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Whether you see visible mold in your home or have all the signs of a hidden mold infestation, you will want to get to the bottom of the mystery. A professional mold test will give you a snapshot of the number of mold particles in a certain area at a certain time. Hiring an expert at collecting and analyzing mold samples will always lead to the most accurate results. With a professional mold testing company like Icon Property Rescue, you will get the results you need faster from a company you can rely on.
Air sampling tests the concentration of mold spores in your home’s air; samples are taken from the air and are later examined under a microscope. Air tests can tell you if you have a mold problem even when you cannot find the mold growth. However, the amount of mold spores in the air can change drastically in a small amount of time, giving varying results at different times; multiple collection times are recommended.
Surface testing takes samples from household surfaces to find the amount of mold growth and spores deposited around the home. Samples are collected by swabbing, tape lifting, or other methods. Like with air testing, the results can vary because mold growth and spores aren’t spread evenly across surfaces in the home. Unlike air testing though, surface tests can’t identify the exact concentration of mold spores in the air.
Culture tests take the samples from the home, then are grown into larger mold colonies in a lab in order to identify the species of molds.
For homeowners in Cincinnati, ICON Property Rescue will evaluate your home and then recommend the appropriate tests. With this data, they will identify the specific molds, tell you the expected and safe levels of each, and create a plan to eliminate. Testing is especially helpful in certain circumstances:
When buying a new home, you should consider getting a mold inspection. Mold inspection is a different process from typical housing inspections, you need to hire a separate inspector from the one that real estate agent suggests. Any information from the inspection would help your negotiations (and your confidence) if you suspected previous water damage or flooding.
If your basement flooded, the roof leaked, or a broken pipe sprayed water all over the kitchen, you need to inspect for mold. Any place that got wet and was not quickly dried (within 24 to 48 hours) could become contaminated by mold. Testing would be helpful to identify areas that received secondary, and unseen, water damage.
If a house has been closed up and unoccupied for months or years, humidity could have built up inside and caused mold to grow. This is especially a problem in warmer areas with high humidity, in homes with broken windows, or in areas that might have flooded.
Mold testing can be useful after you’ve had mold removed from your home; through testing you can make sure that the mold removal was a success. Testing some time after the mold removal can confirm that mold spores in your home’s air have been reduced to a safe level. If you have gone through the often expensive and difficult steps to deal with a severe mold problem, regular mold inspections are a good idea to make sure you really got rid of it all.
Sampling for mold should be conducted by professionals who have specific experience in designing mold sampling protocols, sampling methods and interpreting results. Sample analysis should follow analytical methods recommended by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), or other professional organizations.
Federal regulations or standards for threshold limit values (TLVs) for airborne concentrations of mold, or mold spores, have not been set. Currently, there are no EPA regulations or standards for airborne mold contaminants.
Discovering mold in your home or commercial property can be quite distressing. ICON Property Rescue in Cincinnati understands the trauma and strives to get customers’ lives to normal as quickly as possible.
Call ICON Property Rescue if you think you need mold remediation. After a mold consultation, they will handle all aspects of the mold process including the mold inspection, mold testing, and finally, if needed, the mold removal.
