Module 4 · Tools & Equipment
4.5 Safety Equipment & PPE
7 min read
Damp inspection puts you in lofts, under floors, in cellars and next to saturated electrical installations, often alone and in properties nobody has maintained. This lesson covers the real hazards and the equipment that addresses them — and the single most important professional habit, which is being willing not to enter somewhere.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Identify the principal hazards of damp inspection work.
- Select appropriate PPE for each situation.
- Assess a confined or elevated space before entering it.
- Recognise when the correct decision is not to proceed.
Key terms
- PPE
- Personal protective equipment — the last line of defence, after avoiding the hazard entirely.
- FFP3 respirator
- A filtering facepiece offering high protection against fine particulates including mould spores. Needs a proper face seal.
- Confined space
- A space with restricted entry and exit where hazards can accumulate — subfloor voids, cellars, some lofts.
- Crawl board
- A board spanning joists so weight is distributed and you do not go through the ceiling below.
Free — enrol to continue
Read the rest of Tools & Equipment
Module 1 is open to everyone. The remaining six modules — building science, each damp mechanism in depth, meters and thermal imaging, the full inspection method, and report writing — are free too. We just ask for an email so you can pick up where you left off, and so we can send your certificate when you finish.