Airborne mold spore count report or number questions & answers:

Frequently-asked questions about how to interpret the mold test number that is returned by your mold test consultant or mold test lab.

This article series discusses the possible significance of different levels of indoor airborne mold spore counts and mold test reports.

Building Mold Contamination Levels: What are Acceptable Mold Spore Count Levels in Buildings

These questions and answers about how to interpret the mold count returned by various mold tests were posted originally

at AIRBORNE PARTICLE & MOLD COUNT NUMBER GUIDE - topic home. Be sure to see the advice given there.

On 2021-09-25 by saa

@inspectapedia.com.moderator,

The specialist is willing to answer questions. I got the mold report late yesterday and its only a matter of time before he calls me back. I just wanted to know now because 37,000 seems ridiculously high. I will read above. Thank you.

On 2021-09-25 by inspectapedia.com.moderator (mod)

@saa,

Please see

AIRBORNE MOLD OVER 20,000 SPORES PER m3

In the live links at the start of the article above

And if you mold expert, who
has inspected your home, is not willing to answer your mist basic questions about their report and to interpret it, then you should demand your money back.

On 2021-09-25 by saa

I paid a mold specialist to come take a couple air samples. My apt indicated 37,000 vs outside control area of 18,000. What does that mean?

On 2021-08-30 by inspectapedia.com.moderator (mod)

@Anonymous,

Of course I can't know what your on-site person does, but "not too high" isn't the same as "you can ignore this".

If I were investigating this, when permitted - which may not be until you own the house,

I'd do more exploring including making a few more-invasive inspections by pulling off floor baseboard trim and maybe making a drywall cut or two, starting at the most-suspect areas that may have been wet by prior flooding or water entry.

If water wets a basement floor and can easily enter a wall partition at its bottom, there can be a mold problem therein.

On 2021-08-30 by Anonymous

@inspectapedia.com.moderator, Thank you for the reply. The mold inspector did say that these numbers weren't too alarming, but he didn't offer much else. This was done as part of the home inspection prior to sale.

The sellers told us the only time there was water in the basement was when the water heater leaked, however, we noticed water in one corner during the inspection.

This could be due to the downspout on that corner of the house, or due to yard drainage (surface water is directed to this corner). We plan to landscape to keep surface water away, and to check/re-route as needed the downspout. The sellers have not disclosed any health effects, but they are trying to sell the house. They have not disclosed any prior mold cleanup, but have only been in the home since 2004.

We were wondering if we should walk away from the sale.

We will certainly hire a real mold inspector to help us ensure our efforts are necessary, etc if we continue with the purchase. I was thinking we may need to cut back some drywall to see if there is any mold on the backside. Thanks again!

On 2021-08-30 by inspectapedia.com.moderator (mod)

@Kate,

Please forgive me but I have to say that if you've paid someone to supposedly inspect and test your house for mold and they are throwing the report over the wall without being willing to answer your questions about it and to interpret it then you should demand your money back.

It's completely useless to offer such a service without helping the client. Particularly when the test person has been to your home they can have inspected and have seen much more than I can by e- text here.

Also important to know that an air test for mold ,used by itself is not a reliable building screen for mold,

and in particular you can get a false negative result.

"Mold tests" need to be combined with a thorough inspection of the building and a case history taken in which the inspector reviews the league history of the building and the history of occupied air quality or health complaints.

That said, the "counts" suggest that there either is a mold reservoir that hasn't been found and addressed, OR there was building mold contamination that has been - at least to some extent - addressed but more cleanup might be needed.

If there is no report of any mold cleanup having been done on the building then further investigation is probably needed.

But sure, you might just toss the carpet and other obvious mold reservoirs, damp wipe, HEPA Vac, and re-inspect and re-test.

Even in that case you'd want to know the history of building water entry: what got wet, ever, where, when, and what was done about it?

If drywall is moldy it gets removed; it can't be cleaned; that includes drywall that's moldy on its hidden or wall-cavity side.

HIDDEN MOLD, HOW TO FIND https://inspectapedia.com/mold/Find-Hidden-Mold.php

will be helpful in this case.

Don't panic over this - that too can cost you wasted money, but don't ignore it.

Find the mold.
Remove it.
Fix its cause.

On 2021-08-30 by Kate

I am purchasing a home and just received the air report. Chaetomium in the basement was found at 53 count/m3, and 13 count/m3 on the first floor near the HVAC return - none was found in the outside control sample.

There was also Aspergillus/Penicillium at 433 count/m3 in the basement - which was elevated above the outside control which was 227 count/m3. Those were the only two molds elevated above outside control.

The basement has carpet, and we noticed a small amount of water intrusion in one corner of the basement. Generally the basement did not smell very musty, except near the corner with the water. The HVAC air handler for the first floor is in the basement, so I wonder if the ducts are contaminated since we saw Chaetomium on the first floor near the return.

Wondering how big of an issue this is - we didn't see any visible mold anywhere in the basement (in addition to carpet, basement has drywall). Was curious if getting rid of the carpet in the basement could clear up the issue (we could do air sampling afterwards to determine), or if we should immediately clear out the carpet as well as the drywall in the basement.

On 2021-08-04 by inspectapedia.com.moderator (mod)

@Robert,

Maybe, I don't know; nor do I know why your mold count interpretation resource needs to be located in FL.

Bottom line: while any "count" of airborne spores is highly inaccurate - as you'll read in this article series - nevertheless when you get a very high number there is certainly a problem to be found and fixed. The specific number isn't important (as it's wrong and inaccurate anyway) it's the general magnitude that's critical.

Furthermore, focusing on the specifics of toxicity of Pen/Asp is a mistake. Sure those small spore molds are dangerous and can cause very serious fungal infections in the lung (Aspergillosis), when there is a fungal contamination problem in a building, there will never be just one mold genera/species, and many of those present can be harmful in a variety of health effects.

The chief use of knowing mold genera/species might come up if your mother were sick, consulting a doctor, the doctor decides that she has or may have a mold-related illness - or ought to be checking for that - and then wants to know to what she was being exposed at high levels in her environment if that might in turn affect choice of treatments.

Other than that occasional use by a doctor, knowing the mold genera/species does not change what's needed one iota.

Find the mold.
Remove it.
Find and fix the cause of its growth indoors.

Articles in this series address those three steps.

Finally:

Watch out: high levels of indoor mold are indeed hazardous to anyone - people can become sensitized - but are particularly dangerous for people at extra risk: elderly, immune compromised, infant, allergic, or asthmatic people. Your mother's count can be interpreted as high and dangerous unless the mold test person did something so unusual that the report were not reliable at all.

If that were my mom I'd want her out of that environment and in her doctor's office. Sorry, I know it's easier for me to say that than for you and your mom. Start with a consult with her doctor, or if that doc agrees, with a consult with a doc who specializes in environmental medicine.

On 2021-08-04 by Robert

I just got the mold inspection report back from my mother's condo in the Ft. Myers area, FL. The sample from one room showed the Penicillium/Aspergillus type at 3,500,000 per sq. meter (the raw count was 6,500). This seems extraordinarily high, especially when compared to the outside reading of 33,000 per sq. meter, which I think was taken as a baseline. What do I need to know about potential toxicity, health implications, and whether this space is even inhabitable? Is there an online resource in FL that indicates what the takeaways are when you get a result this high?

