Essential Home Inspection Tools & Safety Equipment

Home inspectors have high-pressure jobs. They’re responsible for overseeing a home’s overall safety and comfort, which requires the right gear. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors’ standards of practice, inspectors only need an electrical tester and a flashlight to perform inspections. Even then, it’s good for them to carry a few more useful items. Here is details about Essential Home Inspection Tools & Safety Equipment.

By bringing essential equipment and tools, home inspectors can perform their jobs better and conduct in-depth inspections. The right equipment also helps them stay safe and avoid injury. Here’s a quick rundown of essential home inspection tools and safety equipment that ensure you don’t miss anything vital during inspections.

Light Source

While investigating a property’s dark areas, you’ll need a dependable light source to drive away the darkness and see what you’re doing. Fenix Lighting creates high-lumen flashlights designed with useful features like battery level indicators. Fenix flashlights and headlamps have powerful beams that let you make out details clearly and safely from a distance.

In case you lose your main flashlight, it’s a good idea to have a small spare. That way, you don’t have to reschedule inspections or struggle to see in dark areas. If your light source isn’t rechargeable, bring some extra batteries. 

Ladder

To inspect all of a residential property, you’ll need to get up onto the roof and into the attic. A reliable ladder is a must, but should you use an aluminum or fiberglass ladder?

Aluminum ladders are lighter, making them easy to transport from house to house. If you’re doing electrical work, be careful, as aluminum conducts electricity. Fiberglass ladders are more durable, but heavier than aluminum ladders. Regarding overall safety, fiberglass ladders are non-conductive and non-magnetic.

Moisture Meter

Left unnoticed and unchecked, elevated moisture levels in a home can turn into extensive and expensive mold and mildew concerns. Moisture meters can detect issues like plumbing leaks behind various materials, such as vinyl and tile.

The two types of moisture meters are search and measure. Search meters detect elevated levels of moisture, but they don’t measure how much moisture’s present. Measure meters have two pins you can touch to materials to measure their moisture content. Rather than have one of each, you can use a moisture meter with both measure and search features.

Roof Equipment

Home inspectors need quality roof Safety Equipment to maintain their balance while navigating rooftops. It’s best to wear flat shoes with high-traction rubber soles. While shoes designed specifically for roof work exist, you may not get much use out of them.

Pack straps to secure your ladder to the roof, so it’s not blown away by powerful winds or be liable to tip away from the building. You can also use personal tie-offs to secure yourself to a sturdy connection point on the roof for an extra layer of protection and peace of mind.

Gloves

While inspecting electrical panels, you need gear that protects you from accidental shocks. Keep a quality pair of rubber or leather gloves on you to stay safe. When you aren’t working around electrical panels, sturdy gloves protect your hands while navigating basements and crawl spaces. No matter what gloves you wear or where you use them, make sure they aren’t loose, so they don’t accidentally slip off.

Respirator

Homes may contain toxins that are harmful to breathe. Half-face and full-face respirators ensure the air you breathe is safe, but make sure you wear a comfortable respirator, so you don’t mind using it. While full-face respirators offer more protection, they aren’t as comfortable as half-face respirators. To trap as many particles as possible, look for models with HEPA filters.

Bring essential tools and safety equipment with you to every home inspection. You never know when a single piece of equipment will become useful or keep you safe.