Mold Testing

Where is the mold? - - It could be airborne. And it could be Toxic Mold. If you are sensitive to mold, the mold does not have to be toxic to make you feel bad. There are very few options that you can do about mold because mold spores are everywhere. Excess mold is not good, even for a healthy person who is not sensitive. So how do you find out? Test the air you breathe. If high mold counts are detected, there is something you can do. We do both viable and non viable testing

Spore trap air samples are collected. The samples are collected using air-sampling pumps Spore trap test results are reported as the number of spores found per cubic meter of air. This is a non viable test, but it does not tell us if the mold is a dangerous mold or a harmless mold. When air samples are collected indoors, at least one air sample is taken outdoors. The outdoors sample establishes a baseline for comparative evaluation of the indoor samples. Because there are no Federal standards for mold spore count levels in residences, schools, or other buildings, the Industry guidelines are derived from ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists).

Indoor air quality to be degraded if the mold measured in indoor air is substantially greater from the mold measured in outdoor air. If the indoor air samples show elevated levels of mold spores, such samples are considered positive for mold.

The next type of test for mold is a viable sample. This is normally done with a Petri dish in which an Agar solution is poured into the dish to "activate" it. This solution is like "Apple Pie and Steroids for mold growth" The dish is in a sealed and airtight sterile container and is activated by unsealing and pouring the reactive food source on site. By doing this the only mold that grows in the dish is a representative sample of the type of mold in your home.

In four days the mold will become apparent to the naked eye and we can send it to a lab for a definitive analysis which will positively identify the species. If it is a dangerous or harmful mold we will immediately