How To Test For Black Mold In The Air
Are you breathing black mold? For your healths sake, its important to find out. Most airborne molds are capable of harming certain people, but toxic black mold presents a particular risk. Even short-term exposure to black mold can be dangerous to health.
When people talk about toxic black mold, theyre referring to a specific variety known as Stachybotrys chartarum. Like all molds, black mold is insidious its hard to find and even harder to remove. Just because you can find a visible mold colony, doesnt mean youre not inhaling its spores and byproducts.
If you suspect black mold is growing in your home, its a good idea to run a test before beginning the expensive remediation process. While youre investigating, make sure to run a high-quality air purifier for mold to protect yourself and your family. Keep reading to learn when and how to test for black mold.
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Using A Commercial Mold Test Kit
There are several commercially available mold test kits on the market that can give you a pretty good idea if mold spores are present in your home. If you want to go this route, heres what youll need to do:
So thats how to use a commercial at-home mold test. Heres a tip: Mold spores are present in every home, so its extremely likely that your mold test is going to indicate the presence of mold. The key is being able to differentiate between whats normal and whats potentially unhealthy.
Remember, a moderate amount of growth is normal. Its when the growth looks out of control that you should consider calling in professional help.
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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How Much Does A Mold Inspection Cost
A standard mold inspection costs around $200-$500 for an average size house . Larger houses might cost a bit more, and extra charges may be applied if the inspector needs to perform more sampling. These costs normally include the inspection and pre-determined sampling. Additional sampling would incur additional fees.
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Air Quality Monitor Formaldehyde Detector Pollution Meter Sensor Tester
The Air Quality Monitor and Pollution Meter is a special mold kit. It allows you to test for more than toxic mold spores. The device is rated to determine if there is anything floating around your home that could cause illness or grow within your walls thats hard to find.
Lab tested and easy to use, more so than other kits. Youll understand the need for remediation or other cleaning. You can spot check moisture levels in any home with the portability of the testing unit. The built-in fan means you dont have to work at anything. It draws air into the unit for sampling.
The unit is rated to determine the presence of a number of substances, not just the most common types of mold. You can test for formaldehyde concentration. The tester will detect volatile organic compounds coming from natural and synthetic sources that might be the source of odors.
Tiny dust particles and other molecules can travel through your breathing tract, entering your lungs and affecting asthma conditions.
The tester has a 2.8 inch color LED display that makes it easy to read results so you can analyze your home or office space and decide if you need to take action. Customer service line is available where you can speak to a professional about the results.
Pros:
Heres a quick rundown of the types of mold that test kits look for:
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Your Skin Is Tingling
If youre allergic to mycotoxins, youll experience tingling, itching, or burning sensations when you come into contact with the mold. Your body is reacting by releasing histamines, and the result can be dry, itchy, and scaly skin you could get hives. If the condition persists, see an allergist and look into ways to locate and eradicate the growth.
Mold Testing Kit Concerns
As helpful as mold testing kits can be, sometimes they are not the best choice. Surprisingly, there isnt a standard for what is acceptable regarding indoor mold.
Naturally, mold is everywhere. When you perform a mold test sampling, youll find that mold is ubiquitous. The mere presence of mold does not automatically indicate a problem or a potential health risk.
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Dont Want To Use Chemicals Heres How To Test For Mold In Your Home Naturally
If youre concerned about the effects of harmful chemicals when testing for mold in the house, worry not. Testing for mold doesnt use any chemicals, and kits are non-toxic.
In fact, the main thing you should be worried about when testing for mold is the mold itself. If you are collecting direct samples of mold using the swab technique, wear gloves and a mask to reduce your exposure to the mold.
You Are Buying A New Home
It is incredibly important that you have a home tested for mold before you buy it because it can be expensive and sometimes impossible to get rid of. Real estate agents are under no obligation to disclose knowledge of mold in a home. The responsibility lies on you, as a potential buyer, to make certain a professional mold and indoor quality air inspection are conducted.
If mold is detected during the professional inspection, you may be able to negotiate with the seller to have them pay for repairs or lower the sales price. However, if the mold is toxic or there is an unmanageable amount, its best to stay away and look for a home that provides a healthier environment.
