How To Test For Black Mold Exposure

Where Is Mold Found

Mold is found all over the world. It can grow on and in buildings and also outdoors. Although mold can exist in a variety of places, it grows especially well in damp, moist environments. Your walls, furniture, floors, carpets, and other areas of your home can contain mold. Kitchens, bathrooms, and other damp places are especially likely to have mold. Mold is common everywhere, and people are exposed to it every day.

Visual Contrast Sensitivity Testing

How it works: Visual Contrast Sensitivity testing aims to measure a component of neurological function that may be affected by exposure to mycotoxins and other biotoxins. This method looks at your ability to see details in varying contrasts of black, white, and grey on a computer screen.

Pros: VCS testing is inexpensive, fast, and simple. It can also be easily repeated throughout treatment. One study found that VCS scores were lower among employees of a school that had been exposed to water damage than employees at an unaffected school .

Cons: VCS testing is limited in the sense that it cant tell you how much mold youve been exposed to, how much you are excreting, or how exposure may be affecting other areas beyond neurological function.

Who its best for: VCS testing may be best for those who suspect or know theyve been exposed to mold or mycotoxins, have neurological symptoms, and are on a budget.

Allergy Testing For Mold Toxicity In North Texas

If you are experiencing a sudden or growing reaction of the sniffles, mild rashes, or trouble concentrating, you may be experiencing the effects of mold toxicity. Because these symptoms can indicate many different health conditions, it is imperative that you see a doctor who specializes in lung conditions in order to receive an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

If you would like to schedule an appointment with a lung specialist, contact our friendly team today by calling us at 594-9993 or by filling out our online appointment request form now. We look forward to helping you get to the bottom of what you are experiencing so you can breathe easily again.

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How To Test For Black Mold

Do you keep getting a whiff of something musty in your bathroom or basement? Afraid it might be mold? Learn about three of the most popular kits to test for mold at home.

Its no secret that damp areas of the home provide the perfect conditions for mold and mildew to grow. Whether your nose knows, or your eyes spy dark spots in strategic locations, you want to make sure.

Mold doesnt just eat away at your wood, wallpaper, or grout. Its spores get airborne and cause all kinds of health problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says enough evidence exists to link mold to upper respiratory tract symptoms like itchy eyes and runny nose to cough and wheeze in otherwise healthy people.

How Do You Know If Mold Is Making You Sick

Are you sick and suspect it might be from mold?

Determining whether exposure to mold is making you sick isnt always easy.

Each persons body is affected by mold toxicity in different ways. Some experience constant migraines and headaches, shortness of breath, brain fog, fatigue or even depression.

Since symptoms differ from person to person, they may not be quickly associated with mold exposure. Many people suffering from mold illness struggle to get a proper diagnosis and investigation.

Its common to think my house is clean it cant be mold! However, mold comes in many forms. In this article, well share what toxic mold is, the signs and symptoms, and how it can be treated.

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Mold Armor Fg500 Do It Yourself Mold Test Kit

The Mold Armor kit includes a test swab, petri dish, and a bottle of mold growth medium. You can use this single kit in one of three waysto test the air for mold spores, to test air quality in your HVAC duct, or to test for surface mold.

To use the kit, pour the growth medium in the petri dish, replace the lid, and allow it to gel for one hour. Then, either allow it to remain open to the atmosphere for an air quality test, tape it to your air duct for a HVAC test, or use the swab to remove a sample from a surface and apply it to the growth medium for a surface test.

If after 48-96 hours mold begins to grow in your dish, you may choose to send it to a lab for analysis. With a price tag of under $10, this mold test kit is affordable. But the lab fee is an additional $40.

Preventing A Mold Exposure Relapse

The best way to ensure that you do not experience mold-related sickness in the future is to arm yourself with the knowledge of how to recognize and rid yourself of mold.

Believe it or not, it is in your power to control mold.

Although it can be sneaky, if you take the necessary steps to keep your environment dry and airy, you can help eliminate the likelihood of mold growth.

This is because mold thrives in dark, dank, and moist environments. So, creating an environment opposite of this will help to prevent any and all mold growth.

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How Can I Find Out If Mold Is Harming My Health

You dont have to sit back and accept the harmful effects of mold exposure. Getting a mycotoxin test may help you determine whether you have mold toxicity in your body. This is a great way to test whether the harmful antigens in the mold are negatively impacting your health. This test may help you decide how to treat your mold exposure and allergies.

Treating these conditions may improve your symptoms and allow you to regain your health. These treatments may also prevent you from developing more serious mold-related health conditions.

