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1-844-300-CIRS (2477)
STONECREST TEAM
Patient & Client
FAQ
Clear answers to the questions we hear most. If yours isn't here, contact us directly — we're happy to help.
OUR TEAM
Every answer in this FAQ comes directly from our care team's experience working with CIRS patients, mold illness sufferers, and medically-sensitive clients across the United States and internationally.
"We've navigated many of these same challenges ourselves. The clearest answers emerge when building history, environmental data, and occupant health are evaluated holistically and in context. They are rarely found in a single room, test, or symptom.
About StoneCrest Team
Are you a large nationwide company?
No. StoneCrest Team is located in Florida and intentionally remains boutique in size so every client receives direct, consistent care from the same trusted team members throughout the process. Our mission is to ensure every CIRS client and patient works with the same care team members from beginning to end. We are not a nationwide company with separate divisions and do not use salespeople or project managers. You will always reach us directly.
Why do you stay small on purpose?
Because CIRS care requires continuity, consistency, and genuine expertise — not scalability. A client navigating biotoxin illness has already been through enough confusion, handoffs, and misdiagnoses. Our boutique model is a deliberate clinical choice, not a limitation.
Do you work with clients outside the United States?
While our physical office is located in Florida, we serve clients worldwide through our virtual consultation services. For clients outside Florida — including other U.S. states, Guam, the Caribbean, and select international locations — onsite assessments may also be available on a select case-by-case basis.
Are you a faith based company?
Yes. StoneCrest Team is guided by Christian principles, and our motto is Romans 12:17: "Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable." Our faith informs our commitment to honesty, integrity, and the care and respect we bring to every client relationship. That said, we warmly serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs.
Understanding CIRS & Biotoxin Illness
What is CIRS?
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) is a multi-system, multi-symptom illness caused by exposure to biotoxins from water-damaged buildings, Lyme disease, and other biological triggers. It affects a genetically susceptible portion of the population — approximately 24% — whose immune systems are unable to clear biotoxins normally, leading to a chronic, self-perpetuating inflammatory state. Symptoms span nearly every body system: neurological, cognitive, respiratory, musculoskeletal, hormonal, and more. It is frequently misdiagnosed as anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue syndrome. Recovery requires both medical treatment and removal from the biotoxin source — the building.
What is the difference between a regular building inspection and a CIRS building assessment?
A standard mold inspection looks for visible mold growth and may collect an air sample measuring total spore counts. It was designed to satisfy real estate transactions and insurance adjusters — not to identify the specific biotoxin environment that drives CIRS illness. A CIRS Building Science™ assessment asks fundamentally different questions: not just "is there mold" but which species, at what concentrations; not just air quality but endotoxin load, actinomycetes, mycotoxins in settled dust; not just visible damage but hidden moisture pathways identified by UltraMax Thermography. A standard inspection that says "no mold found" may be entirely accurate — and entirely useless for a CIRS patient.
What are biotoxins exactly?
Biotoxins are toxic compounds produced by biological organisms in water-damaged buildings. In the CIRS context, the primary sources are: Mycotoxins (chemical toxins produced by mold species that can accumulate in settled dust and persist long after visible mold is remediated), Endotoxins (fragments of gram-negative bacterial cell walls — a potent inflammatory trigger often overlooked in standard assessments), Actinomycetes (thermophilic bacteria that grow in chronically wet building materials, rarely tested for in standard inspections), Volatile Organic Compounds (including microbial VOCs produced by active fungal metabolism, important for MCS patients), and Beta-glucans and hyphal fragments (structural components of mold that trigger immune responses independent of mycotoxin production).
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a condition in which a person develops sensitivity to low-level chemical exposures — fragrances, cleaning products, pesticides, VOCs, and other environmental chemicals — that would not affect most people. In the CIRS context, MCS often develops or worsens as a result of biotoxin-driven inflammation and immune dysregulation. The indoor environment plays a critical role in both triggering and perpetuating MCS symptoms.
How does building health relate to CMS?
Water-damaged buildings produce Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (mVOCs) as a byproduct of active fungal and bacterial metabolism. For MCS patients, these compounds — combined with the inflammatory load from biotoxins — can significantly amplify chemical reactivity throughout the body. Identifying and remediating the building environment is often a foundational step in reducing MCS symptom severity.
Can a CIRS Building Science™ assessment help MCS patients?