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Health Symptoms That Can Be Caused By Mold In Your House
Mold doesnt bother everyone. In fact, out of thousands of mold species, only a few dozen will trigger any health problems at all, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Still, some of us are sensitive to molds. People who are allergic to an indoor mold can experience year-round symptoms like a sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, and more for those who also have asthma, mold can trigger an asthma attack. People with a weakened immune system or a chronic lung condition like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can develop a serious infection in the lungs if theyre exposed to mold.
People without allergies and asthma arent immune to the effects: In 2004, the Institute of Medicine concluded that people without pre-existing lung conditions can also experience symptoms like nasal congestion and a sore throat if they live in a house with damp floors or moisture accumulation.
What Is Black Mold
When people say black mold, they refer to Stachybotrys, a greenish-black mold that grows on damp material with a high cellulose content. In our homes, that includes wood, fiber or gypsum board, paper, fabric, or green insulation. Just because mold is black doesnt mean its the dreaded Stachybotrys though, which by the way also manifests itself in blue and grey. But because Stachybotrys can off-gas dangerous mycotoxins, its the mold variety most feared.
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How Do These Chemicals Harm My Health
Entering the Body
The harm begins when a person is exposed to an environment that contains a large amount of mold. During this time, damaging enzymes in the mold may enter a persons lungs. After going into the lungs, the enzymes may bypass the persons gut barrier and go into their bloodstream.
Harming the Neurons
Once they are in the bloodstream, these harmful mold antigens may change the persons blood-brain barrier function. This alteration allows the antigens to go into the nervous system. From there, the antigens may harm the persons neurons and interrupt their production of needed antibodies.
The Negative Effects
The disruption of the persons immune system can cause a variety of negative health issues. People may suffer from immune suppression, eczema, allergies, and sinusitis. They may also experience headaches, hyperthyroidism, vomiting, and other negative effects. Mold exposure can also cause people to suffer from myalgic encephalitis, rheumatic disorders, and painful lymph nodes.
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Toxic Mold Can Spread Quickly
Mold spores can start to grow on damp surfaceswithin 24-48 hours. If there is a leak in your pipes, flooding, or even a spill that isnt fully cleaned up, it could cause a damp environment for mold to grow rapidly.
Since mold grows so fast, its important to get professional mold testing early on. Its also best practice to get professional mold testing within 48 hours of any occurrence in the home that may lead to molding.
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Are Home Mold Test Kits Accurate
Home mold tests are neither as accurate or precise as professional testing, laboratory analysis and expert interpretation of results. A DIY test cannot definitively identify any type of mold or determine its toxicity level. Indoor environmental hygienists take and submit samples and make recommendations for mold remediation based on results.
Air Sample Testing For Mold
Now that we have a solid foundation, we are finally ready to discuss air sampling to detect mold. Lets say we are going to sample two houses and each house will have 3 samples take or 225 liters of air passed through a detection media. HouseMold has a severe mold problem in the corner of a large room and House No-Mold does not have a mold problem. House Mold is a tight house with an amazing ERV ventilation system that filters no less than 4,675,000 liters of air per day which is 8.5 filtered air exchanges per day that are capable of filtering out 99% of every mold spore that passes through the filter each time the air passes through the filter. We might as well say the filter has a 100% mold spore capture rate. Because of the number of filtered air exchanges taking place in House Mold our 3 samples will represent approximately 0.000048% of the houses air. To help you understand how insignificant that number is imagine that you hurt yourself and had to go to the doctor. I am 510 tall and if a doctor looked me up and down to see where I hurt myself this would be the equivalent of the doctor only looking at a human hairs thickness of my body and then telling me my diagnosis. In this example the lack of mold found in the air samples would result in House Mold being given a clean bill of health even though the house had an active moisture issue and was being eaten alive by mold.
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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.
Poor Reason For Testing #1 To Find Out If There Is Mold
A complex mixture of mold particles normally exists in all occupied indoor environments. If appropriate testing is done, it is expected that molds will be found. There is, however, an important distinction between the normal presence of mold particles, versus mold growth and accumulation indoors. Unfortunately, even when it is done well, testing may not be able to distinguish between normal and problem conditions and it may even give misleading results.
