Are you ill in your own home, and no one can tell you why? It could be the mould you cannot see.
Could you be suffering from building-related illness, where your diagnosis and treatment just do not seem to work?
The headaches, the fatigue, the chest infections that never clear, the brain fog that lifts the moment you leave the house. When your GP cannot explain it, the cause is often the building you live in. Jeff Charlton, the UK's independently verified #1 forensic mould expert with over 40 years' experience, finds what is making your family ill and puts it right. Every week you wait, the exposure continues.
Jeff reviews every enquiry personally. Tell him your symptoms below. It takes about two minutes.
Jeff's work has featured on & been trusted by
Your symptoms are real. Your home may be the reason.
You have been to the doctor. Maybe more than once. The tests come back unclear, you are told it is stress, or a virus, or that you are just run down, and you are sent back to the very place that is making you ill.
So the symptoms continue. A child wakes wheezing. Someone has headaches that never quite go, fatigue that sleep does not fix, brain fog, aching joints, a chest infection that keeps coming back. And the pattern nobody joins up: it all eases when you are away, and returns within hours of walking back through your own front door.
You are not imagining this. And you are not being dramatic.
A mould spore is 20 microns wide. A full stop in a newspaper is 60 microns. Three to four mould spores fit on a single full stop. But the fragments below 7 microns slip past the hairs in your nose and the cilia in your throat and can go straight into the bloodstream.
That is why the mould making you ill is so often the mould you cannot see, and why trying to kill it yourself with bleach or a supermarket spray is bad practice that makes things worse. Dead mould breaks into smaller pieces, and those smaller pieces travel deeper into the lungs than the live ones did.
A patch of toxic mould the size of a mobile phone hospitalised Jeff Charlton's own daughter. Her doctors prepared her for chemotherapy. Jeff moved her out of the house. She made a full recovery. The doctors thought they had the wrong patient.
This is the part that matters most: for as long as you keep living in it, the exposure will outweigh any treatment you are given. You can take every medication and follow every piece of advice and still not get better, because the cause is still there, every single day. Every week that passes is another week of spores and mycotoxins reaching the bloodstream, and for a child, an elderly relative, or anyone already vulnerable, that time is not neutral. No treatment can win while the source goes unfound.
Are you or your family suffering from any of these?
When a home is contaminated with mould, the people living in it often become ill in ways that are rarely traced back to the building. The symptoms are wide-ranging and affect everyone differently. If you recognise several of these in your household, your home may be the cause, and every day of exposure adds to it.
Breathing
Cough, shortness of breath, sinus problems, wheezing or asthma attacks.
Eyes
Red eyes, blurred vision, and watering or tearing from airborne spores.
Skin
Sensitivity, rashes and irritation as a reaction to exposure.
Memory & Mood
Difficulty concentrating, confusion, memory issues and mood swings.
Muscles & Joints
Aches, muscle cramps and joint pain that can become debilitating.
Fatigue
Persistent tiredness and a general weakness that does not lift.
Stomach / IBS
Abdominal pain and diarrhoea, often linked to mycotoxin exposure.
Temperature
Night sweats and abnormal temperature regulation.
Other Signs
Excessive thirst, increased urination, vertigo or tremors.
Weight
Unexplained weight gain, linked to the hormone-disrupting effect of mould toxins.
Brain Fog
A heavy, persistent mental fog that makes it hard to think clearly, focus or remember.
Neurological
Prolonged exposure is increasingly studied for its role in serious neurological conditions, including the aggravation of Alzheimer's.
These symptoms have many possible causes and this page is not medical advice or a diagnosis. A forensic investigation establishes whether your building is the source, so you and your doctor can act on facts rather than guesswork.
There is one person who finds what is making you ill
Jeff Charlton has spent over 40 years doing one thing. Identifying what is inside buildings and what it is doing to the health of the people who live in them.
He is the only court-recognised UK expert working at the intersection of building science, medicine and law.
He does not arrive with a damp meter and a tin of paint. He carries out a forensic investigation: laboratory-grade sampling that identifies the exact contaminant, traces it to its true source in the structure of your home, and connects it to the symptoms you and your family are living with. Then he and his team put it right at the source, so your home stops making you ill.
When NHS doctors reach the limit of their training on building-related illness, they refer to Jeff. When solicitors need a report that holds up under cross-examination, they call Jeff. When insurers want a contested mould claim independently assessed, Jeff is who they trust.
You do not need another contractor. You need the expert who finds the cause.
From your symptoms to a home that is safe again
Tell Us Your Symptoms
Use the form on this page to tell Jeff what you are experiencing and what your home is like. Two minutes. Jeff reviews every enquiry personally.
Match Symptoms to Exposure & Investigate
Jeff matches what you are experiencing to the likely exposure in your home, then investigates: laboratory-grade sampling of air, surface, dust and mycotoxins to trace it to source.
Data-Driven, Actionable Reports
A clear, data-driven report written to expert witness standard. It names the contaminant and the source, links it to your symptoms, and tells you exactly what to do next.
Put It Right at the Source
Jeff and his team resolve it properly so your home stops making you ill, and it does not come back.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This is for you if…
- You or someone you live with has unexplained symptoms that worsen at home and ease when you are away
- A child in your home is constantly ill and you suspect the property
- Your GP has run tests, found nothing definitive, and the symptoms continue
- You have already paid someone to treat it and both the mould and the symptoms came back
- An elderly or vulnerable family member is exposed and you cannot afford to wait
- Your insurer has denied a damp or mould claim and called it "lifestyle"
This is not for you if…
- You have a small cosmetic patch around a window with no health concern. A dehumidifier will sort it
- You want the cheapest job on the market. This is the opposite of that
- You want a quick yes-or-no opinion over the phone. Forensic work cannot be done that way
- You want someone to guarantee the outcome of a legal case. No credible expert will do that
Not a damp surveyor. The specialist the experts call.
