The Early Clues That Mold or Asbestos May Be Present

You can smell smoke, but you cannot smell asbestos and that single fact changes how you should approach remodeling, buying a building, or cleaning up after damage. Shelley Hines, CEO of DCG Environmental, walks through the real-world environmental hazards that hide inside walls, ceilings, and older building materials across Texas homes and commercial spaces. We keep it practical and specific, focusing on what triggers testing, what state law requires, and how to avoid expensive surprises that show up after a project starts.

We dig into asbestos testing in Texas commercial buildings, including why asbestos can be perfectly fine when left alone yet dangerous when disturbed during demolition, repair, or renovation. Shelley explains why there are no warning signs you can trust, how microscopic fibers become a breathing hazard, and why many buyers choose asbestos surveys before purchase as both a safety step and a negotiation tool. We also talk about common “oops” moments like warehouse wall damage and why having an asbestos management plan can make your response faster and safer.

Then we shift to mold inspection and mold remediation rules, including the often-misunderstood 25 contiguous square feet threshold, how colonies spread, and why containment matters. We cover the CMDR process, disclosure expectations when selling, and what gets confusing during hurricanes, flooding, or other natural disaster cleanup when people start repeating bad information about “waived” rules. If you care about indoor air quality, building safety, and clear compliance, this conversation gives you a grounded map forward.

Subscribe for more environmental testing guidance, share this with a friend planning renovations, and leave a review telling us what hidden hazard topic you want answered next.

To learn more about DCG Environmental visit:
https://www.DCGEnvironmental.com
DCG Environmental 
Serving Property Owners in Dallas, Houston, and Austin 
972-876-0008 

Transcript

Welcome And The Hidden Hazards

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Environmental Testing Show. Because what you can't see is how to fetch your health. Hosted by Shelly Hyde, CEO of DCG Environmental, this episode explores the hidden environmental hazards that impact homes and commercial spaces from molding expected to other unseen residents. Serving property owners throughout Dallas, Houston, and Austin. DCG Environmental believes finding the problem is the first step to making everyone safe.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

When something in your home or workplace feels off, there are often early warning signs long before a major environmental problem shows up. And knowing what to look for can make all the difference. Welcome. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer, back with the awesome Shelly Hines. She's the CEO of DCG Environmental. Shelly, it's really great to be with you and to learn from you.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Hi, Julie. I'm excited to be here and help answer some questions today.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Yeah, absolutely.

When Asbestos Testing Is Required

SPEAKER_01 1:08

So we know that mold can be a little bit more obvious, but like as you mentioned prior to us, you know, hitting the record button, that asbestos, you can't really smell it. So how do we tell or when do we need to look for it?

SPEAKER_02 1:22

Um well in Texas and commercial buildings, it's a state law. Anytime you demo, remodel, or repair a commercial building, you need to test for asbestos. It's great building material as long as it's in place and not disturbed. So once you're going to disturb it, that's when you really need to know if it's there or not. And that's why it's a state law. Um it's to protect occupants and the workers doing the work. Um, I also recommend if you're going to purchase a building to get asbestos testing done. It can be a great negotiation point. Um, you want to know if it's there or not prior to purchase because if you're going to remodel or demo any part of that building, you're going to want to know that it's there. Um we've had several clients that have purchased buildings and then found out later that there's asbestos there, and so they couldn't redesign the building the way they wanted to, or they had to go through a major expense to get it to be the way they needed it to be. So it's good to know up front before you purchase. Um, but again, if you're gonna demo remodel repair, that's when you need to know it's there. And then also if there's any damage done. So, you know, we have a lot of warehouses with um forklifts, and you know, sometimes those drivers accidentally hit the wall. So you want to know whether there's asbestos there or not, um, so that you know how to respond to that accident and that damage, whether you can just clean it up yourselves or whether you need to call a professional. Um, it's fine to have in place, and it's uh we do a lot of um management plans for commercial buildings to say, like, so they know if they have asbestos or not and where it's at, and then how to respond to it if there is if it is infect in the materials that they have.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

For

Why Asbestos Has No Warning Signs

SPEAKER_01 2:59

those of us who are more you know unfamiliar with asbestos, and you just hear like the worst case scenarios on the news or something like that, are there really like there's no signs that something's wrong, like no plants dying outside, no like the colors off, no smells?

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Yeah, unfortunately, it does not um it does not present itself in that manner. Um, it is a natural mineral, and it's dangerous when you can breathe it. So there's no smell, there's no sight. They are microscopic, um like 600 times thinner than a piece of hair, so you cannot see them visually with your eye. You have to be underneath the microscope, so you don't even know that it's there. Um but yeah, there's no warning. And then if you do have an illness caused by asbestos, um, it doesn't show up for 10 to 20 years. So it's a long process to eat before it even starts presenting itself that you have an issue.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

And when they get sick, what does that look like? What is that? Are they nauseous? Are they weak?

SPEAKER_02 4:01

No, it's um there's asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer. There um a lot of it is scarring tissue. So if uh asbestos fiber gets embedded in the lungs, the lung will put scar tissue over it to protect the body, and it keeps creating that scar tissue for protection. And then uh very severe cases, eventually your lungs close up with all the scarring and you can't breathe. So there's different different um types of things that can happen. Like I said, asbestos, asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer. Um, but those again are usually respiratory issues if you've been exposed to a lot of asbestos. We in the industry have to have physicals every year and we get our lungs x-rayed so that they can tell, see if we have any exposure.

Mold Rules And When To Hire Pros

SPEAKER_01 4:50

And then for mold, which seems like it could be more obvious, but when do you know that we need professional help, whether it's at home or in a commercial situation?

