8 Surefire Secrets to Sniff Out Snake Oil
The FDA, EPA, Marketing, Sales, and Use of Mold Remediation Products.
by J.S.Armour, February 2023, updated Jan 2024.
Based on Armour’s Mold Remediation Basics 101 (One part of a larger set of stand-alone remediation education modules)
“8 Surefire Secrets to Sniff Out Snake Oil and Scams”
1. Guaranteed 100%. Period.
2. Uses secret/proprietary or previously unknown science
3. Wildly convincing testimonials
4. No Gov’t Agency involved
5. Special sounding words and terms
6. Provides an “alternative” to mainstream science and medicine
7. One ingredient
8. Addresses all the different hazards simultaneously
Snake Oil: noun (idiomatic) A fraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum; panacea.
Sales method: warm and fuzzy – charismatic, charming - remember the “con” in con-artist is for confidence.
Key Words and Concepts: patients motivated to solve the problem of illness, fear, threat, desperation, lack of science, pseudo-science, listening to trends, viewing viral videos, science denialism, influenced by Influencers.
TRUST
The biggest obstacle in identifying the warning flags of snake oil and scams is trust - or rather, mistrust. Particularly in the agencies and experts that we regularly trust to do “other” things without question. E.g., the FDA, the FOOD and DRUG Administration, which by the way originated during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency as the “Bureau of Chemistry”. Protects us daily by
In 2022, about 18 thousand FDA employees kept people very safe from bad “almost everything” from hamburger to carrots and apples, to cold medicine to restaurant chains, grocery stores, and even vending machines, tobacco products to medical devices, and much more.
The FDA has a more than $6 billion budget overseeing almost $3 trillion (TRILLION) worth of food, medical products and tobacco. You can’t have a functioning society without this kind of government oversight. More than 3/4 of the U.S. food supply is regulated by the FDA. Interestingly, the agency approves what are curiously called “novel molecular entities” – what we call pharmaceuticals or drugs. FDA also regulates air purifiers that emit (or might emit) ozone! So, every one of the special purifiers is regulated even if it accidentally or coincidentally puts ozone into your occupied spaces. Often, these are called “medical devices”, but the simple standalone portable “air purifier” is clearly regulated.
The FDA regulates online pharmacy websites, and in 2020, found that 97% of 10,000 were not in compliance for selling safe drugs to Americans. Every year about 3 billion prescriptions are written in the U.S. - each of them one way or other regulated and assured “safe” by the FDA.
Then there is the EPA. Importantly for the mold industry, the EPA regulates the products called “disinfectants, biocides, fungicides, pesticides, mildewcides”. It does this through a process called “registration”. These are the products most likely being sold to people to “get rid of mold” - from shower cleaners to office disinfectants for COVID concerns, to remediation materials used by “professional mold remediation” companies. They all contain at least one chemical (ingredient) that claims to be able to kill mold (or bacteria, or virus, etc). Each chemical with this claim must be rigorously tested by a standard lab protocol to prove it can actually kill the microorganism(s) being claimed to get killed.
The regulation process also covers the label – each word on the product label is reviewed and approved. Some words are prohibited altogether if combined with the intent to disinfect, such as “green”. Some words are not, such as “botanical”. Sometimes we do not know the reasoning.
The point is, somewhere, there is documentation that the label was submitted to the EPA during the registration process and approved. If you want to know about the chemicals and claims of a product, request the EPA FIFRA Registration number.
The other agencies that regulate what happens in a home or office or medical facility include OSHA and CDC and HUD and DOT. There are also dozens of honest and sincere, legitimate non-profits, non-government organizations, research facilities, science educators, and consumer protection organizations that can be a source of great information. They look at, review, test, and critique any and all products. They literally have YOU in their best interest.
PROFIT
On the other hand, there are endless commercial entities, companies, franchises, manufacturers, distributors, even simple mom-and-pop contractors, trying to sell you something. Remember, these people will only promote and sell you what they “have in their truck”. In other words, there interest is only what they sell. They literally have ONLY THEIR OWN profit and success in their best interest!
(At this point, you might be asking yourself, “what do you have an interest in?” Well, I provide information. I teach. I instruct. I listen. I help. I get paid to know things. I get paid to inspect, assess, consult, and provide direction.
I do this for homeowners, renters, building owners, fire stations, insurance companies, schools, industrial facilities, offices. I do it for anyone who has a legitimate problem and wants a legitimate solution. Sometimes, I reject a client. Sometimes the client is at fault. Sometimes no one is at fault. At all times I focus on finding the cause of the problem and finding a solution that works. Hopefully, the solution works for all parties effected by the problem: the client and their constituencies, the family and roommates, the board of directors, the employees, even sometimes, the stockholders.
I do not sell a single disinfectant, purifier, fan, filter, or sponge. I do not sell the labor to suck up water leaks, remediate a moldy wall, or install a better HVAC system. I get paid to protect your best interests. I often alienate the manufacturers, contractor, building owners, even the onsite workers because I’m their quality control and quality assurance. If they don’t do it right, or use it right, or sell you the right stuff, I call them out – and hopefully, I get them to correct it and do it better – all for your best interest – not their profit. I try to get customers by doing what many people do – I provide some free information like this blog, “MoldLogic” and hope I catch your interest, and you’ll share it with others. And I hope that a few of you every now and then will like what I write enough to trust me and hire me to help you.)
