How to Test For Mold

The basic idea of mold test kits is to detect the mold in your home first of all and then secondly, to send off the test samples to a mold laboratory for analysis and so they can identify just what kinds of mold you have living in your home. If you have one kind of mold in your house, odds are that you have at least a second.

If you see mold growing on your wall, floor, ceiling, or your air conditioning system, you can use scotch tape to lift mold particles off of the moldy area and onto the surface of the mold test kit. You could also scrape the mold particles off of the surface with a knife or other item, but this is not recommended because it will stir up the spores. Doing this barehanded is also not recommended; do not touch mold with your bare hands. Use some kind of glove, preferably latex, if possible. After you collect the mold into the test, even if you used gloves, wash your hands thoroughly. Do this even if you’re going to go and test another area of the home, because you don’t want to cross-contaminate the sites.

After you are done, you should print your name, the name of whoever owns the property, the address, and the exact location of that particular test sample, the date, and the kind of sampling method you used. Also include the duration of the test in minutes or hours, along with the person’s name who conducted the test and how they can be contacted.

Take samples from your air conditioning ducts. You should run the air conditioner on its fan setting for about ten minutes before you do the test and you should tape the test kit to the grill of the duct so the air hits the sticky surface directly.

Testing each room, basement, attic, garage, and any kind of crawl space is also necessary. Use a fan to stir up the air in the room for about 10 to 15 minutes before testing.

Also test the outdoor environment for mold to have something to compare the indoor results to.

If there is a kind of mold that exists in the indoor tests that does not exist in the outdoor tests, then the cause of that mold is restricted to the indoor environment and is not coming from the outside. This mold is being generated from the inside of the home and you should do your best to find the cause in the area where that test was taken.

After you’ve looked at the tests yourself (wearing gloves and eye protection), have them sent to a mold laboratory for analysis and identification. They will send you back the results and after that, calling in a professional mold remediation specialist is necessary.



Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.moldrestorationny.info
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