How to Detect Household Mold

Detecting mold can be accomplished through a visual inspection and testing.

During a visual inspection, you want to visually check for mold growth in any areas of the home that have suffered from flood damage, water damage, or a plumbing leak. It only takes 24 – 48 hours for mold to grow after a water intrusion.

Other areas of concern are inside cabinets, behind drywall, behind baseboards, around plumbing fixtures, behind wallpaper, peeling or bubbling paint, window sills, basements, crawl spaces, and attics. If you find a suspicious substance which may be mold growing in any of these areas, you will want to test the area.

Home Mold Laboratory offers two distinct methods of testing for surface mold depending on your specific needs:

• Testing for surface mold with the VIABLE MOLD TEST KIT

To perform this test, swab the suspected area, then swab the test kit. If nothing grows in the test kit in three to seven days, the substance in question is not living, growing mold. If the substance is living, growing mold, in approximately three to seven days, you will see mold growing in the kit.

At that time, you have the option of sending the kit back to Home Mold Laboratory for analysis. Using our state-of-the-art laboratory, we can analyze your sample to identify the types of mold present and tell you whether the mold is allergenic, pathogenic, or toxigenic. This cost-effective option provides an accurate and reliable laboratory analysis, and is available for only $30.00 (per viable test kit submitted). Complete details on how to order a laboratory analysis will be included with your Viable Mold Test Kit. We will then identify what type and how much mold is prevalent on the surface that was tested. When you receive your results, call us for a phone consultation to determine a course of action.

• Testing for surface mold with the LIFT TAPE MOLD KIT

To perform this test, peel back the tape and press lightly on the mold. Replace the tape and send it to Home Mold Laboratory for analysis. Using our state-of-the-art accredited laboratory, we can analyze your sample to identify the types of mold present and tell you whether the mold is allergenic, pathogenic, or toxigenic. This cost-effective option provides an accurate and reliable laboratory analysis, and is available for only $30.00 (per lift tape submitted). Complete details on how to order a laboratory analysis will be included with your Lift Tape Mold Test Kit. We will then identify what type(s) and how much mold
is prevalent on the surface that was tested. When you receive your results, call us for a phone consultation to determine a course of action.

Remember: To test for surface mold, you must use one kit per affected area.

No matter what you call it: mold, mildew, household mold, or home mold, there are always mold spores, invisible to the naked eye, but present in the air. There’s nothing you can do about that. But you CAN determine if you have “normal levels” of molds in your home by performing air quality tests. Air quality testing is crucial in determining “the health of your home.” This testing method is important if you have a mold allergy, mold exposure, or symptoms of mold allergies.

Home Mold Laboratory offers two distinct methods of testing air quality depending on your specific needs:

• Testing for air quality with the Viable Mold Test Kit

To perform air quality tests, place one Viable Mold Test Kit outside and one Viable Mold Test Kit in each room of your home you wish to test with the lids open; after one hour, close the lids on the kits. In about three to seven days, you will probably see mold growing in the kits. Compare the indoor kits with the outdoor kit looking for differences in types of mold or quantity of mold. If you have different types of mold growing in the indoor kits than in the outdoor kit or if you have more mold growing in the indoor kits than in the outdoor kit, Home Mold Laboratory recommends that you send the kits back to our laboratory for analysis. Using our state-of-the-art accredited laboratory, we can analyze your sample to identify the type(s) of mold present. This cost-effective option provides an accurate and reliable laboratory analysis, and is available for only $30.00 (per kit submitted). Complete details on how to order a laboratory analysis will be included with your Test Kit order. We will identify what type(s) and how much mold is prevalent in the circulating air of your home. When you receive your results, call us for a phone consultation to determine a course of action.

• Testing for air quality with the Air Check Mold Testing Kit

To perform this air quality test, insert a mold testing cassette onto the Air Check pump and place the pump in the room to be tested. Push the start button. The pump will operate for five (5) minutes and will then turn itself off. Remove the cassette. This test should be repeated (with new testing cassettes) outside and in each room of your home that you wish to test. Return the Air Check pump with the used cassettes to Home Mold Laboratory for analysis. Using our state-of-the-art laboratory, we will analyze your sample to identify the types of mold present and will present you with a detailed report including a count of the mold spores per cubic meter of air. When you receive your results, call us for a phone consultation to determine a course of action.