Yes. Our assessments specifically evaluate VOC profiles and microbial VOC load in addition to standard biotoxin markers. We understand the heightened sensitivity of MCS patients and take care during all site visits and testing to minimize chemical exposures. Our written protocols include HVAC and ventilation guidance that accounts for MCS-specific needs.
Medical Protocols & How They Connect to Building Health
What is The Shoemaker Protocol and how does your work relate to it?
Developed by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker, the Shoemaker Protocol is the foundational, peer-reviewed medical framework for diagnosing and treating Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). The protocol's 12-step process begins with a critical prerequisite: removal from exposure to the water-damaged building causing illness. Without addressing the building, no medical treatment can achieve lasting results. StoneCrest Team's entire CIRS Building Science™ framework is built to satisfy the environmental requirements of the Shoemaker Protocol — including ERMI/HERTSMI-2 testing, biotoxin assessment, and post-remediation verification to Shoemaker-standard thresholds. Learn more at survivingmold.com/shoemaker-protocol.
What is the Bredesen Protocol?
Developed by Dr. Dale Bredesen, the Bredesen Protocol (ReCODE™) is a comprehensive, personalized approach to preventing and reversing cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and related neurodegenerative conditions. The protocol identifies over 36 metabolic and environmental factors — including biotoxin and mycotoxin exposure from water-damaged buildings — that contribute to cognitive decline. For patients experiencing neurological symptoms, addressing the building environment is frequently a prerequisite to meaningful progress. StoneCrest Team works with Bredesen-trained physicians to ensure our building science findings directly support their clinical protocols. Learn more at apollohealthco.com/bredesen-protocol.
Do you prescribe or recommend medications or supplements?
No. StoneCrest Team does not practice medicine and does not prescribe, recommend, or guide medical treatments, medications, or supplements. Our role is the building environment. Your physician manages your medical protocol. We make sure the building supports — rather than undermines — your medical recovery.
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Cognitive Decline
What is the connection between water-damaged buildings and Alzheimer's or Dementia?
We provide a comprehensive CIRS Building Science™ assessment that identifies the specific biotoxin contributors within the building environment. Our written findings are formatted for review by your Bredesen Protocol practitioner or neurologist, so building science data can directly inform your medical plan. We do not practice medicine — but we make sure the environmental picture is complete and actionable.
How does StoneCrest Team support patients with cognitive symptoms?
We provide a comprehensive CIRS Building Science™ assessment that identifies the specific biotoxin contributors within the building environment. Our written findings are formatted for review by your Bredesen Protocol practitioner or neurologist, so building science data can directly inform your medical plan. We do not practice medicine — but we make sure the environmental picture is complete and actionable.
Can cognitive symptoms improve once the building environment is addressed?
Many patients and clinicians working within the Bredesen Protocol report meaningful improvement in cognitive function once biotoxin exposure is eliminated and appropriate medical treatment is in place. StoneCrest Team does not make medical claims — but we ensure the building is no longer an active barrier to that recovery.
Autism & Environmental Sensitivities
How can building health affect individuals on the autism spectrum?
Some individuals on the autism spectrum have heightened immune reactivity, sensory sensitivities, and reduced detoxification capacity that can make biotoxin exposure more impactful. Water-damaged building environments may amplify behavioral, neurological, and physical symptoms in sensitive individuals. Families exploring biomedical approaches to autism often include environmental assessment as part of a broader strategy.
What does a CIRS assessment look like for a family with a child on the spectrum?
Our approach is the same as with any medically-sensitive client — thorough, careful, and fully personalized. We are experienced working with families navigating complex health situations and understand the weight of that responsibility. Our written protocol will include specific HVAC, cleaning, and environmental guidance appropriate for a home with sensitive individuals.
Do you work with the functional medicine physicians treating our child?
Yes. We regularly collaborate with functional medicine providers and can provide our building science findings in a format their clinical team can use. We understand how to communicate the building data in a way that supports, rather than conflicts with, the medical protocol in place.
PANS / PANDAS
What is PANS/PANDAS and how does building health relate to it?
PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) are conditions in which immune and neurological symptoms appear suddenly or in episodic flares. Environmental stressors — including biotoxin exposure from water-damaged buildings — can act as immune triggers that worsen or prolong these episodes. For PANS/PANDAS patients, reducing total immune burden is often a clinical goal, and the building environment is a meaningful variable in that equation.
Can you assess a home where a child with PANS/PANDAS is experiencing flares?
