Technical Procedure Articles on Testing for Mold and other Indoor Air Quality IAQ Contaminants InspectAPedia® -
Best Technical Procedures to Use When Testing for Mold and other Indoor Air Quality IAQ Contaminants
Mold test lab procedures
Mold cleanup or remediation procedures
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This website answers most questions on what to do about mold, providing expert, un-biased information for owners, occupants, inspectors. How to recognize mold, how to test mold, how to clean up or remove mold, how to prevent mold in buildings, and what mold related illnesses and symptoms have been reported are all discussed in depth. Readers should also see MOLD TEST PROCEDURES
Good Laboratory and
Microscope Procedures are critical in making sense of environmental test field samples just as good and thorough field investigations produce more useful results than a quick "air test for mold" or "culture test for mold" performed with no building inspection and no client history collection.
Competent, trained, experienced aerobiologists, mycologists, and
microbiologists can identify mold or other particle sample contents with good accuracy. Depending on the experience of the laboratory, it is also possible to interpret the meaning of the sample for the building and its occupants. Laboratory professionals who have also performed the field inspection can make useful
extrapolations from lab results. Hasty work by disinterested parties may be less than accurate or useful for building occupants and owners.
Bibliography of Mold Identification, Aerobiology, Forensic Microscopy - References used in our Laboratory for Aerobiology, Mycology, Indoor Air Quality Investigations, Particle ID, Forensic Microscopy, etc.
Museums & Restorations: Cultural Heritage and Aerobiology Mandrioli, Caneva, and Sabbioni (English version), museum artifact preservation from mold, acid gases etc. - book review in Pan American Aerobiology Association Newsletter
Here are the BASICS YOU NEED to FIND, TEST, REMOVE & PREVENT MOLD - what to do about mold in buildings
Mold Action Guide: follow this easy step by step outline of what to do
Mold Detection - Articles on Mold Identification Photos and Tips - How to Find and Recognize Mold in a Building - articles describing how to find problem mold
Contact Us to arrange mold/IAQ Building on site mold or other IAQ inspection and testing.
HIRE AN EXPERT - Do you need to hire a mold expert, bring in a mold remediator, hire a handyman, or clean up for yourself?
Readers should see WHEN TO HIRE A MOLD EXPERT for details about how to decide when hiring a mold expert is justified and appropriate. See MOLD INSPECTORS & MOLD TESTERS for a list of mold investigators whose work is familiar to us. Other mold investigators and test consultants may also be competent and qualified.
MOLD LEVEL REPORTS Reporting the Results of Mold and IAQ Investigations & Clearance Inspections: what should be included
Our Field
Investigation Service our senior expert goes where no one else wanted to look, uses non-invasive tools and
sophisticated testing equipment for mold, gases, moisture, air quality, contaminants, Building problem diagnosis.
Contact Us to arrange mold/IAQ Building on site inspection and testing.
MOLD TEST PROCEDURES - Valid and in-valid mold testing methods & protocols. Are some mold test kits junk science?
How to Send A Mold Sample to Our Lab: 6 Easy Steps for a Mold Test: How to Collect Mold
Samples Using Adhesive Tape and Plastic Bags - a low-cost high-quality and very easy method to send a mold sample to a mold
laboratory for analysis
Use this simple, economical mold test
kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to a lab
Air: Mold Testing by Air Samples & their interpretation - a brief tutorial
on indoor air sampling for mold - are spore counts per cubic meter of air accurate and valid? Using air sampling to determine if a mold
problem is "present" or "absent" and the role of cultures for "viable spore sampling" are criticized. Air sampling used alone
is an unreliable way to look for mold and is highly questionable as a means of characterizing a precise mold exposure level indoors.
Toxic Mold Testing Methods Compared, also Toxic Gas Testing Methods and MVOC's - valid vs. invalid methods, recommendations compares
air sampling for mold, surface or tape sampling for mold, culture or swab sampling for mold, and gas MVOC sampling methods for mold or other toxins, and organizes links to papers on each of these topics.
A Comparison of Some Indoor Air Sampling Devices - simultaneous application of popular sampling cassettes and slide
samplers allows comparison of typical particle collection variation by device in actual field use. A field study in process by DJF, 2008 - 2005 (Technical Paper)
Burkard personal air sampler used by many residential investigators (we use multiple units simultaneously in some investigations). We also employ other residential building sampling equipment for surface, air, vacuum, and bulk sample collection methods as well as for gases.
