Mold Resources
When to test for mold
When should i be concerned about mold in my property?
There are many reasons to be concerned with mold growth and mold exposure within your property. Some of the most common reasons to have a mold investigation and/or mold testing performed are:
1. You have observed water staining or abnormal surface staining or growth that looks like it could be fungal growth.
2. You have observed musty, earthy or damp odors that are typically associated with mold growth or excess moisture.
3. You have had a recent or past water damage inside of your property, or you know of suspect that you have had or are having ongoing plumbing or water leaks.
4. You or other occupants of your property are experiencing allergic reactions, including asthma flare ups, runny nose, coughing or sneezing, sore throat, irritated or red eyes, etc.
5. You or other occupants of your property are experiencing unexplained tiredness lethargy, or fatigue.
6. You have noticed more dust in your property, or the appearance of the typical dust load in your property has changed.
7. You feel that the air inside of your property constantly feels stuffy or humid, or if your air conditioner seems unable to keep a normal temperature and humidity.
Testing Methods
What Type of Mold Testing do I need?
Once it is determined that mold or other testing should be performed, the exact tests or methods depend on the specifics of each individual job. The more common mold tests that we perform are:
1. Spore Trap – Spore Trap sampling is a method of air sampling to determine molds that are present in the indoor air and the quantities of each type. Spore Trap sampling provides a general mold profile of the indoor air at the time samples were collected, and is considered an important first step in determining if mold has impacted the air.
2. AirDNA – AirDNA sampling is a method of air sampling that collects airborne mold spores on a special media so that mold specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis can be performed. Although similar to Spore Trap sampling, AirDNA sampling identifies all of the specific species of mold found within the collected sample. This testing is similar to Spore Trap testing except that molds are identified to the species in order to
3. ERMI & HERSTMI – These testing methods are similar to AirDNA, except the MSQPCR analysis is of dust samples collected from certain indoor surfaces. These types of samples are generally not suitable as a stand alone methods mold for mold testing, as these types of samples provide more of an overall dust history of the property rather than qualification and quantification of indoor airborne mold spores.
4. Surface Sampling – The two main types of surface samples are tape lifts and swab samples. Tape lifts use a microscope slide with a sticky portion that is applied to moldy or potentially mold surfaces to lift off potential mold growth that can be analyzed under a microscope. Swab samples are usually collected using a q-tip style collector that is used to swab a surface area to collect mold growth. Swab samples can be analyzed by a lab in many different ways, but we usually collect swab samples for mycotoxin analysis.
5. Bulk Sampling – Bulk sampling is where a piece of mold-impacted materials is collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Impacted materials may include drywall, wood, carpets or wallpaper. We typically collect bulk samples mainly for the purpose of mycotoxin analysis.
Professional Testing
Should I have a professional Test for mold?
In most instances, you should definitely hire an experienced mold investigator to perform mold inspection and testing services. Below are the most important reasons that you should hire a professional mold consultant:
1. Petri dish and other at home mold test kits are not worth the time or money. These test kits rely on airborne mold spores falling out of the air and landing on the petri dish surface. You can’t just look at a petri dish and know what mold types have grown on the surface. Most people don’t realize that you have to send the dishes off to a lab (at an extra cost) for fungal analysis. Petri dish samples provide only a very small representation of the types and quantities of mold in your air.
2. A mold professional will have experience and knowledge to be able to search for clues or indicators of mold or moisture problems that most homeowners do not have. In this DIY culture, mold testing and remediation have also experienced an increase in people wanting to try and do it themselves. In many cases, and in most of the complex cases, the homeowners end up having to call a professional, and in some cases have made the situation worse and thus more costly to remediate.
3. A mold professional will have an array of tools, instruments and equipment to provide a more thorough mold investigation than the typical homeowner would be able to do. A typical inspector’s backpack will contain $3-5K in specialty equipment that allows for complete investigation of nearly all areas of a structure, as well as sampling equipment to collect the inspector’s chosen methods of sampling. The typical homeowner isn’t going to have this equipment on hand, and will not have the knowledge to develop and execute a well planned sampling strategy,
4. A mold professional will be able to properly interpret sampling results, as well as offer a specific remediation protocol if needed. Most individuals or homeowners who have collected their own samples usually wind up at a dead end when it comes to proper sample interpretation. Not only do they not know or understand how to interpret the lab analysis sheets, they usually don’t even know if they have properly collected the samples in the first place. Reliable sample results depend on reliable sampling methods.