Importance Of Indoor Air Quality Testing For Mold

Indoor air quality testing for mold, and other sampling techniques are recommended when it is hard to identify an area that may be affected.

For instance, you can smell that musty odor in your bedroom, but can’t visually see it. If mold growth is visible, it is not generally recommended to be tested, unless the occupants of the home or business are getting ill, and is used to assist in a medical diagnosis.

Many indicators of mold contamination can be retrieved from air, surface and bulk sampling.

After the samples are collected they are labeled for identification, recorded on a chain of custody, and shipped to an accredited laboratory for analysis.

There are two different types of indoor air quality testing for mold: Non-Viable (Dead Mold Spores) and Viable (Living Mold Spores).

Non-Viable Testing

Non-viable testing is the most common type of testing performed, generally offers more value, and cost less then viable testing. This test collects both dead and living mold spores that is not intended to be grown in a laboratory. Rather they are gathered to collect a total amount of mold spores, separated by category of mold, in an estimated measured area of space. (Spores per cubic meter for air samples or Spores/m3).

During non-viable air testing, mold spores are collected into an air-sampling cassette, with a sticky test slide located in the middle. Air-O-Cell cassettes are the most popular brand of spore traps used for non-viable air testing.

Non-viable surface testing consists of swab samples and tape lifts. It is at the Industrial Hygienist or Certified Mold Inspectors’ discretion, to use a swab sample or tape lift. Both gather surface mold, usually located on a piece of gypsum board or baseboard.

Swab samples are shipped and ready to use in a sterile vile. After the sample is collected, it is inserted back into the vile. Tape lifts are also used to gather surface mold, using a piece of clear tape, such as Scotch Tape. During a tape lift sample, a piece of clear tape is applied to the affected material and applied to a test slide.

Viable Testing

Viable testing collects living mold spores and requires a culturable media (Petri dish with agar as a food source) for mold spores to be grown in the laboratory. There are different types of agar's that are used for different molds to be identified. This type of testing identifies only living mold spores from different species of mold. It is also grown for a period of time in the laboratory.

Viable indoor air quality testing for mold can be achieved by both air and swab sampling. Air samples are gathered thru a Petri dish using a high volume pump and bioaerosol impactor. Viable air sampling is measured by colony forming units per cubic meter of air (CFU/m3).

Questions To Ask An Industrial Hygienist Or Certified Mold Inspector

1. What credentials do you hold?

This is a must to ask because you don’t want to hire someone that’s pretending to be an Industrial Hygienist of Certified Mold Inspector. There are people that do this, believe it or not. Ask them for a copy of their credentials.

Industrial Hygienist are college graduates with a Bachelors Degree, some with their PhD’s, and passed an Industrial Hygienist exam. Certified Mold Inspectors usually take a 3 day course to gain their certification.

2. What kind of insurance do you carry?

They should be carrying Errors and Omissions insurance. Ask them for a copy of their insurance.

3. How much experience do you have? Also ask for a list of references.

4. When should I expect the results? Am I given a report with recommendations to remedy this problem?

5. Is the laboratory an accredited laboratory?

If they gave you a copy and answers to all the questions listed above, you found your Inspector. If not, do not hire them.

In a situation where an Industrial Hygienist or Certified Mold Inspector offers both inspection services and mold remediation, they should not be hired. Why? This is considered a conflict of interest, due to the same company performing the work and doing their own "Clearance Test" after the job is complete. A third party inspection company is always recommended, due to being un-biased.

Indoor Air Quality Testing for Mold should be done by a third party Industrial Hygienist or Certified Mold Inspector, due to any conflicts in interest.

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