 

On 2021-03-25 by (mod)

@Patricia, surely; please take a look at the general guidelines in the article (topic home) cited above.

Even though air testing is very inaccurate, those extremely high counts indoors suggest that there has been a significant mold contamination problem nearby;

Even if the mold remediation job is supposedly cleaned-up and completed, those are very high counts, suggesting that dust containment and cleanup were inadequate.

On 2021-03-25 by Patricia

I just had mold test in rental and was told contain aspergillosis/penicillus cross contamination . bedroom 480.000 kitchen 317.000.
Is this enough to cause and alarm to ones person?

On 2021-02-21 by (mod)

Sue

I can't second-guess your onsite expert.

Airborne particle counts are very inaccurate and are never an acceptable substitute for an expert, thorough visual inspection if the purpose is to ask whether or not there's a mold reservoir in a building.

Details are at AIRBORNE MOLD COUNT VALIDITY https://inspectapedia.com/mold/Mold_Count_Accuracy.php

Bottom line:

If the original scope of work was adequate then all of the mold reservoirs were removed, exposed surfaces cleaned, and new materials installed; a remaining presence of a water-damage-indicating mold like Chaetomium could be from dust leftover from the job (could try more HEPA vacuuming and wiping) or it could be from another source that wasn't found and remediated.

Review the pre and post- cleanup reports that should be by an independent expert who has no connection with the company doing the remediation.

On 2021-02-21 by Sue D.

We had an undetected water leak in master bath/bedroom. After remediation (removing laminate flooring/drywall/vanity) air scrubbers, dehumidifiers, anti-microbial spray, etc. mold assessment air tests showed Chaetomium spore level of 110 "elevated". Assessor told us that was very low and nothing else needed to be done. Said it was okay to install new drywall, etc. and begin using the rooms again. Is that true? Thanks!

On 2020-08-26 by (mod) - is a 259 mold score dangerous?

Stach

A simple number, by itself with no context, no explanation, no site inspection, no idea if this is before, during, or after a mold remediation job, is not helpful in assessing the risk of harmful levels of mold contamination, Stach,

But that said, since Stachybotrys sp. is a water-loving mold, finding other than incidental levels (a spore blew in a window) of this mold indoors probably means that there have been leaks or water intrusion in the building - events that invite mold contamination.

Find the mold, remove it, fix its cause;

If you find more than 30 sq.ft. of contiguous mold then it's time to hire an expert.

On 2020-08-26 by stachybotrys

is a 259 score a danger

On 2020-08-19 - by (mod) -

Unfortunately, Pearl, because the tests you describe are so inaccurate as to have as much as 4 orders of magnitude variation, one cannot make a useful comparison. We have no information about how these "tests" were performed, under what conditions. Just opening a window or walking by a test machine makes an enormous difference in airborne particle levels.

On 2020-08-19 by Pearl

Hi, I'm helping a neighbor compare four mold assessments that were done on her apt over a 2 year period.

Two assessments were from mail-in samples, and two were from actual inspectors who did visual, moisture and thermographic measurements. My question: the mail-in companies measured the amounts in Spore E./mg. or "Bacteria Equivalent mg.

Those 2 companies used these to generate an "ERMI Index". Is SporeE/mg and BE/mg the same thing? Also, the 3rd and 4th company, who actually came in person, provided lab results in raw count, count/cubic meter and % of total. How can I compare these 4 sets of numbers? And what is the ERMI all about and is it reliable? Thank you!

On 2020-08-06 by Kelsey

I had an mold inspection done (air) and there are basidiospores in my home on the basement and main level w/ 21/1,869 and 34/3,026 raw ct. and spores/m3 respectively (1,200 square foot home on main floor around same in basement). Is this a cause of concern? Should I do anything outside of buy a dehumidifer?

The quote mentions "treating" the basement and main floor, but it doesn't say specifically where these spores are coming from.

On 2020-08-06 by EMILY

I had a mold test done in my home. The PENICILLIUM/ASPERGILLUS came back inside 95 raw count, 637 spores/m3 84 % of total. is this high for a 1500 sq ft home? Could this be the cause of us staying sick? Also, COELOMYCETES and Hyphae was found under the crawl space of the home.

On 2020-07-24 by Jake

Hi, we just received our mold inspection report and we were told our Penicillium/Aspergillus levels were a little high. In the air sample they reported them as 960 spores/m3.

They also took a swab of some mold in our utility room and found scattered spores (1-20 fungal spores) of the Penicillium/Aspergillus. The recommendation was to do a mold remediation focused on this utility closet as it seems to be the most likely source of mold.

With a 2yr old and infant in the apartment, are these levels something to be very concerned about? And given the limited number of Penicillium/Aspergillus found in the swab, should we expand our testing before going through with a remediation of just the one room. The expert inspected the rest of the house and there was no other visible areas that were concerning to him.

Thanks,
Jake

On 2020-07-01 - by (mod) -

Please take a look at our comments, in the article above, on mold counts in this range and also see our comments on mold count accuracy.

https://inspectapedia.com/mold/Mold_Count_Accuracy.php

On 2020-07-01 by Anonymous

Is a count of 2660 x3 for penicillin Aspergillus a dangerous count.

On 2020-05-11 - by (mod) -

Danny

Those are very low number; extrapolating a "count" of indoor airborne spores from numbers from 1 to 6 doesn't tell us anything that suggests an indoor mold problem.

Be sure to read ACCURACY OF AIR TESTS for MOLD - inspectapedia.com/mold/Mold_Test_Accuracy.php

to understand the limitations of air tests.

In sum, air testing, alone, especially when the results are very "low" or "negative" is not reliable as an indicator of building mold contamination; an inspection and other steps are what's needed to answer that.

Forgive me for being a stickler about this, but if the "expert" whom you paid to come to examine your building for mold contamination doesn't or cannot answer your questions about what the test results mean, it's time to demand your money back.

On 2020-05-11 by danny

Great site! Is there any chance you can help me make sense of my air sample test? Anything here I should worry about? This test was made in bedroom. Other rooms in my house detected no mold. I do suffer itchy eyes and stuffy ears in mornings.

Ascospores: Raw count=2 / spores per m3= 100m3 percent of total 0.13% OUTDOOR: raw1/50m3/0.11%
Basidiospores: raw2 / 100m3 / 0.13% OUTDOOR: raw7/350m30.78%

Chaetomium: raw1 / 50m3 / 0.07%
Cladosporium raw2 / 100m3 / 0.13%

Hyphae raw2 / 100m3 / 0.13%
Penicillium/Aspergillus Group raw6 / 300m3 / 0.39%

Pestalotia raw1/15 / m3 / 0.02%

Total: raw16 / 765m3 / 1%

Debris Rating 4

Analytical Sensitivity 50

Sample Volume (L) 65
-

On 2020-03-26 - by (mod) -

Bruce:

Air tests for mold are fundamentally unreliable in that the "number" can vary from the actual mold level by up to 4 orders of magnitude.
A "1" might be 1,000, for example.

However, finding ANY airborne Stachybotrys chartarum indoors means that there either was or is currently a wet building area (often drywall) and there was or is a mold reservoir in the building that needs (or needed) to be found and removed.

