Toxic Mold Testing Finds Black Mold Before It's a Problem

Air Monitoring is one form of black mold testing or toxic mold testing. The purpose of air monitoring or any black mold testing is to determine the location and/or extent of mold contamination. Air monitoring or any home mold testing should also be performed if the building inhabitants suffer from health problems, which are or may be associated with fungal exposure. Furthermore, air monitoring is suggested as a method of home mold testing if there is evidence from a visual mold inspection that the ventilation systems may be contaminated. The purpose of testing for mold with such air monitoring is to assess the extent of contamination throughout the building. Sampling should be conducted while ventilation systems are operating.

Toxic Mold Testing in the Home Is Valuable
Air monitoring or any mold testing in the home should also be performed if the presence of mold is suspected in a particular area of the structure (e.g. a microbial volatile odor is detected.) but cannot be identified through a visual inspection or bulk sampling. If using air monitoring when testing for mold, for comparative purposes, outdoor air samples should be collected concurrently at an air intake, if possible, and at a location representative of outdoor air.

The Outdoor control air test is very helpful in evaluating where there is an internally generated mold problem. Such a problem may exist if indoor mold tests report mold levels that are either
(a) higher than outdoor control air test or
(b) present indoors but absent form outdoor control air test.

Mold Testing Definitions:

Bulk/Surface Sampling: Several generally accepted techniques are used Swab testing: A swab test is used for surface mold testing. The samples are collected by wiping a measured area by utilizing a sterilized swab. The swab is then placed in a seal tight tube and transported to the lab.

Tape Lift: A tape lift is used for surface sampling by stripping the suspect area surface with clear tape. The sample is then tape to a microscope slide and then placed in a seal tight container and transported to the lab.

Bulk Testing: Bulk samples are collected from visible moldy surfaces by cutting materials with a clean tool into a clean plastic bag.

When received by the lab, the Bulk/Surface samples are removed and identified down to the genus through visual identification under microscope. Results of the Bulk/surface samples are reported in relative density. If requested, the swab sample can be cultured at a later date to define the species of the mold.
For all sampling methodologies, to prevent cross-contamination, a new pair of rubber gloves is donned before collecting each sample. The samples are sealed, labeled and delivered to the laboratory within 24 hours.

When received by the lab, the Bulk/Surface samples are removed and identified down to the genus through visual identification under microscope. Results of the Bulk/surface samples are reported in relative density. If requested, the swab sample can be cultured at a later date to define the species of the mold.
For all sampling methodologies, to prevent cross-contamination, a new pair of rubber gloves is donned before collecting each sample. The samples are sealed, labeled and delivered to the laboratory within 24 hours.