Yes. This is one of the most important assessments we perform. When a child experiences recurrent or worsening neuropsychiatric symptoms without a clear infectious trigger, the building environment deserves thorough evaluation. We assess for the full biotoxin profile — mold species, endotoxins, actinomycetes, and VOCs — that standard inspections routinely miss.
Will your finding help our PANS/PANDAS physician?
We format our reports to be usable by any clinician reviewing environmental factors. If your physician is CIRS-literate or works with the Shoemaker or functional medicine framework, our data will integrate directly. If not, we can provide a plain-language summary alongside the full technical report.
Autoimmune Conditions & Inflammatory Load
How do water-damaged buildings affect autoimmune conditions?
Environmental biotoxins from water-damaged buildings add to the total inflammatory burden on an already dysregulated immune system. For patients with autoimmune conditions — including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's, and others — this additional immune stressor can worsen disease activity, reduce treatment response, and complicate clinical management. Identifying and addressing the building environment is often an overlooked but meaningful variable in autoimmune care.
Can removing biotoxin exposure improve autoimmune symptoms?
Many functional medicine and integrative physicians report that patients with autoimmune conditions show improved medication response and reduced disease activity once significant environmental exposures are removed. StoneCrest Team does not make medical claims — but we provide the building science data your clinical team needs to make that determination.
Do you have experience with clients managing multiple diagnoses?
Yes. CIRS rarely occurs in isolation. Many of our clients carry multiple diagnoses — autoimmune, neurological, hormonal — that have been incompletely treated because the building was never addressed. We are experienced working within complex, multi-system health situations and take the full picture seriously.
Organ Transplants & Medically Vulnerable Clients
Why is indoor air quality especially important after an organ transplant?
Organ transplant recipients typically take immunosuppressive medications for life to prevent rejection. This significantly reduces the immune system's ability to mount a response to environmental threats — including mold, bacteria, and biotoxins from water-damaged buildings. What a healthy immune system can tolerate may pose a serious risk to a transplant patient. We treat these assessments with the highest level of care and thoroughness.
What specific risks does a water-damaged building pose for transplant patients?
Immunosuppressed individuals face heightened risk from: invasive fungal infections (including Aspergillus species common in water-damaged buildings), endotoxin-driven systemic inflammation that can stress a newly transplanted organ, and mycotoxin accumulation that may interact with transplant medications or accelerate organ stress. Standard inspections are not designed to evaluate these risks. Our CIRS Building Science™ assessment is.
Do you coordinate with transplant teams or specialists?
We do not practice medicine, but we can communicate our findings in a format appropriate for medical review. If a transplant team or infectious disease specialist is involved in your care, we can prepare our report to support that collaboration. Protecting medically vulnerable clients is one of the most important things we do.
Services & What to Expect
What happens during an onsite consultation?
Every onsite consultation begins with a thorough review of your history — medical background, symptom timeline, previous inspections, and any lab results you have. From there, a typical onsite engagement includes: UltraMax Thermography (a full thermal scan revealing hidden moisture, insulation failures, vapor and condensation pathways, and thermal anomalies), visual inspection (systematic evaluation of every accessible area), targeted sampling (selected based on your building's history, which may include MSQPCR/ERMI/HERTSMI-2, endotoxins, actinomycetes, mycotoxins, and/or VOC testing), and a written findings and protocol document with clear remediation sequencing, HVAC guidance, and re-testing criteria.
How are your virtual consultations conducted?
Virtual consultations are conducted by phone or video, depending on your preference. They cover a wide range of services including lab result review, buying and renting guidance, small particle cleaning protocols, and HVAC guidance. You do not need to be local to receive expert CIRS building science support from StoneCrest Team.
Do you provide remediation services?
No. StoneCrest Team is an independent assessment and consulting firm. We do not perform remediation work. This independence is intentional — it ensures that our assessment findings are objective and serve your interests only. We will guide you in selecting appropriate remediation contractors, provide them with our protocol, and can be available for oversight and post-remediation verification.
Do you review work done by other inspectors or remediation contractors?
Yes — this is one of our most-requested services, called a Forensics Biotoxin Assessment. If you have been through inspections, testing, or remediation and are still experiencing symptoms, we can independently review those reports, identify errors and missed findings, and provide a corrected assessment. Many clients come to us after one or more previous engagements that did not resolve their situation.
Can you work along side my doctor?