Indoor Environmental Sampling And Analysis

Professional mold testing is more detailed and specialized than any DIY test. The accuracy of home mold test results vary widely, and these tests may not offer insight into the concentration of mold spores in indoor air or which species of fungus are growing in a home. These tests may also not differentiate between active growth and desiccated airborne mold spores from past growth.

Having a property inspected and tested by certified experts can provide a clearer sense of the scale and severity of a fungal infestation. Indoor environmental hygienists and other specialists trained in assessing mold damage may take air, batch or surface samples to submit for lab analysis. Air samples may also be taken from a central HVAC system. These results can include information about the species of mold present in a structure and whether growth is active or old, and can be used to guide remediation work.

Even professional mold tests cannot determine whether individuals have been exposed to mold spores, mVOCs or mycotoxins. Such information requires lab testing of biological samples taken from the residents of a home or regular occupants of a commercial building with a mold problem. Only licensed healthcare professionals are qualified to interpret the results of medical mold exposure testing.

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What Does A Mold Allergy Look Like

What Are the Symptoms of a Mold Allergy? The symptoms of mold allergy are very similar to the symptoms of other allergies, such as sneezing, itching, runny nose, congestion and dry, scaling skin. Mold spores get into your nose and cause hay fever symptoms. They also can reach the lungs and trigger asthma.

What Does A Mold Headache Feel Like

In severe cases, folks may almost feel like something is trying to push one of their eyes out of its socketâand in very severe cases, a person may feel like their eye popping out would actually be a good thing, because at least then, they might experience some relief from the pressure in their skull!

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The Different Black Mold Tests

The first thing to do is verify that you have black mold. Symptoms of mold exposure are almost identical to other fatigue issues, like Lyme disease and chronic fatigue syndrome. And because mold can grow behind walls as a result of burst pipes or water damage, its often hard to pinpoint where mold is in your home.

If you can see black mold in the caulking around your bathtub or below your kitchen sink, for example and you have no reason to suspect its elsewhere in your house, you may be okay skipping a formal test. Otherwise, you have a few different options when it comes to testing for mold in your home:

• Mold culture test. This test includes a petri dish with a swab. You expose the petri dish to either the air or, through the swab, a specific area in your home, and then you cover it and let it sit for 48 hours. If you get lots of growth in the petri dish , you have a mold problem. If you get little to no growth, youre okay. Mold culture tests are fast and cheap . A mold culture test is a good option if you suspect mold in your workplace or school. The downside is that the test wont tell you where mold is only if mold is present. Heres a good mold culture test.
• ERMI test. Environmental relative moldiness index testing will tell you with much more specificity what mold is in your home and how big of a problem it is. ERMI tests will run you $200-$300.

What About Black Mold Or Stachybotrys

Recently, there has been heightened concern regarding exposure to a specific type of mold commonly referred to as black or toxic mold. Currently there is no conclusive scientific evidence linking the inhalation of black mold spores or any type of mold in the indoor environment to any illness other than the previously described allergy symptoms. The term toxic is an inaccurate description of this mold. There are many common molds that are black in color.

If you see mold growing in your home, the most important thing to remember is not to panic. You do not have to leave your home or belongings behind or destroy everything in the house. Instead, seek the help of someone who is knowledgeable and experienced in dealing with mold. Contact your local public health agency or state health department for more information on mold.

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Who Does Mold Allergy Affect

Molds can irritate everyone, regardless of whether youre allergic to them. But the effects are generally worse for certain groups of people who have compromised immune systems due to disease or medication.

Risk factors for developing an allergy to mold include:

• Having a family or personal history of allergies.
• Having a respiratory condition like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .
• Being exposed to mold over a long period of time due to your job or to living in a humid house or a building with poor ventilation.

Indoor Air Sampling Kit

Indoor air sampling kits are the next step up from DIY mold testing. Air sampling kits generally include an air pump and containers for collected air. After collecting the samples, users mail them to a laboratory for analysis. Laboratory analyses offer a distinct advantage over DIY mold tests in that they provide mold concentration in addition to type.

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Navigating All Of The Confusing And Concerning Information About Black Mold Is Hard But Were Here To Tell You The Truth

Many of us have heard of the dangers of toxic black mold and may worry about black mold poisoning, but the truth is that black mold is a much more manageable problem than you might expect.

Few topics get us more upset than seeing misinformation publicized about toxic black mold, and mold in general, by unscrupulous companies and zealous media articles that seem more interested in sensationalism than fact-based reporting.

When you understand what youre dealing with, you can make informed choices to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy. Were here to cut through the mess and help you understand what having black mold in your home may mean, and give you some tips on how to fix the problem yourself and save big money in the process.