Alternative, low-cost air sampling equipment and methods such as the mini-vacuum pump and Zefon Air-o-Cell or
Allergenco-d cassettes or MCE filter cassettes for viable, non-viable or other forensic particle identification in Buildings. A field study in process by DJF, 2005 - 2006 (Technical Paper)
Allergenco Mk-III time-lapse impaction air sampling equipment - study changes in particle dispersion under varying conditions (furnace on/off) A field study in process by DJF, 2004 - 2006 (Technical Paper)
Mold Testing: Bulk or Tape Surface Samples and their interpretation - a quick tutorial A brief introduction
to using adhesive tape to collect particle samples such as from mold-covered surfaces; scrapes onto microscope slide and other methods also used by do-it-yourselfers and by experts
Vacuum Samples of Building Cavities: Wall Check™ type vacuum pump and canister
permits "sampling" of mold and allergens in wall, ceiling, and floor cavities but our direct field testing
indicates that this method is highly unreliable. See Mold in Fiberglass Insulation for details of the occurrence of mold contamination in building insulation, and see Vacuuming building cavities as a screen for building mold as well as Vacuuming exposed insulation for finding mold-contaminated fiberglass.
Working with Louis Relle, a Louisiana mold remediation expert on a New
Orleans Building which was to be demolished we collected wall-check samples from every suspect Building cavity.
When the
building interior surfaces were demolished we then performed a visual inspection and collected bulk surface samples using tape.The wall check samples were
completely unable to detect large and significant mold contamination in the cavities of this building.
We postulate that
even with mechanical agitation (banging on the wall during wall check sampling) the flow rate of the sampling method does
not move enough air to reliably pick up surface contamination unless the mold genera/species happens to be at a
particularly high state of active sporulation. The tool remains in the professional's arsenal, to be used with
discretion.
Vacuum samples of Soft Goods of carpeting, drapes, furniture, clothing permits testing for mold contamination.
We use this method for screening of areas where mold is not visible, and in clearance testing.
Toxic Gas Testing: A Sampling Plan for Residential Buildings lists some of the toxic indoor gases for which we test, depending on the Building complaint and Building conditions
Gas Exposure Hazard Levels: for Toxic Gas Exposure to Ammonia, Arsine, Arsenic, Bromine, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Hydride, Ozone - allowable exposure levels and hazard levels
Formaldehyde: US EPA. UFFI (Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation) was previously considered a hazard (formaldehyde outgassing).
Subsequent research virtually closed concern regarding this material; however formaldehyde appears to remain a health concern for sensitive individuals.
Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
Sampling for gases in air such as VOC's, MVOC's, toxic chemicals, and combustion products.
Unfortunately no single test or tool can detect all possible Building contaminants. We use methods and equipment which can test for common
contaminants. If the identity of a specific contaminant is known in advance we can also test for a very large number of specific contaminant
gases in Buildings.
We use gas sampling equipment provided by the two most reliable companies
in the world, Draeger-Safety's detector-tubes and Drager accuro� bellows pump, the Gastec� cylinder pump
and detector-tube system produced by Gastec or Sensidyne, and
we also use Sensidyne's Gilian
air pump. For broad screening for combustibles and a number of other
toxic gases and for leak tracing we also use Amprobe's Tif8850. All of these instruments, their
applications, and sensitivities (minimum detectable limits) for specific
gases are described in our Gas Sampling Plan online document.
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
Atlas of Indoor Mold, Online Clinical Mold Atlas, Toxins, Pathogens, Allergens and Other Indoor Particles - Medical Health Effects of Mold (separate online document)
Building Floods: quick steps after a building flood or plumbing leak can prevent costly mold contamination
Classes of Mold: what types of cosmetic, allergenic, or toxic mold are a problem? Can mold be cleaned-up successfully?
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
"Disease Prevention Program for Certain Vegetable Crops," David B. Langston, Jr., Extension Plant Pathologist - Vegetables, University of Georgia (PDF document) original source: www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/209797.html
"Disease Prevention in Home Vegetable Gardens,"
Patricia Donald,
Department of Plant Microbiology and Pathology,
Lewis Jett
Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri Extension - extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6202
Fifth Kingdom, Bryce Kendrick, ISBN13: 9781585100224, is available from the InspectAPedia online bookstore - we recommend the CD-ROM version of this book. This 3rd/edition is a compact but comprehensive encyclopedia of all things mycological. Every aspect of the fungi, from aflatoxin to zppspores, with an accessible blend of verve and wit. The 24 chapters are filled with up-to-date information of classification, yeast, lichens, spore dispersal, allergies, ecology, genetics, plant pathology, predatory fungi, biological control, mutualistic symbioses with animals and plants, fungi as food, food spoilage and mycotoxins.
Fungi, Identifying Filamentous, A Clinical Laboratory Handbook, Guy St-Germain, Richard Summerbell, Star Publishing, 1996, ISBN 0-89863-177-7 (English)
Mold Action Guide: Step-by-Step Instructions, What to do about mold, mildew, and other indoor allergens
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