Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey May.
Jeffrey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I developed allergies soon after I purchased a 30-year-old bed for $5 to furnish my first apartment at college; back then, I had never heard of dust mites. Every year thereafter, I developed some new allergy; as a chemistry student in graduate school, I gave away my cat. I taught chemistry for a few years, but ended up doing some real estate development after undertaking my own renovations as a homeowner. I transitioned into professional home inspections but just about every home represented a challenge and I often had to wear a dust mask to keep out the dust mite poop, pet dander and mold spores; I was referred to as “the masked home inspector” by the real estate agents who spoke of me with “great affection.” I married and had 2 children with asthma; my kids’ suffering and my own allergies and experiences in other people’s homes made me change careers. By starting May Indoor Air Investigations, I was able to combine my intimate understanding of homes with my science training and allergic sensitivities to help others make their “sick” buildings healthy again.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I loved to teach and initially the hardest part of changing jobs for me was leaving teaching. But now in my work, I once again do a great deal of teaching; the knowledge I impart to homeowners and building occupants helps them and their families’ live better lives.
May Indoor Air Investigations – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My first book “My House is Killing Me!” says it all; the title is a direct quote from a message an allergy sufferer on my answering machine. People call me because they feel that their environment is making them sick. Often these folks have been ill for years, often criticized and disbelieved by relatives, friends and/or coworkers suspecting that the sufferer’s symptoms psychosomatic.
I have often come into environments that were deemed healthy by other earlier investigations and found serious air quality problems that were overlooked. Part of why I can do this is because I have so many environmental sensitivities myself; the other reason is that I examine all of my air and dust samples myself by microscopy. All other companies rely on outside labs to do their sample analyses; most companies only analyze part of an air sample but I look at the entire sample. Most companies only look for mold spores; I look for many other potential allergens such as bug parts, poop and hairs; pollen and pet dander; even some bacteria; among others.
I have also helped many people through phone consultations. People send me photos and/or prior reports and we discuss what can be done to improve a situation; I also counsel people when they are renovating or building a home, providing suggestions on what steps to take to assure a healthy home with low allergen exposures.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moments occur when I am at my nerdiest, when I am looking at a sample from a client in my microscope and I have a “eureka moment”; when I see what unexpected and invisible evil has been making a client sick. I get so excited that I usually (if it is before 10 at night) rush to the phone and call the client. I have seen mold growing in a client’s bed when the mold-allergic client thought that the basement was the culprit; bacteria, mold and mites in contaminated carpets in allergic children’s bedrooms and moldy air conditioners that gave families asthma; feather-filled quilts and pillows that caused chronic coughing and allergies; even refrigerators that were so dirty that clients’ allergy symptoms disappeared after just cleaning the refrigerator coils and drip pan.
Contact Info:
- Address: Tyngsborough,MA
- Website: www.mayindoorair.com; www.myhouseiskillingme.com
- Phone: 978-649-1055
- Email: jeff@mayindoorair.com
Image Credit:
Jeffrey May
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