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How to Do Low-Cost
Mold Sample Collection
and Mold Laboratory Identification of Mold Species in Your Home,
Condominium, Office, Workplace, or Other Commercial Building
Mold Testing Questions & Answers
Q.
I recently performed one of your "open air" mold tests and had the
results analyzed at an independent lab. The lab found four separate molds
to be present and reported them in "Colony Forming Units":
Acremonium sp. ---------- 1 CFU
Cladosporium sp. --------- 4 CFU
Penicillium sp. ------------- 1 CFU
Mucor sp. ------------------ TNTC (Too Numerous To Count)
Based on the results the Mucor sp. is the most present and at a very high
level. After some initial research on the web I am finding the Mucor sp.
can lead to a number of health problems including respiratory and rhinitis
conditions. Do you feel this should be dealt with as a health hazard? I
know that molds exist everywhere which is why I am wondering if this
should be any reason for concern? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
[Nov. 20, 2004]
A.
Mucor usually results
from water damage to building materials in a home. As you have already
discovered, Mucor causes serious health problems. Read about mold health
problems in the mold health section of
Mold and
Mold Health. Mold infestation in your home can imperil both your health
and your home investment. The very high "too numerous to count" result of
your one mold test should motivate you to do a more thorough and
comprehensive mold inspection and
mold testing of your home, including
mold testing the air of the basement/crawl space, attic, each room, and
the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register to determine
the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in
comparison to your outdoor mold control test. Cladosporium could also be a
problem, but the additional mold testing is necessary to know that for
sure. You can either hire a
Certified Mold Inspector
or go the do it yourself mold test kits available from a large hardware,
home improvement, or safety store and do many more mold tests, including the important outdoor mold
control test, against which you compare your indoor mold test results.
Learn how to do a mold
inspection. Please use do it yourself mold test kits to mold test your entire home for mold infestation both before and
after mold remediation efforts. You can buy mold test kits from a large
hardware, home improvement, or safety store. Most mold removal efforts fail because of
the failure to follow the 25 steps
recommended for safe and effective
mold remediation
and
mold abatement. Mold test the air of any attic/basement/crawl space,
garage, each room, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct
register for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold
spores, in comparison to your outdoor mold control test. You
should also collect samples of any visible mold for mold lab analysis and
mold species identification by using the Scotch
tape lift
sampling technique. Collect a different mold sample from
each different mold growth location. You can use our very helpful
mold
self-analysis forms to compare indoor mold test VISUAL RESULTS with the
outdoor mold control test visual results---or send to your selected Mold
Laboratory for skilled mold lab analysis and mold species identification.
Q.
Presently i am in the process of buying a home. During
the inspection we found a 3ft by 3ft area beneath the
kitchen sink wet with mold formation indication. We did
a surface swab sample analysis and found the presence of
"Stachybotrys spores”. Immediately the seller treated
the area with bleach and replaced the Sheetrock. For
further analysis i have performed an Indoor and out door
air sampling and found the following spore
identification results.
Indoor Spores/m³ Outdoor
Spores/m³
Cladosporium spores
56
1470
Peronospora/Oidium spores
0
259
Penicillium/Aspergillus group
63
0
Alternaria
spores 56
1771
Aureobasidium spores
7
56
Drechslera/Bipolaris group
0
322
Curvularia spores
0
7
Stachybotrys
spores
7
0
Epicoccum spores
7
7
Trichoderma
spores
784
0
We are told the Black mold
[Stachybotrys] is among the list of spores identified. Being a novice on
this subject i am stuck on what to do. I would appreciate your second
opinion and advice. [May 21, 2004]
A.
Bleach
is not effective for killing mold. Visit:
Bleach and Mold
to learn why bleach is not good at killing mold on porous materials such
as construction materials. Learn the 25 steps required for safe and
effective mold remediation.
Your own testing reveals four REMAINING serious mold species threats
indoors in the area of your testing: Stachybotrys, Aspergillus,
Penicillium, and Trichoderma. When a mold is present in an indoor sample,
but not in the outdoor control sample, the presumption is that there is an
indoor source for the mold contamination. Stachy is considered the most dangerous mold species of all
because of its capability to destroy brain tissue once Stachy starts
growing in the mold victim's body. Aspergillus is the second most
dangerous mold specie because of its severe respiratory health effects and
it being a known cancer-causer. Penicillium is the third most unhealthy
mold. Thus, that house you want to buy has the distinction of being the
infestation location for the top 3 most dangerous mold species. In
addition, the fourth mold species present only indoors in your home,
Trichoderma, causes severe respiratory problems. Doing just ONE
indoor mold test is inadequate to know the true extent of mold infestation
in a building. You should hire a
Certified
Mold Inspector to thoroughly mold inspect
and mold test the entire house, including its heating/cooling system which
is probably mold-cross-contaminated because of the movement of airborne
mold spores from the known mold infestation location. Alternatively,
follow our do-it-BEST-yourself
mold inspection and
mold testing advice at
Toxic Mold Inspection
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