When mold grows indoors, it poses a potential health risk and damages what it grows on. When mold growth is visible or mold odors can be smelled, it is common sense that there is a problem that should not be tolerated.
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Urine Mycotoxin Test Kit
Urine mycotoxin tests are ideal for testing yourself for mycotoxin exposure. Theyre absolutely painless, totally non-invasive, and incredibly easy to use. With just a small amount of urine, our experts will be able to spot up to 15 different illness-causing mycotoxins.
A high concentration of mycotoxins in the body is generally indicative that theres mold growing somewhere in your home. A positive test result, then, is typically the first step to a mold remediation plan. It can also be the first step in treating a previously undiagnosed illness.
Mold Can Happen To Anyone So It Shouldnt Be A Source Of Shame For A Homeowner Conversely If A Person Shows Symptoms Of Mycotoxin Exposure They Shouldnt Immediately Rule Out The Possibility Of A Mold Infestation In Their Home On The Grounds That I Keep My Place Clean
Ive heard a lot about black mold being dangerous. What is black mold, exactly? Can your test kits tell me if Ive been exposed to black mold? Black mold is the common name given to Stachybotrys chartarum, a certain variety of microfungus known to produce trichothecene mycotoxins.
While its not commonly found in nature, this type of mold has a real knack for setting up shop inside the walls of man-made structures. Black mold infestations are usually a result of water damage or long-term moisture buildup inside of an enclosed area, so bathrooms, basements, and attics are particularly vulnerable to black mold growth. And trichothecenes have been associated with acute and chronic respiratory issues in humans, including nasal inflammation, excess mucus secretion, and olfactory system damage. They may also negatively affect the synthesis of DNA, RNA, and protein, thus wreaking havoc on the entire body.
Black mold can be scary to think about, but the good news is that all of our test kits are capable of spotting trichothecenes in a given urine or dust sample. Black mold may be good at hiding, but our Real Time Laboratories is even better at seeking!
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When To Call A Professional
If you have restrictive health conditions, its best to call a professional to perform a mold test. In many cases, mold may be concealed behind walls, in HVAC systems, under floors or in other moisture-prone places that are hard to access. Although DIY mold tests can be helpful, they are not always completely accurate. If you are concerned there is mold, a professional will be able to provide a thorough examination and explain remediation options.
Although some types of mold pose greater health risks than others, all mold problems should be addressed. That also includes getting to the root of the moisture problem to ensure mold doesnt make a return.
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What Testing Cannot Do
As described earlier, the commonly used testing methods are limited in what they can detect and measure. Skilled investigators are aware of these limitations and dont rely on testing when it is not appropriate. However, many people have unrealistic expectations of what mold testing can do and they can be taken advantage of by those who perform testing poorly or for inappropriate reasons. Below are some impractical reasons commonly given for requesting mold testing.
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How To Test For Toxic Mold
If you have mold in your home, your nose is one of the most inexpensive devises you can use to detect it. Mold smells, and chances are, you’ll be able to detect the distinctive odor that taints the air around moldy walls, carpeting and other objects. The struggle is in understanding when mold is dangerous to your family or home.
The term toxic mold is a little confusing. Some molds, like Stachybotrys chartarum or black mold, produce mycotoxins, toxic substances that cause health problems in some people. There is no direct link yet between mold-produced toxins and serious conditions like idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage in infants, but there are concerns that exposure to these toxins can exacerbate existing lung conditions and allergies, and possibly cause problems in otherwise healthy people. Common molds that aren’t considered toxic also have the potential to cause reactions in some people, which makes it important to get rid of any type of mold you find in your home as soon as possible, particularly if you suspect that someone in your family is having a reaction to it.
Mold can be scary. There are potential health implications for your family, and a mold outbreak can take a financial toll, too. Once established, mold can be very invasive, releasing millions of spores into your home. Many homeowners’ insurance policies now exclude or limit coverage for mold related problems.
First up, let’s learn a little more about household mold.