INTEGRITY
The point is, there are literally hundreds of regulations, and 100s of thousands of people working to keep things as safe and honest as reasonably possible for the patient, homeowner, and building occupant. We can use these regulations, rules, standards, and recommendations to build our knowledge and help ferret out bogus claims, snake oil, scams, and magic potions that simply don’t do a darn thing or worse, can make things worse.
Yet, many people searching for natural or alternative solutions to health and environment problems worry that these agencies, and others, are the source of a hidden conspiracy. Not surprisingly, the type of conspiracy and who’s behind it all depends on what product or therapy that person is buying, selling, teaching, or believes in! Sometimes there are more than a few conflicting conspiracies for the same thing!
I won’t entertain fantastic conspiracy claims. if you ask, however, I will explain how it’s literally impossible to have these things manipulated in secret by a secret conspiracy out to get you. But let’s save that for another time, shall we?
SCIENCE
The first important thing is figuring out what is based in and on science. The second important thing is figuring out how to figure out if something is even plausible.
The seller will use fancy science-sounding explanations (confusion or amazement, relying on your ignorance to impress you), disinformation (challenging other claims as false), misdirection or spin (sound bites, distortion, select information, part of the whole, red herrings or even just completely avoiding addressing your questions or critiques.) They will tell you – nay, they will convince you their product works better than the accepted science, medicine and body of knowledge.
Often, there are subtle clues that help us sort out the useful from the useless, the truth from the deception. They can be summarized into seven categories. If you hear something that you think fits one of these categories it is worthwhile to look and listen more closely for other clues that might show up in another category.
works better than the accepted science, medicine and body of knowledge
Usually, once you begin to look a little longer, dig a bit deeper, ask a few difficult questions, you find a lot more unanswered questions than actual facts. And usually, the seller will change the subject, blame your ignorance, blame someone else for something similar (“what about this or that...”), and even get belligerent, confrontational, and angry, or walk away. Often, when asked about the actual scientific nature of their offer, they will deflect, distract, and deny – which effectively avoids the challenge so they can reframe the sales pitch in their favor without messy facts and sound scientific principles getting in their way.
RED FLAGS
Red flags warn us of danger. Heed their warning. It may save your life.
Eight Common Red Flags:
When something sounds too good to be true…
1. Guaranteed 100%. Period.
2. Uses secret/proprietary science, newly discovered technology, or borrowed technology from a “reputable” source like “the military” or “NASA”; usually this special information is not known to other companies or people in the industry, the originator “hacked the secret of…” but doesn’t tell you that it wasn’t secret or new to begin with (e.g., hydroxyl tech.). Uses unique techniques, or achieves what others could not: goes thru walls, gets everywhere, finds all the spores, etc.
3. Wildly convincing testimonials but no 3rd party testing (includes in-house testing without 3rd party), includes using a single “study” that has never been replicated or improved upon.
4. No Gov’t Agency involved - anti-big brother etc. Keep the gov’t agency from regulating the special process or preventing you from getting it. avoidance of third-party critiques. directly critical of classic credentials (e.g., CIH, MD, allopathic medicine), reliance on “new, modern” credentials.
5. Special sounding words and terms - botanical natural neutralizes destroys eliminates, converts, breaks down; non-destructive, never-before-seen
6. Provides an “alternative” to mainstream science and medicine
7. One ingredient, or single element chemistry - “hydroxyl” “ozone” thyme oil”
8. Addresses all the diff’t hazards - allergens, toxins, DNA, spores, solves all the problems with one product, one application.
A COUPLE QUICK EXAMPLES
#1 Magic Chemistry
Claim: Their product has a special ingredient that will chemically react with the mold and turn into nothing but carbon dioxide and water. Both of those are necessary for life so this is good.
Problem: This violates the universal law of nature: the Conservation of Energy (and mass).
Challenge: Ask them what happens to the other elements, like nitrogen. Ask them about the balance of the equation when one analysis the chemical reaction to product “only” carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O).
#2 False Chemistry
Claim: Bleach does not kill mold, their product does.
Problem: Bleach is an oxidizer. A strong oxidizer. It will change the color of organic and biological materials like mold because it is chemically changing the pigments. Pigments are used for metabolic functions; pigment molecules are inside the living mold cells. So if the pigment is destroyed inside the mold cell, the bleach must have somehow broken the cell wall of the mold. Breaking the cell of a simple living organism like filamentous mold will almost always kill it.
Challenge: Ask them why bleach containing products are on the EPA registered disinfectant list. Ask them if the non-bleach products kill all mold. Compare the organisms on any EPA label including their product to the mold species that are in your home; if those species are not listed on their product label ask them what will happen. Interestingly the EPA requires the organism that causes athlete’s foot fungus to be one of the tested organisms for a product to state “Kills Mold”. Ask them what about the molds in your house.
Remember, all disinfectants kill some mold; NO disinfectant will kill all mold.
GOODBYE to Warm Fuzzy
So the next time a warm fuzzy sounding sales person or “professional” tells you they have your problem solved, remember, they only sell you what they have in their truck - otherwise, they’d be selling the OTHER company’s stuff! And they do not truly have YOUR best interests at heart. Some will be honest but misinformed or under educated. Some will be incompetent. And a few, yes always a few, will be corrupt. They know they are selling nonsense or are gouging or fooling you. Remember and use the Eight Red Flags and you might find yourself in a better position when you see them to the door and ask them to leave.