Yes, and we encourage it. StoneCrest Team does not practice medicine, but we regularly collaborate with CIRS-literate physicians, Bredesen Protocol practitioners, Lyme-literate MDs, and functional medicine providers. We can provide building science findings in a format suitable for medical review, and we understand how to communicate in the language CIRS clinicians need to make treatment decisions.
What We Don't Do & Why
Can you help prove my family member is overreacting to mold and that it's all in their head?
No. CIRS is a biologically documented, genetically-driven immune response to biotoxin exposure. It is not psychosomatic, not a matter of sensitivity, and not something a person can simply choose to stop reacting to. Our role is to assess the building environment and support the patient's path to recovery — not to discount or dismiss their experience.
My attorney wants me to hire someone for an insurance or landlord situation. Can you help?
No. StoneCrest Team does not provide services for litigation, insurance disputes, or landlord-tenant legal proceedings. We are a patient and client-centered building health firm. Our work is focused on your health recovery, not legal outcomes. We will always be straightforward about what we can and cannot help with.
Do you perform general home inspections?
No. While our team holds general inspection credentials, our work is exclusively focused on CIRS and biotoxin building health. A general home inspection serves a completely different purpose and uses completely different standards than a CIRS Building Science™ assessment. We do not offer pre-purchase general inspections.
Do you sell remediation products, supplements or equipment?
No. StoneCrest Team does not sell any products. We have no financial relationship with any remediation company, product manufacturer, supplement brand, or equipment supplier. Our assessments and recommendations are entirely independent.
Getting Started & Working With StoneCrest Team
How do I know if I need an onsite assessment vs. a virtual consultation?
Onsite assessment is best if you are currently living or working in a building you suspect is causing illness, if you have recently moved and your symptoms persist, or if previous remediation has not resolved your situation. Virtual consultation is best if you need help interpreting existing lab results, are making a purchasing or renting decision, need guidance on remediation protocols or cleaning, or are seeking CIRS-safe building or HVAC guidance. If you're not sure, contact us — we will help you identify the right starting point at no obligation.
What areas do you provide onsite service in?
Our core service area is the State of Florida. However, in some circumstances clients arrange for us to travel to different states and the Caribbean. Contact us to discuss your location and we will let you know what is possible.
Should we have the ducts or AC cleaned before you come?
It is critically important that we evaluate the property before any HVAC or air duct cleaning is performed. When duct cleaning is completed improperly — using incorrect methods, inadequate containment, or non-specialized equipment — biotoxin contaminants such as mold, bacteria, fungal fragments, and particulates can become aerosolized and cross-contaminate the home to a much greater degree. In many cases, improper cleaning can worsen environmental exposure rather than improve it. The order of operations matters enormously in a CIRS home — please contact us before taking any remediation or cleaning action.
Should I call you first, or the remediation company, or the AC company?
Always call us first. Most contractors, however well-meaning, are not trained in CIRS Building Science™. Their standard methods may disturb settled biotoxins, aerosolize fine particles, and spread contamination to previously unaffected areas. Once remediation or duct cleaning has been performed, critical evidence can be destroyed — making it harder to identify root causes and properly assess what remains. We will give you a clear protocol before any contractor begins work. A phone call with us first costs nothing. Undoing improper remediation can cost everything.
How do I prepare for an onsite consultation?
Before your consultation, gather any existing documentation: previous mold inspection or air quality reports, remediation documentation or contractor reports, medical records or lab results related to your CIRS or biotoxin illness, a brief timeline of your symptoms and when/where they are worst, and any photographs of visible water damage, staining, or building concerns. We will review all of this before recommending a sampling strategy for your building.
How long does an onsite assessment take?
Assessment duration depends on the size and complexity of the building and the extent of concerns identified. Most residential assessments take several hours. We will provide you with a time estimate when scheduling. We do not rush assessments — thoroughness is the foundation of what we do.
Do you offer follow-up after the initial assessment?
Yes. Our boutique model means we remain available throughout your journey. After the initial assessment, we are available for contractor consultations, protocol questions, remediation oversight, and post-remediation verification. You are not handed off to someone else when the assessment is complete.
Do you provide written reports?
Yes. All onsite assessments result in a written protocol and findings document. This includes our assessment observations, sampling strategy and results interpretation, remediation recommendations, HVAC guidance, and re-testing criteria. Reports are written to be actionable and formatted for review by your physician and remediation team.
Still unsure where to begin?
Schedule a consultation with our team to begin your science-first path to a genuinely healthy home.
1-844-300-CIRS (2477)
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