Mold is formed as a direct result of increased moisture in your residential or commercial building. It can be caused by floods, pipe leakage, or a sewage backup. Contrary to what it may seem, mold is not a surface-level growth and keeps burrowing itself into walls, cabinets, dark areas, or anywhere else it gets favorable conditions.
Since mold isn’t always obvious, there are situations when something that looks like mold is not mold. Then, how do you correctly identify that fungus type and detect if your home is affected by it? The first sign you experience is a sore throat, itchy eyes, and headache. Make an appointment with your doctor and get the symptoms treated. Still, if it happens quite often, the situation calls for a further mold inspection by a professional mold removal company. Generally, mold testing involves taking air or surface samples to confirm mold’s presence and identify the type of infestation that is formed. Let us discuss these mold testing techniques in more detail-
Air Sampling
This is one of the most conventional practices used by mold experts. This method takes samples from the air and examines them under a microscope. Now, the air samples can be taken and analyzed in various ways. A spore trap draws a specific air volume from a particular place or room in your home for a specified duration. Mold spores comprise a subset of air particles captured inside the spore trap and a few other particulates and can then be sent for identification. Air sampling tells you whether there is a mold problem, even if no mold growth is found in the building. However, the amount of mold spores changes drastically, giving varied results at different times.
Surface Sampling
This method involves collecting samples from household surfaces to find mold growth and spores deposited around the home. Its main focus is usually on the qualitative rather than the quantitative outcome. This method is subdivided into techniques like Bulk Sampling, Dust Sampling, and Swab Sampling. During Bulk Sampling, the materials are removed from the contaminated area and sent for further testing to identify and determine the concentration of mold in the sample. During the dust sampling, testing the dust of a potentially mold-infected area leads you to identify the types of spores affecting the region. For Swab Sampling, a cotton swab is rubbed across a measured area for a sample and then sent to the mold testing laboratory.
You may also find some mold testing kits readily available in the market, but you should know that they differ greatly from the testing kits used by professionals. No matter whatever way you choose, just calling something “mold” is never enough when it comes to sorting out the best plan of attack. Moreover, there are various mold testing methods, and each type has benefits and limitations. Every mold type has unique remediation strategies that often require lab testing to find the solution. To choose the right kind of method, identify the exact type of mold and treat it accordingly.
