When to Test for Mold
A bit of mold on your shower grout or a moldy lemon in your fruit bowl isn’t a big deal (but do take care of those too). When you can smell mold or see discoloration that is a possible mold growth you should seek professional mold inspection and sampling services.
Keep in mind that when you can see a small amount of visible surface mold growing on drywall the inside of the wall may be hiding most of the contamination. The same is true of any porous material.
On the other hand, sometimes discolored materials thought to be mold are not mold at all. Even professionals need to have a laboratory analysis done to confirm mold. That is why a professional inspection like we offer at Cromwell Environmental is important. Having a mold inspection done is about much more than confirming mold growths.
Even when a growth is very obviously mold, an inspection provides valuable information like potential causes of the growth, the mold spore levels in various parts of the building, and a remediation plan to take care of the problem.
A mold inspection confirms the presence of mold and answers questions like:
Is it safe indoors to live or work here?
Is the upstairs carpet OK?
What do I do about the stock in my store?
Where do I need to remediate and where don’t I?
Can I Test for Mold Myself?
You can buy home mold test kits, but they’re not useful. Home test kits use a petri dish that you set out in a room where mold spores may land on them and possibly grow, and can be analyzed in a lab. This kind of home mold testing doesn’t tell you anything as there are always mold spores in the air (even in clean hospital rooms). Getting mold to grow in a petri dish is also difficult — some molds will not like a particular food in a petri dish and may not grow.
This is why air or surface samples that culture (grow) viable mold samples are not helpful and are not really done by professionals much anymore. An effective mold inspection combines lab-analyzed samples with professional observations to deliver good recommendations. Mold sampling can involve surface sampling, air sampling, or both.
Worried about mold in your home or business? Contact Cromwell today.
