New In Homes (front page) April 3, 2004
CANADA
’S
FIRST
MOULD-DETECTION
DOG
TAKES
A BITE OUT OF MOULD
Homeowners benefit from cheaper and quicker inspections for toxic mould
Toronto
,
September 10, 2003
–
Toronto
based Haverkate & Associates, an indoor environmental
testing company, today introduced ‘
Quincy
’, a 2 year old yellow lab who is a highly trained
mold-detection dog as their latest tool in the fight against
toxic mould.
You’ve heard of arson dogs, bomb and drug
detection dogs used at airports and police forces around the
world. Well, now
there are mould detection dogs.
“Quincy can pinpoint the exact location
where mould is growing in a school, business or home faster and
cheaper than any other tool we have available to us” said
Frank Haverkate, President of Haverkate & Associates which
provides indoor air quality testing and specializes in indoor
mould inspections in the GTA.
“Quicker and more accurate detection of potentially
toxic mould leads to lower remediation cost and less health
risks to homeowners”.
Mould frequently grows in hidden places,
inside wall cavities, underneath floors and in inaccessible
areas and is often not visible until the problem is more
advanced. When
moisture builds up from leaky pipes, roofs, basements or high
humidity, conditions are ideal for mould growth.
Moulds are easily disturbed and their spores can become
airborne causing a possible threat to the building or the health
of the occupants. Exposure
to some types of moulds can cause serious health effects such as
respiratory infection, asthma attacks, skin rashes, eye
infections, ear infections, nose bleeds and headaches.
In rare cases toxic mould can cause cancer and even
death.
Previously, homeowners in the Toronto area
were left with two options in the hunt for indoor mould:
first, a visual inspection, which cannot find hidden
mould problems and secondly, air testing, which is very costly,
and still wont pin point in which wall the mould is growing.
Laboratory testing is also very time consuming, taking up
to 2 weeks for results to become available.
Haverkate & Associates uses
Quincy
as a tool to find hidden mould problems instantly making it an
ideal inspection tool and a valuable service for homeowners or
purchasers looking to buy a new home.
Quincy is Canada’s first highly trained mould detection dog uncovering mould
in buildings in Toronto
and
Southern Ontario
. The United States
has 35 of these valuable working dogs that are trained and
certified by the Florida
Canine
Academy
which has been training arson, bomb and drug detection dogs for
police forces for years.
If you’d like to have your home tested or
would like more information you can contact them at (416)
414-5690.
Did you know?
