Mold Remediation Goes to the Dogs

I have received a few inquiries about my thoughts on the use of so-called “mold sniffing dogs” as a part of a mold inspection. I haven’t really had much personal experience with mold sniffing mutts but I tend to feel that their benefits are often overstated.

For those of you out of the loop, let me fill you in. Since mold usually grows in unseen places, it sometimes takes some deconstruction to find it. With nothing more to go on than our eyes, we have to tear open walls, rip up floors, and remove tiles in order to find hidden mold. But since dogs can be trained to smell mold, they don’t need to see it. Dogs have a sense of smell that is millions of times more powerful than humans. Dogs have been used for years to find bombs and drugs.

Mold sniffing dogs can point us to the location of mold without having to tear apart a building at random (which should never be done anyway), thus saving on repair costs. One website advocating mold sniffing dogs is also quick to remind us that dogs are honest because they work for food and love, and not profits.

Now the reason I say that the benefits of mold sniffing dogs are overstated is because they really only have two advantages:

1) This method of detecting mold probably results in less destruction than a “tear it up and look” approach.
2) Dogs are adorable.

Even if the dog detects mold, the inspector still has to take apart the location to see for themselves. So while this does minimize deconstruction if you go at it blindly, it does not eliminate it altogether. It’s actually a step below new breakthroughs in infrared mold detection, which could potentially eliminate deconstruction altogether. But then, infrared detection is not as cute as a puppy.

Of course, neither is truly necessary. Mold almost always be found by determining where the leaks occurred and following the path of water. This is the most sensible approach, but also the least interesting.

Also, there is some concern that forcing dogs to sniff mold is cruel. Probably because the dogs have to inhale the mold to detect it. You can’t give the dog a respirator mask to protect it because that would defeat the whole purpose. And dogs are probably just as sensitive to toxic mold as humans, maybe more. Mold inspectors and remediators commonly get sick from working in moldy buildings, but dogs cannot tell you when they are ill and need treatment.

Again, I’m not exactly against mold sniffing dogs. But I think much of their appeal comes from them being a curiosity rather than their usefulness.

Tagged as: detecting mold, mold, mold detection, mold inspection, mold inspectors, mold remediation, mold sniffing dogs