It's not the count itself but rather the fact that S. chartarum isn't normally growing indoors and therefore it's an indicator of building leaks and mold. It may not be anything near the most-dangerous mold indoors but it's an indicator of moldy conditions.

On 2020-03-24 by Bruce

I just received a building mold report showing one of the offices having a count of 24 for Strachybotys. Is this a number I should be concerned about? Lab details say limit of detection is 24 c/m3. I think that is not a count to be concerned about.

 

On 2019-08-28 by (mod) -

Frankly it means almost nothing.

"Mold test kits" that rely on culture are testing just about 10% of all the molds that could be present. The other 90% of molds won't grow in culture.

"Mold test kits" that use culture plates are also relying on particles (such as mold spores) that fall out of the air onto the plate; the rate of "fall-out" various enormously by particle size, mass, or weight, air currents, location of placement, etc.

So no such "mold colony count" will be an accurate actual representation of the environment where the "test" was conducted.

ALL we can say is that some Penicillium mold spores grew in the culture plate. Penicillium sp. mold might be present indoors at a problem level; if so it will certainly not be the only mold present, and other molds, including more-harmful ones, could be present.

Unfortunately IF there is reason to suspect your building is mold contaminated, an expert visual inspection, history taking, occupant interview etc. are what'd be needed, and that has to be performed by someone who is expert in mycology, building science, air movement, construction methods and material, etc. Don't just hire someone who stops by to drop off a mold test.

On 2019-08-28 by Cheri

Received a result of mold test kit. says 29 colonies of Penicillium and 100 % detection level. What does this mean?

On 2019-08-13 by (mod) -

Chantel: in your photo I see what looks like cobwebs, not mold.

You'll want to assure that the mold source - reservoirs - have been removed, surfaces cleaned ,and that the leaking is completely fixed;

Watch out: focusing your attention on Stachybotrys chartarum is a serious error; while that mold is harmful, it's principally an indicator that there haven been leaks and water damage in a building; there will virtually always be other molds present, often species of Aspergillus that are less easy to see but that may actually be more harmful, traveling more easily throughout building air and being breathed deeply into the lungs.

On 2019-08-12 y Chantel

Water leak damaged all tile in 2015, removed down to studs all around as renters! Unable to find source of leak until June 2017--due to dilapidated flooring in upstairs bathroom (neighboring condo). Also condensation from air ducts contributed to water source to feed stachybotrys. I've done a ton of research & this stuff is POISON!!!

On 2019-08-12 y Chantel

Mold report

On 2019-08-12 by Chantel W.

I have recently received my airborne mold tests.

I have over 5200+ m3 aspergillus & penicillium spores along with 20 m3 of stachybotrys mold. My family & I have been very sick since 2015. We had no idea what was making us have asthma, eczema, respiratory infections, headaches, etc. Now that we moved in 2019, after mold report received, we thought our health concerns would clear but no.

A water leak caused the onset of stachybotrys & we were left by management & condominium owner to deal with mold & the managerial company that caused water leak fixed their leaky condo above us but not mine...........help

On 2019-08-03 by (mod) -

If you use the search box to look for

HVAC DUCT MOLD

You'll see we have a series of Diagnostic and repair articles on that topic

On 2019-08-02 0 by Laveren Paris

I have mold in the air ducks in my apartment what do I need to do

On 2019-07-26 by (mod) -

Prior

Thanks for the useful question.

Here are some key points

1. It's a mistake to think that "killing" mold is the objective; killing mold is a mistake: the proper approach is to remove the mold and clean the surfaces. Among a number of mold species even a "dead" spore is still toxic, still carries mycotoxins; and in my years of field and lab studies when I collected samples from surfaces where people tried to kill mold I could usually also find some viable spores remaining.

2. Those P/A counts are a bit high if the building has been cleaned and ventilated. Were air scrubbers running?

Best approach is to complete the cleanup, assure the building has been ventilated (normal outdoor air isn't going to look like an indoor mold problem), leave air scrubbers off 24 hours, do your inspection, surface dust, and air tests.

3. A fogger will not remove a remaining mold reservoir - it's another "kill the mold" approach that's insufficient.

Let's look more carefully for a missing mold reservoir: is there insulation left somewhere? Is there drywall over a wall or ceiling anywhere that was not removed? Surely the whole home wasn't gutted.

Example: in flooded homes where lower floor(s) were soaked and gutted to the studs, I've seen a remaining mold reservoir on upstairs surfaces, in upstairs walls and ceilings, even in the attic - most-often because the home was wet long enough that so much moisture traveled upstairs or to other non-flooded areas that those too grew their own mold colonies.

4. Finally, if you are absolutely convinced there are no possible remaining actual mold reservoirs then I'd look again at the cleaning and fresh air ventilation steps and repeat the tests.

Keep me posted. What you find will help others.

On 2019-07-26 by Prior flooded house with slightly elevated mold counts after remediation

We remodeled a house with significant mold damage as a result of a burst pipe.

Everything except framing was removed from the home and only floor joists remained. Those were fogged and scrubbed 3 or4 times with concrobium mold control.

An air quality test just came back after final c.o. inspection was issued and found levels at 2900 Aspergillus/Penicillium, 40 Cladosporium, for the downstairs basement. Upstairs counts were 1200 Aspergillus/Penicillium, 100 Basidospores, 300 Cladosporium, 80 Hyphal fragment and 40 pollen. I know that levels in prior flooded homes can be higher for a time after remediation is complete, but I believe that the mold is completely dead based on how many times the whole house was treated and scrubbed with mold control.

Should I get a HEPA air scrubber back in there to clean up the rest of the air for the next few weeks? There is some access from 2 utility rooms to spray another cold fogger between the floor joists. I don't believe there is any live mold, however. Suggestions?

On 2019-07-18 by (mod) - the most-common shortcoming of "mold tests - Not diagnostic & not prescriptive - i.e. what do we do?

Erik

Your question points out the most-common shortcoming of "mold tests" - even when the test indicates that there is an unsafe condition inside (if it does), the test is not diagnostic: it doesn't itself tell you where the problem is, how big it is, what needs to be done to clean it up and what needs to be done to prevent further mold contamination.

The outdoor to indoor count is also not entirely helpful since we're comparing apples to oranges: the outdoor spores don't match the indoor spores. Nevertheless, any higher indoor Aspergillus or Penicillium count (higher than in a building that's not suspect for mold or water damage) suggests a problem that needs to be found and addressed.

So you're left having to do what was needed in the first place: hire a competent expert, one who is unbiased and not connected with any remediation firm, to inspect the building thoroughly, taking a cast history, building history, occupant complaints, and then to find the problem and define the scope of work needed.

Finally, and regrettably, as I've done my share of mold tests and studies and found them interesting, air tests and air particle counts are fundamentally unreliable: the level of particles you'll detect in indoor air can vary by FOUR ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE depending on test conditions. Just walking across a floor changes the number.

So a count of 2000 spores/M3 could be 2 or 2 million or more in actuality.

On 2019-07-18 by Erik

We recently had our home test for mold; the results are as follows:

Basement- 2,000 spores/m3- Aspergillus/Penicillium (70%), Cladosporium (15%), Second Floor- 1,200 spores/m3- Aspergillus/Penicillium (48%), Basidiospores (30%), OUTSIDE- 16,000 spores/m3-Basidiospores (78%), Cladosporium (12%).

My daughter and I are asthmatic and the testing company recommends we do NOT stay in the residence until a remediation is done, however there are no visible signs of mold? We are located in the Northeast and have experienced record high rainfalls last year as well as this year following the same weather pattern.

Looking over some of the previous questions/answers it doesn't appear that our levels are that high indoors vs. our outdoor numbers, Do you agree that we need additional testing or remediation?

Thank you for your time.

On 2019-06-21 by (mod) - we don't usually need to know the mold genera/species to do a mold cleanup

Christine,

Indeed occasionally a doctor might improve mold related illness treatment by knowing the mold genera/species present in a building but

1. there will never ever be just one mold genera/species present - conditions that invite mold growth will invite multiple molds

2. no single test for mold will accurately identify all of the molds that are present nor the actual exposure levels of the building occupants. Air tests for mold are extremely inaccurate: the actual airborne mold level can vary by 4 orders of magnitude from the reported airborne level from an "air test" and further, depending on building conditions, an air test can completely miss a serious mold problem. Testing is a poor excuse for what is actually needed: a thorough inspection and case history-review by an expert.

3. the treatment for mold contamination in a building - find and remove the mold or remove moldy materials that can't be cleaned (carpets, drywall, insulation), and find and fix the reason for the mold growth - does not depend on knowing the mold genera / species.

Watch out: While there are some objective numbers for airborne mold levels that experts agree are hazardous, individual sensitivity varies enormously.

I've instrumented and measured individual reactions to a moldy environment in which the airborne mold levels and MVOC levels were very far below the usually-given "hazardous mold levels"

On 2019-06-20 by Christine

I recently discovered that I have a mold problem in my finished basement (house built in 1956). A corner area had carpeting in it, so I had never noticed that small amounts of water was probably leaking in through the foundation for several years. The carpet was dark green and had a white or gray dusty looking film on it. I thought it was just dust and started to vacuum, once I moved a piece of furniture I could smell an unusual odor, actually kind of sweet, not moldy.

So I stopped vacuuming and felt that the carpet was wet. I then knew it was mold. I remember this happening before once or twice, but the carpet must have dried out before I vacuumed it previously. I have been in this house for 10 years. I called in a remediation company, and they will do the major cleanup.

We assumed most of the mold would be behind the dry-walled walls and cement block foundation. With my family's help, we used proper PPE to get the carpet cutup and into garbage bags before taking them outside.

I had figured that waiting another week or two to get the money together to pay the remediation company would not hurt much more since we would not be disturbing whatever mold was behind the sealed walls.

In the meantime I had another visit to my doctor, he told me to get the environmental hygienist to come in and determine the types of mold, because he needed to know. I have been dealing with health issues for the last couple years and none of the various doctors could figure it out.....until maybe now, but my blood work is not back yet, so still do not know if it causing my health issues.

I tried searching to see what level of molds are dangerous. After reading various articles and questions / answers on this website, I am still confused and do not know if my air and tape testing was done accurately. Once remediation starts and they have sealed off the basement, I will take more samples of the actual drywall to the lab for further testing.

A couple of days after taking the carpet out of the house, the air samples were taken. The air samples taken were of the outside, main level, basement, and one from the cavity behind the wall via a hole drilled.

On 2019-03-25 by (mod) -

Elisabeth, acceptable mold spore levels are given in the article above on this page - please take a look.

Watch out: air tests for mold alone without an expert and thorough visual inspection are unreliable, with variations of up to 4 orders of magnitude in test results depending on exactly when and how and where the test is conducted. So a count of 4000 might be 4 or 4 million.

Your inspector needs to review the building, its leak history, materials of construction, and mold reservoirs against the scope of cleaning and thoroughness of cleaning and removal of moldy materials.

Relying on air tests alone is in my opinion unreliable.

On 2019-03-24 by Elisabeth Lecavalier

We had an air quality test done which showed an indoor level of 4,000+ aspergillus-like/penicillium like spores in our basement. We proceeded with decontamination done by professional experts. The subsequent air test indicated 1,347/m3, better but not resolved. The decontamination people are redoing the work tomorrow and attacker’s by the basement floor near the door as a possible source. What would be an acceptable level of this type of spore?

On 2019-02-15 by (mod) - Mold "counts" are extremely inaccurate - varying by 4 or more orders or magnitude

Meena

Mold "counts" are extremely inaccurate - varying by 4 or more orders or magnitude, so your raw count of 225 could have been 2 or 225,000 in reality. Nobody can possibly give reliable assurance on such a test with just counts. Without a competent, thorough onsite inspection, client interview, review of the history of the building's leaks, renovations, materials, and occupant complaints, we cannot make sense of such data.

Furthermore, 'cleaning the air' in a building where you worry about a mold problem is a effective at actually removing a mold problem as you would be at sucking up dust bunnies from under the living room couch by standing in the kitchen and waving your vacuum cleaner wand in the air.

With that explanation given, if your mold "test expert" cannot or will not give you guidance on what further steps are needed at your building you might be smart to ask for your money back.

Certainly the advice you cite sounds so incomplete to be not very useful in my opinion and experience.

Finally, looking just for "black mold" is also a mistake as there are hundreds of common indoor molds that might be allergenic, or more-harmful and are other colours than black.

If you think there's a mold problem or can see mold contamination you already know what to do:

1. remove the mold

2. find and fix its cause

Search this website for Mold Action Guide
What to do about mold, mildew, and other indoor allergens found in buildings

as that article offers you more organized and careful advice than what you've described so far.

ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD
https://inspectapedia.com/mold/Mold_Action_Plan.php

In that article you'll also see a link to ACCURACY OF AIR TESTS for MOLD - explains why air testing for mold, used alone, is unreliable

On 2019-02-15 by Meena - Is this airborne mold level considered unsafe?

Hello,
While my mum was away on holiday, the heating went off upstairs and the tenants downstairs decided to use a blow heater. I think the warm hair coming up through the ducts was the cause of black coloured mold appearing in several rooms --

- looked like dripping black ink. We cleaned everything and had it repainted and now just did an air quality test.

The results of the air quality test showed 'an elevated level' of Penicillium / Aspergilius: a raw count of 255 and 3391.5 spres / M3.

Is this level considered unsafe? The company who did the air quality test recommends a HEPA air scrubbing to clean the air and then a retest. Is this an effective way of cleaning the air? Thank you for any guidance you can provide.

On 2019-01-10 by Michelle

Hi, we found a lot of mold in my fathers apartment and on clothing and shoes , we had the air tested and in the master bedroom it was 640,000 spores of pen/asp. Is this a dangerous amount? They are concerned for their health and the health of my 95 year old grandmother that’s has been living there for a couple months.

Thanks in advance !

On 2018-12-19 by (mod) - how likely is it that this mold has been caused by a recent leak/water damage?

I can't say, Johnny. I've seen serious mold contamination in a building 24-48 hours after a wetting or flooding event, and I've found serious mold contamination in a building that appeared to have its origin 20 years previously.

See MOLD AGE, HOW OLD is the MOLD? at https://inspectapedia.com/mold/Age-of-Building-Mold-Growth.php

On 2018-12-19 by Johnny

thank you for your detailed response. As this is only limited to the basement, how likely is it that this has been caused by a recent leak/water damage?
The moisture level is very low.

On 2018-12-17 by (mod) - high concentration (>150.000/cu.m) of Pen/Asp group has been found in our basement

Johnny,

Yes it is possible to find high levels of Pen/Asp in a building even though you were not previously aware of a problem. For example insulation in an exposed basement or crawl space ceiling over a damp area can become a mold reservoir as can wood surfaces hidden by the insulation.

What to do about high indoor mold levels:

1. Find the mold

2. Remove it

3. Fix the cause of the mold growth

Air tests for mold are highly inaccurate, costly, and defective in that even a "significant result" like yours fail to give a clue about where the mold reservoir actually will be found, how much cleaning is needed, and what repairs are needed to prevent mold re-growth in the building.

The result is, unfortunately, that you have to hire someone all over again to do what was needed in the first place:

discuss the health vulnerability of occupants to understand if there are occupants at special risk

discuss the history of building IAQ complaints to understand the role of the building

review the building's leak history: spills, backups, water entry, roof leaks, wall leaks, plumbing leaks, basement leaks, etc.

inspect the building for evidence of mold, leaks, areas of high moisture, areas of high risk of hidden mold

take the building history (leaks for example),

understand the building structure and materials (to identify highest risk areas for possibly hidden mold reservoirs),

report any visible mold contamination of consequence, and

help decide where more-invasive inspection (cut a test hole or two) in the highest-risk areas is justified

- or not.

On 2018-12-14 by Johnny

Hello,
a high concentration (>150.000/cu.m) of Pen/Asp group has been found in our basement (mainly in the furnace room) through spores trap testing, exposure time:

15l/min for 5.00 min. On the other floors there are none or very low (<200 /cu.m) concentrations. we checked all the basement, but could not spot any mold or leakages/humidity, also there is no smell at all.
we have been living in this house for 4 year but had never had any issues with mold, nor did we see any mold. we ventilated the rooms, including basement regularly. now suddenly there is this mold.
so, we are wondering how this can be?

where can the mold be hidden. could this have been caused by damp clothes and blankets that are kept in the basement?

what should we do? for sure, we do want to solve this, but how should we approach this? thank you!>

On 2016-10-10 by (mod) - what kind of mold test do I need if I already know there's mold?

Jeanne,

Not in my OPINION, rather it's a waste of money.

Such a test, I'll bet dinner at Gusto's in Poughkeepsie, will be accompanied by a disclaimer of any responsibility for its results;

the "professional" collects 3 samples, sends them to a lab, the reports come to you and you have no idea what to make of it.

Even if the report indicates a problem remains you will have no idea where it is or what needs to be done. Such testing is IMO not worthwhile.

A mold test without an expert inspection of the building as I'll describe further is very unreliable.

Even a trivial event like waving a notebook or walking across a carpet can change the airborne particle level by 1-4 orders of magnitude! So is the count 4 or 4000? and what does "count" mean? Too much depends on circumstances and on how a "sample" is collected.

A building can have a significant mold problem that does not show up in an "air test".

Air tests and their reliability are discussed at AIRBORNE MOLD COUNT VALIDITY

Culture tests are 90-95% "wrong" when you open the kit since most molds won't grow in any culture at all.

I don't object to a few inexpensive (say $50./ea) screening tests of settled dust or of visible mold when they are supplemental to a thorough inspection by an expert who also reviews the case history, the cleaning and remediation work that was done, the whole building for its conditions that risk leaks or moisture problems, etc.

On 2016-10-10 by Jeanne

We know we had mold. We had drywall and insulation removed on the outside wall of the condo.

The shutters and vent hole were leaking. I'm trying to determine what type of mold test I need and how to choose someone to do it.

We have 'cleaned' the condo and want to make sure the cleaning was "acceptable". The recommendation for the professional is to perform 3 airbone tests (one upstairs, one downstairs and one outside for comparison). Is that reasonable?

On 2016-09-29 by (mod) -

Jessica, Sorry to be less than able to give a confident "yes" or "no" to your question. Air tests alone, without a visual inspection, are not reliable. The article above gives general guidelines. This article series points out that we can see up to four orders of magnitude in "counts" depending on how a "test" is conducted. So "tests" alone are a bit risky. Your 67 spores /M3 could as well be 67,000.

If your mold test professional who examined your home cannot give you any help at all interpreting what the report means to you, If it were my home I'd want my test-money back.

On 2016-09-28 by Jessica

Air sample was taken in 3 rooms of apartment for 5 min (75L of air). No visible leaks or water damage in apartment. Humidity not high. Some shower mold. We moved from a moldy place with our furniture and are scared of cross-contamination.

Cladosporium 67 count/cubic meters

Aspergillus/Penicillum 53 count/cubic meters

Curvalaria 27 count/cubic meter

Pitomyes 27 count/cubic meter

Smuts/Priconia/Myxomycetes 27 count/cubic m

Torula 13

Are any of these molds especially worrisome?

On 2016-09-25 by Theresa

Also, what are the Risks of such Levels?

What is High Concentration Level Mold Mean.

On 2016-06-21 by (mod) - 12,000 Aspergillus spores/meter of air -- IF that is what your "test consultant" measured -- is a high number

I don't know what "on the roof" means. 12,000 Aspergillus spores/meter of air -- IF that is what your "test consultant" measured -- is a high number enough that if that's inside the HVAC system further investigation and cleaning are probably in order.

As I whine constantly about these "grab a sample, get some money, send the sample to a lab, and throw a report over the wall to the client" mold test people are not being very helpful.

A "mold test" or "mold count" used alone with no other information and no inspection of your building, no occupant interview, no leak history, no assessment of risk of hidden mold reservoirs, in short, no actual diagnostic information, is simply not reliable.

Your case is a good example: someone got paid to "do a mold test" but it's not diagnostic. Even if the number seems "high" it's not telling you what's needed. What did you pay for that "test" Leigh?

On 2016-06-20 by Leigh

We just had testing done in our office which is top floor. There were 12,000 aspergillus on roof, air handling system nearby. Is this number worthy of more investigating?

On 2016-06-18 by (mod) - air tests with no other data? Need more info. But raw counts of "1" are questionable.

Sorry, but a "mold test" or "mold count" used alone with no other information and no inspection of the home, no occupant interview, no leak history, no assessment of risk of hidden mold reservoirs, in short, no actual diagnostic information, is simply not reliable.

No one should be risking the health of an occupant nor the decision to face costly expense to investigate and clean a mold hazard indoors on such a paucity of information.

Low spore counts like "1" raise an eyebrow if anyone draws important conclusions from such thin data.

Finally, if the "mold expert" whom you hired has simply collected test samples and then tossed a lab report "over the wall" to you without giving more helpful information, you should ask for your money back.

On 2016-06-18 by Debbie

I would like some input on
Stachybotrys Raw Count 1, Count/m 10, % of total 1.2
could/might mean in a Mold Report

On 2016-06-16 by Anonymous

Aspergillus/Penicillium: Bedroom 720 count/m3 Bathroom 840 Outside 200 These readings came from the home of my elderly father. Is it safe for him to reside in the home? He is in good health.

