Mold testing
When it comes to household mold, don’t guess -- TEST!
Hidden Dangers of Mold in Your Home
According to the American Academy of Microbiology, “Fungi [mold] can cause a number of life threatening diseases,” including serious respiratory illnesses and infections that can attack virtually any tissue in the body — including the brain. That’s reason enough to be concerned about indoor mold, but there’s more going on than meets the eye.
Mold shares its affinity for moisture and warm temperatures with invisible threats like bacteria and dust mites
Volatile organic chemicals, or VOCs are released as byproducts when molds start destroying your home, and these can cause health issues too. In fact, when you smell mold, you actually smell VOCs.
What’s causing that moisture in your home in the first place? It needs to get fixed before it causes structural decay and turns into a huge hassle to fix.
Don’t Fall for the #1 Mold Myth
Myth: You only need to worry about mold in your home if it’s black mold.
Fact: If there’s mold in your home — whether black mold or not — it needs to be removed safely and effectively.
- ALL molds are allergenic
- MANY molds are pathogenic
- SOME molds are toxinogenic
Mold poses a risk to your health. Period.
Mold spores are so small that as many as 250,000 spores can fit onto the head of a pin. In one minute your lungs can take in over 700,000 of these spores, and they will cause an allergic reaction inside your body, whether you become aware of it or not.
It may play an important role in the ecosystem … outside. Mold has no business being in your home!
Signs You Need Your Home Tested for Mold
- You’re preparing to buy or sell a home
- You feel sick and can’t quite “get over it”
- Your home recently flooded or experienced water damage
How We Test for Mold
1
It all starts with a mold inspection. House Doctor Pomales has over 30 years of experience performing mold inspections in homes, schools, hospitals, and commercial buildings. It is important to not only find the mold problem, but also understand why it is growing in order to address the underlying cause of the mold growth.
2
After identifying potential “hotspots” for indoor mold growth and accounting for your budget, we collect samples. Our sampling methodology may include:
- Air quality samples, which may be collected inside and outside your home under normal conditions or with the air disturbed.
- Inner-wall samples, which collects air from behind drywall-based walls.
- Surface samples, which involves swabbing or taping-lifting surfaces within your home.
- Bulk sampling, in which we collect small pieces of materials with mold on it.
- mVOC air tests
- ERMI tests on settled dust
3
The samples we collect are sent to an accredited laboratory to determine the following:
- Does the sample contain mold?
- If so, what type is present?
- How much mold is in the sample?
4
We need to know the types of molds that are present in your home because some species can be especially dangerous to humans and animals, including:
- Stachybotrys
- Aspergillus/Penicillium
- Chaetomium
- Cladosporium
- Wallemia
What Happens Next?
After testing your home for mold and providing a “diagnosis,” we’ll discuss possible solutions. House Doctor Pomales has a network of reputable professionals for referrals to make sure you get the top-notch mold removal and remediation services you need for healthy living.