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Um, mold is regulated by the state, and it is um if it's something small, like if you're residential, you got some mold in your shower, obviously you can clean that up. Um, if you've got mold presenting on the wall and it's in small less than 25 contiguous feet. A lot of people confuse contiguous with um it's not a straight line. Mold grows in colonies, so up and down. And also if mold is created um by the same water loss, but maybe it's not in a straight line like continuous. Um you might have mold and then a blank spot and then some mold, that's all that same 25 contiguous feet because it was created there by the same water loss. So you want to anytime it's more than 25, then you have to have licensed professional people come clean it up. And that's a state law. And you you can have smaller amounts cleaned up by professionals, which is recommended because there's ways to contain it so that when you are cleaning it, you don't get it everywhere else. Mold, mold sporolates, right? So the mold spores go out through that the air and you want to contain that area. Um so something small spot on your wall. Most homeowners will take care of themselves, wipe it down. I prefer antimicrobial spray over bleach and water. A lot of people don't realize if you use bleach, it's a 10 to 1 ratio. So 10 water, one bleach. Most people pour in half bleach, half water. That can eat your materials, that can eat through a drywall over a period of time.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

And then you did touch on this, but are there any requirements, any laws that you have to do before you sell a home or maybe like a school or something when it comes to checking for mold?

Selling Disclosures And The CMDR

SPEAKER_02 6:50

Yeah, on mold, there's a state law. Um, if it's more than 25 contiguous feet, it has to be removed by a licensed remediator. Um and and you do that on purpose for uh checks and balances, right? So you have a licensed mold remediator that removes the mold. You have a mold consultant, that's what we do. We create what's called a mold protocol. That's a design of um how they have to remove the mold, where it's located, how much to remove, um, and then we come back and verify that they've removed all the mold. We run more testing. But in the end, the um building owner or homeowner will get what's called a CMDR. That's a certificate of mold damage remediation, and that's signed by the remediator and by the mold consultant both to say that the mold was removed. And that is um what you would use when you're selling the building or selling your home. Um the question was about whether we had to disclose that when we're selling, and and that is on the um TRCA forums now when you're selling a building or selling your home that you have to say whether you have it or not. But having that documentation tells the next buyer, yes, I did, but I had it corrected by licensed mobile professionals, and here's my documentation. And that CMDR is a both signing saying that it was done and removed correctly, and that the water source has been repaired.

Disasters Waivers And Cleanup Confusion

SPEAKER_01 8:08

And then a last question for you what about natural disaster events like flooding, hurricanes, or um, you know, destruction of property? How does that play into the likelihood that something needs to be tested?

SPEAKER_02 8:22

Um, we've actually had that happen. You know, we've had hurricanes down in Houston, we've had the storm of 2021 and all over Texas. So um sometimes state emergencies will waive some of the rules. Um, we did see during the hurricane that some of the mold rules were waived as far as you did not have to hold a Texas license because we had so much damage they allowed um others from other states to come in. However, they didn't say you don't have to be licensed. So we had a lot of contractors coming in saying, woo, everything's waived, we can come to what we want. I'm like, no, that's not what the rule says. The rule says that you just don't have to have a Texas license, you still have to be licensed in another state. You do have to go to the state website, register that you're doing this, but you still have to follow the regulations and the rules. So that was a that was a fun time. It was the wild, wild west, and people were coming in just trying to make a bunch of money and and holding them accountable and holding them to still what the state rights say. Um, you know, word of mouth spreads very fast, but word of mouth is not always correct. So I pushed a lot of people back to TDLR websites. That's the Texas Department of License and Regulations, that's who um regulates mold. Um but they do um like mold got they had some caveats on mold on whether that had to be done or not be done. Uh a lot of those buildings were you know no longer occupied, they had been non-conditioned for a time. So when it's non-conditioned, meaning the HVAC system is not working and nobody's living there, mold rules don't apply. So if you have a vacant building for a long time or it was damaged by mold and it's been sitting for years, you can any contractor can go get that and take it all out. Um now you don't have all those CMDRs and things in place that says it was done correctly. So we're seeing some of that backlash now of people buying and wanting to know was it ever in a hurricane or was it ever affected by water? So in those areas, sometimes you don't get that kind of documentation because of a natural disaster. I've never seen asbestos lifted in as far as like the rules change because of a natural disaster. That is still very much a uh very big health risk. Um, I've not seen them change the regs or the rules on that. You still had to be licensed by Texas to perform those abatements uh during those big situations or big weather hurricanes or natural disasters, whatever you will.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

But mold I did see tornadoes.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

The cleanup of it is, you know, tornado's gonna be hard. You don't know whether it's asbestos or not. So I would assume that that cleanup would be suited or hazmat protected. You know, they'll be wearing suits and respirators just in case. A lot of it depends on the area, the age of the materials, you know, how old, how old were the buildings in that area that were hit by the tornado. But I I'm not in the cleanup of um naturals disaster, so I'm not quite sure the protocols that they follow on those situations.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Sure. Well, we're about out of time, but Shelley, thank you so much for breaking all this down and talking about some of the signs. We appreciate you. Yeah, you're welcome.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Have a great day.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

You too.

unknown 11:42

Thank you.

Final Takeaways And How To Book

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Thanks for listening to the Environmental Testing Show. If you're concerned about mold, asbestos, or other environmental hazards, peace of mind starts with proper testing. Call 972-876-0008 or visit dcgenvironmental.com to schedule a convenient appointment. Because when it comes to your environment, guessing it's the safety plan.