On 2016-05-23 by Zenzen

Had an ambient air test done. Asp/pen outdoor count (control) was zero but indoor was 200. Same with Myxomycetes. There is some visible mold water leakage noted in bathroom. How concerned shoudl we be?? Is 200 a high count?

On 2016-05-04 by fresh air m.i.a.

This is at my daughters school the portable is about 30'- 20'..They are saying that chaetomium is ok for kindergarten kids to breath. The air sample was a 2 min air test. All the kids in the class have been so sick this year. With upper respiratory problems, ear infections,sinus problems.. The list goes on..I currently have pulled my child from that school.

On 2016-05-04 by (mod) - ask the mold test consultant to explain the significance of her test results

If the person whom you hired is not able or willing to explain the results of their work to you, you should ask for your money back.

In my opinion no simple mold quantity count in an air sample is very helpful without other information. We don't have any idea how the sample was collected, over what time.in what air volumes,nor other factors that would help us to understand the number, such as the results of a visual inspection, the building leak history, the occupant complaints, and other things.

However high levels of Chaetomium, if that are a big percentage of the total of all spores found in the air, suggest that there have been leaks and that there is an interior mold problem somewhere in the building.

The mold reservoir needs to be found, its size determined, the cleanup requirements specified and the cause of the leak that cause the most growth needs to be identified and the leak repair made.

On 2016-05-04 by fresh air m.i.a.

I would like some help undestanding what 6,100 m3 of chaetomium means in an average sized class room.?

On 2016-04-10 by (mod) - how harmful is it to find Stachybotrys mold in air?

It's unusual to find the mold you cite in air and typically indicates that there has been demolition or disturbance of moldy materials, but an air test for mold is fundamentally unreliable and incomplete, unlikely to accurately characterize what molds are present in the building nor their extent except to possibly indicate a problem;

if an air test doesn't indicate a problem I have no confidence that it's correct. What's needed is a thorough inspection for visible mold, areas of high risk of hidden mold contamination, and conditions likely to cause a mold problem.

The mold you cite is a water-loving mold that particularly likes drywall; so I'd be looking not just for that mold but for what got wet and what else is present and how much of it is there.

How an air test is conducted changes the results of what it finds, quantitatively, by 1-4 orders of magnitude, so I don't know if the real airborne level was 4, 400, 4000, or 40,000 spores/m3 of air. But I agree that it's unusual to find this mold in indoor air at more than occasional spore level.

No one can assess the level of harm in your building from a brief e-text, but what you describe suggests that a more competent investigation would be warranted.

On 2016-04-10 by e.grant

A mold test was performed in my workplace and it was found that "an unusually elevated level of Stachybotrys mold was found with a result of 400. How harmful is this. There is a daycare right across the hall from the affected area.

On 2016-02-19 0 by (mod) - We find Stachybotrys chartarum in the air after it has been disturbed

We only find Stachybotrys chartarum in the air after it has been disturbed such as during a remediation or during demolition of moldy drywall.

But a more valid test is after 24 hours. I don't know what your remediators did about fresh air, cleaning, scrubbing etc. The important questions would be

- was all of the problem moldy material removed

- was the cleanup complete

- was there improper dust control and thus cross contamination in the building

- was the cause of mold found and fixed

On 2016-02-19 by Joe B.

I have had a mold test done following some remediation (immediately as they were leaving). We have replaced quite a bit of dry wall and trim. The new mold tests tested lower than outside levels, but 53 stachybotrys spores per cubic meter were found.

I've read that stachybotrys is not normally airborne when its alive, so is such a low level a cause for concern? Is that the dead, dried out stachybotrys flaoting around?

On 2016-02-15 by (mod) - how aggressive should we be when conducting an air test for mold?

Charles,

I really like your question and have to give some different answers.

If you were trying to construct a "worst case" test of airborne particles in a home, turning on a fan or blower to stir up dust will help do that. You cannot assume that the airborne particle counts from a worst-case test are necessarily an accurate representation of the normal exposure of the building occupants unless those fans are often running.

I find several orders of magnitude in indoor particle counts depending on how much disturbance is going on in the test area. Just walking across a carpet or waving a notebook in the air will change particle counts over the test interval.

If you are trying to measure the probable occupant exposure level to airborne particles, conduct the test under the usual building conditions of fans on or off.

If you've stirred up indoor air when you didn't want to you'd need to leave air moving equipment off for 24 hours to eliminate most of that effect. Even then some ultra-small particles may remain airborne even longer.

If screening a building for problematic particles, as airborne levels vary so widely, I like to collect settled dust samples.

A quantitative analysis of settled dust is nonsense unless the sample was created under controlled and known conditions. But settled dust will usually represent a longer time interval, possibly weeks or months of settling dust particles. Screening that sample for unusual particles or for dominant particles other than fabric fibers and skin cells can be informative.

During an aggressive test of an HVAC system for contaminants I placed an air sampler right inside the return air plenum and turned it on. An agent who was watching the operation became incensed when I used my flashlight to give a good RAP to the side of the return duct. "That's not 'normal'" she exclaimed.

My reply: "Really? Do you think the kids playing in this basement never toss a ball or throw a toy that bangs into this exposed ductwork?" She slapped me.

More truthfully, I was really looking for contaminants in the system, not characterizing usual exposure.

On 2016-02-15 by charles

Before and air quality inspection within the home, should to interior air be moved around by a low volume blower to stir up the
spores for evaluation by the lab.

Question: Aspergillus/Penicillum has a raw count of 54 and a spore count of 350

(Apr 4, 2014) ida said:
hello, i had an a mold inspection done in my apartment. Aspergillus/Penicillum has a raw count of 54 and a spore count of 350 in my bedroom. Also, in my bedroom was Cladosporium. Outside raw count is 3 and count /M3 was 20. Inside raw count is 8 and count/M3 is 53. Are these counts worth bringing up to the landlord, and are they any cause for concern.

Reply:

Ida, as you can read in the article above, these are low counts, and the outside comparison is more or less nonsense anyway. But interpreting even low counts of airborne molds requires some intelligence, a building inspection, client interview, case history, building history, because even low counts can sometimes indicate a problem.

A "mold count" alone is *NOT* a reliable indication of building conditions. THerefore if your mold tester did not answer your questions and you have to resort to asking us, who know nothing about your building, it's disappointing and suggests you paid too much for too little. Ask for your money back if your test person can't give intelligent answers to your concern.

Question:

(Dec 23, 2014) Kim said:
Hi. We hired a company to come inspect our home. Got lab report back today. Hyphal Fragments 2 26 4 52
Pollen
Spore Trap Used
raw ct. spores/m3 % raw ct. spores/m3 % raw ct. spores/m3 %
Alternaria 1 13 3
Ascospores 3 39 16 9 117 14
Aureobasidium

Basidiospores 6 78 32 27 351 77 54 702 82
Bipolaris/Drechslera 1 13 5

Botrytis
Chaetomium

Cladosporium 9 117 47 6 78 17 3 39 5
Curvularia 1 13 3

Epicoccum
Cercospora

Fusarium
Nigrospora

Penicillium/Aspergillus
Rusts

Smuts/Periconia/Myxomy
Stachybotrys

Stemphylium
Torula

Ulocladium
Colorless/Other Brown 2

Oidium
Zygomycetes

Pithomyces
Background debris (1-5)3 3 3 3

Sample Volume(liters) 75 75 75

TOTAL SPORES/M3 19 247 35 455 66 858

Can you please help? I've read about bipolaris and have questions.