When someone is genuinely ill and the cause has to be found, Jeff Charlton is the specialist that doctors, solicitors and insurers turn to. He is the only UK forensic mould expert with all of the following:
- Over 40 years of specialist forensic experience
- Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) qualified member
- Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC)
- Certified Restorer (CR)
- Founding Chairman, British Damage Management Association (Lloyd's of London, 2001)
- Founding member, International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness
- Contributor to the IICRC S520 mould standard, USA, 2001
- 12 published books and 42 technical briefings
- Independently verified across six search engines as the UK's #1 forensic mould expert
- Referenced by name in The End of Alzheimer's by Dr Dale Bredesen (NYT bestseller)
- Featured on Channel 4, BBC, Sky News and Panorama
- Worked with the Cabinet Office (COBRA), MI5, the US Corps of Engineers and the British Army
- Lectured at Cranfield Military College and RUSI, Whitehall
- CIR Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at The Dorchester
People who were not being believed, until Jeff
"My whole family was sick and no one knew why"
Building Forensics healthcare review
When the "qualified" contractor makes it worse
A family in Sidmouth, two adults and nine children, were living in a property "assessed" by a contractor with a City and Guilds two-day mould qualification. The contractor sprayed the visible mould and left.
The children kept getting sicker.
Jeff was called in. He found that the property's positive input ventilation fan was drawing air from the loft, air carrying bird droppings, histoplasmosis and Weil's disease, and pumping it into every room of the house. The "qualified" contractor's intervention had made the contamination worse, not better.
If your family keeps getting ill, it is because nobody has found the source yet. A two-day course does not produce a forensic investigation. A damp meter is not a diagnosis. And the wrong intervention does not just fail, it costs you time you may not have.
The forensic investigation that finds what is making you ill
What you receive:
- A forensic survey to identify and research the hazards in your home
- Laboratory analysis of air, surface and dust samples
- Mycotoxin analysis where the case warrants it
- Identification of the cause of the contamination
- Data-driven evidence you can act on
- A forensic report written to expert witness standard, naming the contaminant and the building failure
- Environmental reports in line with the medical or legal context
- Resolution of the problem at the source, by Jeff and his team
- Access to Jeff's GP and clinician referral network where relevant
- Fast-track turnaround available for active insurance deadlines
Confirmed openly once Jeff has reviewed your enquiry. This is specialist forensic work, priced accordingly.
Tell Jeff your symptoms and your home
Jeff personally reviews every enquiry that comes through this page. Tell him what you are experiencing and what your home is like, and he or his team will come back to you with the right next step. The sooner he sees it, the sooner the exposure can stop. It takes about two minutes.
Thank you. Your enquiry is on its way to Jeff.
Jeff reviews every enquiry personally. He or his team will be in touch shortly to discuss what your property needs. If it is urgent, call 0203 916 5505, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Straight answers before you enquire
Could my symptoms really be caused by my house?
They can be, and very often are. Mould releases spores and mycotoxins that are linked to a wide range of symptoms, and the giveaway is the timing: if you feel better when you are away and worse when you return, the building is the most likely cause. A forensic survey is how you find out for certain, instead of guessing.
My doctor could not find anything wrong.
That is the experience of most people who come to Jeff. GPs are not trained in building-related illness; it is not in the curriculum, so the home is rarely considered. Jeff's report is written so your doctor can read it and understand the environmental contributors, and he maintains a referral network of clinicians who do understand this work.
I have already paid someone to treat this.
Almost everyone who comes to Jeff has. The reason it came back is that the previous job treated the surface, not the source. A forensic survey finds where the contamination is actually originating in the structure, which is the only way to stop it, and the only way the symptoms ease.
My insurer has already denied the claim.
Most of Jeff's homeowner clients come to him after a denial. A properly evidenced forensic report changes the basis of the claim. It does not guarantee an outcome, and any expert who promises one is not being honest with you. It does give your solicitor or insurer something solid to act on that they did not have before.
Is this not just an expensive version of a damp survey?
No. A damp survey measures moisture. A forensic investigation identifies the specific contaminant, traces it to source, assesses the health risk and documents it to expert witness standard. It is a different discipline entirely, which is why standard surveys keep missing it.
How fast can it be done?
Standard turnaround is two to eight weeks. Fast-track is available for active insurance deadlines. You can tell Jeff your timeline in the survey form.
How can you find mould if I cannot see or smell it?
This is the most important part. The mould making you ill is often hidden inside walls, under floors or in the ventilation, and the most harmful fragments are far too small to see. Jeff uses laboratory-grade sampling of the air, surfaces, dust and mycotoxins to locate the exact source, which is why problems that look invisible from the room are still found.
What happens after I submit the form?
Jeff reviews your enquiry personally. He or his team contact you to discuss what your property needs, confirm the scope, and give you a clear price. There is no card details on the form and no obligation.
Every week in the house is another week of exposure.
You have read this far because you already suspect your home is the reason you or your family feel unwell. You do not have to keep guessing, and you do not have to keep waiting. Find the cause, stop the exposure, and start getting your health back.
Find Out If Your Home Is Making You Ill Or call 0203 916 5505 · Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm