Mold testing is the first step in determining if you have mold contamination issues in your home or office and whether or not mold removal is necessary. Mold testing involves mold damage assessments, collection of samples for lab analysis, and compilation of a report with findings and recommendations. If mold cleanup is recommended, verification of effectiveness of clean-up may be necessary. Mold testing should be conducted only by a mold inspection company that does not perform mold removal or remediation. This is to avoid conflict of interest. Mold testing must be done properly so as to accurately measure the extent of mold infestation. The extent of mold contamination determines the level of mold remediation required.
It is always debated as to whether mold inspection and mold testing are necessary if you already see visible mold. However, don’t we need to know, for example, what kind of mold it is so we can determine whether it’s toxic (toxigenic) or not? In fact, some people may surprisingly say no and they could be right. The decision to test or not should be based on clear goals on what was to be achieved or what was being investigated. For example, if occupants were concerned about mold related illnesses, then testing to determine the type of mold would be necessary.
Air Testing For Mold Spores
Several methods can be used to test for mold and air testing for airborne mold spores is one of them. Often mold spores found indoors have come from the exterior. Also, during mold growth indoors, it produces minute spores which are so light weighted that they easily float in the air and get carried from one room to the other. The amount of airborne mold spores in homes or offices fluctuates a lot over time as conditions such as humidity and temperature also fluctuate.
Why Test For Airborne Mold Spores?
When people inhale mold spores they may experience flu-like symptoms or other respiratory problems such as sneezing. This may necessitate testing of the air quality. Testing of airborne mold spores involves passing air through a suitable air sampler. It’s important to know that airborne mold spores and other particle levels vary significantly indoors from minute to minute as well as from area to area depending on human activities as well as use of fans, vents, windows, doors, and even lighting equipment. After collection, the samples are sent to a laboratory where the spores and or other particulates are identified and enumerated. While many mold spores have a unique morphology and are identifiable by direct microscopic examination, others do not and are more difficult to identify and may require culturing for proper identification.
As mentioned earlier air testing may also be conducted after mold removal. This final air sampling for airborne mold spores is to determine whether airborne spore levels had decreased to an acceptable level in the cleaned areas. Testing for airborne mold spores may also help to determine if there were hidden mold problems. If the spore levels are significantly elevated then further investigations are conducted to determine the locations where mold was growing. Read more about mold at www.moldbacteriafacts.com.
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