Reply:

Kim

In the article above we give some general guidance about the significance of airborne mold spore counts.

However, the meaning of any mold test is very dependent on building conditions at the time of the test, and no mold test makes any sense without a visual inspection of the building and occupant interviews.

If your mold test company cannot answer basic questions about the meaning of a test they provided, I would ask for a full refund of whatever fee you paid. After all, the test person was there to inspect the home not just to collect a sample, right?

Let me know if you get nowhere with the person who actually inspected your home and we'll take it from there.

Question: I don't know how to read my mold report

17 June 2015 Amber said:
I just received the official mold report from an inspection being done in a house that I rent. I don't know how to read the reports, but I wanted to know if there was a way to find out if this specific mold that was elevated is making my family and our dog sick.

These were the molds that showed up with the top results on the report

Penicillium/Aspergillus: raw ct - 138; Spores - 1790; % - 77

Cladosporium: raw ct - 21; Spores - 273; % - 12

Basidiospores: raw ct - 18; Spores - 234; % - 10

Smuts/Periconia/Myoxmy: raw ct - 1; Spores - 13; % - <1

Reply:

Amber

I would ask for a refund from anyone who inspected and tested my home for mold but who would not or could not give me any meaningful answer to the most basic questions about the home's mold contamination level.

The article above gives some general guidelines about when airborne mold counts are indicative of a water damaged building where significant mold contamination is or is likely to be present, but mere counts with no data about the building and still less data about how and where the tests were performed don't tell me a darn thing.

The counts you give have no meaning to me without knowing something about the building, its leak history, construction, materials, occupant complaints, visible mold contamination, identification of risk areas for hidden mold and results of their exploration.

This article is part of our series: the Mold Action Guide which provides an easy to understand step-by-step guide for dealing with toxic or allergenic indoor mold and other indoor contaminants: what to do about mold "mildew," moisture, in your house or office, building-related illness, involving your physician, treatment, sick building investigators, reduction of irritants, and special products to help clean buildings and air.

Question: can long term mold exposure affect the immune system?

I have a friend who has been working as a kitchen manager at a nearby college for over twentyfive years. Six years ago she came down ill with something no doctor could diagnose. She was actually off on sick leave for just over a year before she could sufficiantly recover to go back to work.

Every symptom named in Mold sickness were present. Now after being back at work for a couple years, same job, she is again crashing. Same symptoms. A couple months ago, there was a wall torn out to fix a leak behind the steamer that had been there for years.

It came down the wall from an upstairs bathroom and it was a small leak that was tolerated and cleaned up daily. When finally the problem was fixed the walls inside the kitchen was evey color imaginable and a large portion was torn out and replaced.

Mold remediation was not called in and a warning was given to the staff present at the time, that nothing could be said for surely the college would be shut down and extensive work would have to be done. She decided to retire since she it too tired to mvoe these days. I went with her today to clean out her desk.

I have had chemical poisioning year ago and If there is any kind of chemical reaction going on, including mold, I immediatly fell the mold spores light, as if it were on my skin. It feels like a tiny pinprick and begins immediatly to itch and soon spread all over my body.

I break out in red welts. I sat in her office today while she emptied her desk and locker. By the time we got back to the vehicle to drive away, I realized without a doubt that I had been in the presence of airborn mold spores. By the time we drove the twenty minutes home, I had to strip, take a shower, wash my cloths with bleach and take a benedryl. I think she has had long term exposure to the mold and therefore, her immune system is highly effected. What do you think? - Chaplain CJ Echols

Reply:

It sounds as if you and your friend needs to consult a doctor who is expert in environmental medicine for expert help in both diagnosis and treatment. Ask the doc what sorts of contaminants or exposures are most likely to cause or aggravate the complaints.

If you have evidence that conditions in your building have made you ill, particularly if your doctor agrees, you might want to give a head's up warning to building management, in writing, since others may be affected too.

Question: Accurate mold counts? How do we know if our school is safe?

So reading this article it seems that accurately determining mold counts is very tough. So how do we know if our school is safe? We do know that there has been a lot of black mold found behind walls and other places. And that indoor mold counts in some classrooms is about 5000 count per cubic meter. But what do we do now? The administration just says 'It's fine.' - My school has mold

Reply:

My School:

I agree and am glad you read the article. There is a lot of confusion between precision and accuracy. What makes sense is to combine testing with an expert inspection of the premises for visible mold and for conditions that create a risk of hidden mold reservoirs at a risk high enough to merit further investigation.

Next, an expert look at the test samples and test results might be useful in making everyone more confident (or less) in the inspection and test results for work done to date. A count of 5000 spores/meter could be quite significant depending on - what is in the count, what type of particles, presence or absence of spore chains and certain other particles, and comparison with tests taken in control areas.

Finally, because of the variability I've described, it's a negative result that is most suspect - that is, the indication that there is not a problem.

Reader follow-up comment:

Yes.. I agree.. the 'All if fine' routine from admin and the superintendent is a bit worrisome. But no one seems to be doing anything about it. Any idea who or what department or agency I should call to look into this? Thanks!!!

Reply:

MOLD / ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT, HIRE ? will give you some help in deciding if it's appropriate to bring in an independent expert; if so, you'll then have a credible third party who can provide information to your school administrators. There may be legal or procedural issues about who has authority to bring in someone - be sure you've resolved those before hiring anyone.

On 2013-02-18 by stacy applejohn

Help! We live in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada (not exactly a mould hotspot) and are selling our house.

There is a new inspector in town - the first one ever to offer mould inspections.

Our buyers have allergies and know nothing about mould. This is the first mould inspection performed on a home ever in this town.

There is no history of water intrusion, no bad odour. The inspector does a thorough inspection of the home and finds no evidence of mould anywhere. He proceeds to do an air sampling.

Lab reports come back indicating the results are "unusual". Found 8 spores of Cladosporium and pen/asp inside and 11 of pen/asp outside. Inspector did not report flow rate/time to the lab. Turns out he sampled inside for 8 minutes at 15 l/min inside and outside for 9 min. So he found 59 spores/m3 in and 92 out by my own calculations. Kicker is, it was -35 degrees celcius outside and had been for over a month.

Three feet of snow on the ground. Not sure why the lab called results "unusual" but the buyers walked after inspector told them we had higher than normal mould counts in our house compared to his "control". Help?

On 2013-02-15 by Jose A Rodriguez

Hello. We have a home in Long Beach NY that was badly flooded with Hurricaine Sandy. We have done all remendiation and are well into the reconstruction, but our neighbor acress the street has done nothing, and i am worried about mold growth as Spring comes and temperatures go up. Is there a health risk across th street from an mold contaminated home?