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How To Test For Mold Exposure

Testing for mold exposure can confirm whether individuals have internal indications of exposure to harmful fungus. Homes and commercial buildings can be tested to determine whether high concentrations of fungus spores, microbial volatile organic compounds or mycotoxins are present that may make exposure more significant.

The best mold tests are performed by trained medical or mold remediation experts and return results confirmed by lab analysis. This applies to analysis of air, batch or surface samples taken at a location as well as medical lab testing for immunological indications of mold exposure.

Mold can be toxic and tests should be handled by an expert. Call us at for a free consultation with a licensed remediation expert available 24/7 near you.

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When Should You Test For Mold

If youre wondering about black mold exposure, theres probably a good reason. More often than not, homes with mold infestations have a distinct smell, but not always. You may want to test for the mold if any of the following are true:

• You are purchasing a new home. Some mold infestations are hidden, and homeowners dont find them until its too late. Before purchasing a new home, especially if the homes been unoccupied for a while, you may want to run a mold test.
• Your home has high levels of humidity. Like most molds, black mold needs two things to spread: moisture and nutrients. If your home has a persistent moisture problem, youre more likely to encounter mold.
• Your home smells musty. Molds release mVOCs, compounds with an odor that is often described as musty. Although the health effects of mVOCs are largely unknown, they have been linked to dizziness, fatigue, headaches, nasal irritation and nausea.
• You have chronic health issues. Black mold can cause profound health consequences, including chronic inflammatory and respiratory problems. Even in the absence of mycotoxins, long-term exposure to black mold can cause chronic allergy symptoms and other illnesses.
• You just finished mold remediation. Mold remediation is expensive, and its not always successful. If you recently had professional mold remediation, its a good idea to perform additional tests to ensure the black mold is gone.

For Help With Mold Removal

If you need to hire someone to remove black mold from your home, we suggest scheduling a free consultation with a mold removal professional. Even if you are planning to do the work yourself, you can benefit from some free expert advice from an experienced professional, including information on the safe handling of materials that may be contaminated with mold. For a list of qualified mold removal professionals offering free in-home consultations in your area, just follow the link.

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How Long Do Mold Symptoms Last

The tricky thing about mold exposure is that its different for each person. The amount of time mold exposure symptoms persist depends on:

• What type of mold they are exposed to,
• How long the exposure has been,
• How well their bodies eliminate toxins

Those who process toxins well can see their symptoms disappear as quickly as a few days.

Others who eliminate toxins slowly can experience symptoms for much longer. They could be ill for months or even years after the source of mold is eliminated.

How Mold Testing Works

There are two different kinds of professional-grade tests that experts tend to utilize to look for mold infestations. Both of them involve taking a small sample of material, which is then analyzed in a lab for traces of mold spores or the presence of mycotoxins. Urine test kits, as their name implies, require a small volume of urine from a human . These kits are used to determine if a person has a mold infestation in their body.

Meanwhile, home test kits require a small amount of dust or detritus from a buildings air conditioning or heating unit filters. Its not uncommon for professional environmental inspectors or mold remediators to use both kits in tandem after experiencing water damage, as they provide differentbut equally crucialinformation.

There is a third type of mold testing kit on the market its the kind that folks frequently see in hardware and big-box stores. These kits are designed to detect mold spores in the air, and they usually consist of a petri dish filled with microbial growth medium. The dish is exposed to the air for a set period of time in order to collect samples, and then its sealed and allowed to incubate. The idea is that any mold spores captured by the dish will then grow, allowing them to be seen and studied.

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How Do You Prevent Black Mold Exposure

To prevent exposure, first you must remove any black mold in your living or working space. If you find mold growing on any surfaces or materials, either discard them if possible or clean them with a bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water.

If carpets, insulation, drywall or other porous surfaces become saturated with water, they should be cleaned and dried within 48 hours to prevent mold growth. If they cant be dried promptly, its best to remove and replace them.

There are also other ways to lower your risk of black mold exposure, including:

• Lower the humidity in your home. If you live in a humid climate, using air conditioning or a dehumidifier will help reduce the level of humidity in your home. Aim to keep humidity levels between 30 to 50%.

• Remove carpet from bathrooms and basements, which are more likely to be humid or have a lot of moisture.

• Improve the ventilation in humid rooms of your home. Fans that remove moisture from bathrooms and kitchens will help lower humidity and help prevent mold growth.

• Clean bathroom tiles and other damp areas regularly.

• Fix leaks in roofs, walls or plumping promptly.

• Remove books and newspapers from damp areas, and get rid of them if they become moldy.

• Wear a mask over your nose and mouth while mowing the lawn or doing other yard work to prevent inhaling mold.

• Stay indoors on days when airborne mold counts are high.