nearly three times as his competitors, roughly $1,500 for an inspection, compared to between $400 and $800. His secret weapon and the reason for his higher costs are his two mould-sniffing dogs, Ranger and Quincy.   Why does he use dogs? Detecting mould is just half the problem. The next step is to find out where it's located. And that's not easy in a finished basement. Very few people want to start punching holes in drywall to see if there's mould on the foundation wall.   A sniffer dog, however, can detect where the mould is located, thus minimizing the amount of damage that needs to be done in the remediation process, said Haverkate.   "The majority of horror stories we're hearing is home inspectors not detecting mould before they buy a house, and some houses can have just as much if not more mould than a house used for a marijuana grow-op. If your basement's flooded, you can have just as much damage from mould as a marijuana grow-op."

See our other Indoor Air Quality Web Sites

For more information on mould, click on MouldDog	For more information on mould, click on IndoorMould	Visit our Indoor Air Quality Testing web site

  If you would like to speak to us about your indoor air quality issues or schedule a mould inspection, please call the number below.

(905) 882-2202

We serve the following areas:  Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Brampton, Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Barrie, King City, Maple, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Pickering, Whitby, Ajax, Oshawa and other areas.

We can be found on Google, MSN and Yahoo with the following search terms: toronto mold inspections, toronto mould inspections, mold inspector, mould inspector, home inspection, home inspections, home inspector, indoor air quality, mold inspection, mould inspection, mold removal, mould removal, mold testing, mould testing, mould, mold, home inspection toronto, home inspections, home inspector, home inspectors

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Haverkate & Associates Inc.
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