On 2012-12-06 by Shane Bushman

Had some mold on AC exterior that i cleaned with bleach the best I could. AC is in a hot garage. INdoor mold test compared favorably with outdoor except for a rogue spore (single) of chaetomium. Inpspector says since Aspergillus wasnt found, and only a single spore in two samples was found that he believes it came from outside

. There are no signs of water intrusion or mold growing that we can see. We did the test only as a precaution since there was visible mold on the AC exterior. inspector said coil was as clean as can be. We are concerned about this rogue spore and wonder if it's something we need to be concerned with.

On 2012-11-27 by (mod) -

Heather,

It is truly frustrating to read that

- you paid someone to do an "air test" who either is unwilling or incompetent to tell you what their test means - after all, the significance of test results depends on and must consider onsite observations, building history, etc. You did not get what you paid for, nor much else in my OPINION

- you used ozone, which is a fundamentally flawed approach to dealing with mold, does not remove an existing mold reservoir, can leave "dead" but harmful spores, and risks building oxidation and odor issues

On 2012-11-26 by HEATHER

I would like to get some more information on an air sample I had done in my new home. We are waiting to move from one house to the next, and we had mold remediation due to some mold concerns in the new house.

We had the house scrubbed, sprayed with antimicrobial spray, carpets cleaned and an ozone machine just to be safe. They did an air sample after the ozone process and the results were as follows.
BASELINE:

ASCOSPORES RAW COUNT: 2 %READ: 25 SPRES/M3: 53
BASIDIOSPORES RAW COUNT: 8 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 430
CLADOSPORIUM RAW COUNT: 9 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 480
PENCILLIUM/ASPERGILLUS RAW COUNT: 3 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 160
SMUTS/PERICONIA/MYXOMYCETES: RAW COUNT: 3 % READ: 100 SPORES/M3: 40
BACKGROUND DEBRIS (1-4+) 2+
HYPHAL FRAGMENTS/M3: 13
POLLEN/M3: <13
SKIN CELLS (1-4+) <1+
SAMPLE VOLUME (LITERS) 75
TOTAL SPORES/M3: 1200

BASEMENT:
ALTERNARIA RAW COUNT: 1 % READ: 100 SPORES/M3: 13
ASCOSPORES RAW COUNT: 1 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 53
PENCILLIUM/ASPERGILLUS RAW COUNT: 3 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 160
SMUTS PERICONIA, MYXOMYCETES RAW COUNT: 2 % READ: 100 SPORES/M3: 27
BACKGROUND DEBRIS (1-4+) 2+
HYPHAL FRAGMENTS/M3: <13
POLLEN/M3: <13
SKIN CELLS (1-4+) 1+
SAMPLE VOLUME (LITERS) 75
TOTAL SPORES/M3: 250

UPSTAIRS:
BASIDIOSPORES RAW COUNT: 1 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 53
CLADOSPORIUM RAW COUNT: 2 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 110
PENICILLIUM/ASPERGILLUS RAW COUNT: 2 % READ: 25 SPORES/M3: 110
SMUTS,PERICONIA, MYXOMYCETES RAW COUNT: 6 % READ: 100 SPORES/M3: 80
BACKGROUND DEBRIS (1-4+) 2+
HYPHAL FRAGMENTS/M3: 27
POLLEN/M3: <13
SKIN CELLS (1-4+) 1+
SAMPLE VOLUME (LITERS) 75
TOTAL SPORES/M3: 350

Can someone please help me understand this? The report was done by EMLab P&K. The company I had do the sample is well respected in my area in Ohio and they replied to me "Everything's good".

On 2012-10-03 18:07:11.282078 by Elizabeth

We just had our air tested for mold and the lab report says we have Pen/Asp group spores at a count of 110,000/cu.m. in a 2100 sq ft home we rent. We have visible mold growing on clothes, furniture & other household items. Mold has been found in most of the rooms.

Looks like it has attached itself to dust in out of the way areas. They are talking about fogging with Shockwave. Will this help? When we move - how can we be sure we are not taking the mold with us? I have serious allergies & have had visible skin rashes in the last month. What right do I have as a renter to get this cleaned up properly?

On 2012-09-23 21:30:49.472442 by (mod) -

Janine,

Surely since you must have paid someone plenty to "Test" your home, that person would be kind enough to give you an answer about the meaning of the lab report. The problem for me reading your question is that I know nothing about the house or its history nor have I seen its present condition nor the condition before the mold remediation was performed. For example, we don't know

- if the mold remediation job found and removed all of the problem mold reservoirs

- if the mold remediation job dust and debris containment system was properly set up to protect the rest of the home from cross contamination

- when in relation to the remediation work the follow up testing was done

- what were the test conditions - were fans on or off, windows open or shut, building occupied or empty

I'd lean on the test company to help you have confidence or not in the test result.

On 2012-09-23 19:54:15.309871 by Janine

I have asthma. Does an indoor air test after remediation showing 500 level of strachybotrus lower levels of aspergillus penicillum indicate a still existing mold problem?

On 2012-08-10 22:36:13.740509 by (mod) - what does the "raw count" really mean in mold test reports?

Lloyd,

let's think about that "raw count" - it means that having looked at 1/4 of a particle trace on a slide the lab saw exactly TWO bacidiomycete spores.

Two. Out of billions of particles in the air around a building and probably thousands or more of particles that might be in a five minute air sample.

Two.

Surely we're not going to bet a lot of money on two mold spores.

One must infer that the test was not partiularly helful.

If you suspect that your building is making you sick, or contributing to illness or allergies, just having someone stop by and grab a little air sample was profitable for them but not much use to you.

In the ARTICLE INDEX see MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE for help in deciding if it's probably appropriate to hire someone who actually knows something.

On 2012-08-10 by Loyd

I recently found a spore count of Basidiospores in my bedroom. It has a distinct musty odor and the raw count was 2, 25% read and 110 spores/ m3. Should I get my property inspected for dry rot? I am really allergic and always have a funny feeling when inside the property.

On 2011-04-24 by A Whelan

thanks for the post,easy to understand and helped me with my assignment, I was interested in following up on Baxter, ETS and cfu/m3 recommended levels.

...

Continue reading at AIRBORNE PARTICLE & MOLD COUNT NUMBER GUIDE - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see AIRBORNE MOLD COUNT NUMBER FAQs-2 - more-recent Q&A about how to make sense out of airborne mold counts and mold reports

Or see these

Mold Test Accuracy Articles

• ACCURACY OF AIR TESTS for MOLD - home
• AIRBORNE PARTICLE TEST SAMPLING CASSETTE STUDY
• AIRBORNE MOLD SPORE COUNT GUIDE - home
• AIRBORNE PARTICLE LEVELS vs IAQ - home
• AIRBORNE MOLD COUNT VALIDITY
• AIRBORNE PARTICLE ANALYSIS METHODS
• AIRBORNE PARTICLE COUNT VARIATION CAUSES
• AIRBORNE PARTICLE COUNT VARIATION EXTENT
• MOLD EXPOSURE RISK LEVELS
• MOLD EXPOSURE STANDARDS - home
• MOLD LAB REPORTS
• MOLD LEVEL REPORTING
• MOLD TESTING METHOD VALIDITY
• MOLD TESTING & SAMPLING MISTAKES

Suggested citation for this web page

AIRBORNE PARTICLE & MOLD COUNT FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to MOLD CONTAMINATION & REMEDIATION

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