May. 25, 2007 - Do it yourself mold testing

Some self-test kits are a waste of money

Last  month's storm and area flooding may leave some home owners with a lasting problem of mold.  You have reason to be concerned if there's a musty smell; or if you see something growing. To grow, mold needs moisture, oxygen and an organic surface. Common areas include sheetrock walls, wallpaper, carpeting and wood.

Some do-it-yourself mold test kits are a simple and inexpensive way to uncover a mold problem. But choose carefully, as others are a waste of your money, says mold specialist David C. Straus, a professor of microbiology at Texas Tech University. The simplest and most effective tests, he says, are those that rely on a piece of adhesive to transfer a mold sample to a Petri dish filled with a nourishing growth medium. After the mold grows, the user sends it to a lab where it is identified and evaluated. The lab also provides advice on removal. Cost is about $50. Tests that purport to capture mold from the air are not worth the money, Strauss says, because most homes have a significant amount of mold spores that fly in from the outdoors but don’t grow in the house.  Source: The Wall Street Journal, Laura Johannes (05/22/07) 

For more information, the Evironmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home"