Mold is a common problem in your home and it can be difficult to tell if you have mold. As a home owner, you may be wondering whether to do the mold testing yourself or hire a professional. Mold can cause allergies and respiratory illnesses so it’s important to find out if there is any in your home. If you have been experiencing these symptoms, it might be time to test for mold in your home. This blog will discuss how you can determine whether DIY kits are right for you and what type of tests should be done by professionals.
I’ll go over some pros and cons of each method as well as the equipment needed so that you can make an informed decision about which way is best for you! Read on below!
What is a mold test kit?
There are a few different mold test kits that you can buy at your local hardware store. To use the kit, you will need to take some samples of air or surfaces within your home and send them off for testing. You also need to include whether there is any water damage in the house because this could be causing mold growth on your surfaces. Each kit comes with a swab for sampling as well as prepaid mailer that is pre-addressed to the testing lab. Once they receive the samples at the lab, they will look for mold spores and report back their findings within 48 hours. Some of these kits can be mailed in anonymously so nobody will know which house tested positive. In most cases, you will receive your results within a few days after the testing is completed. Kits can range from $50 to $100 so it is much cheaper than paying a lab to do the analysis for you.
In many cases, mold test kits provide reliable results but they may not be as accurate as those done by a professional. This is because a professional has much more experience and equipment to do a very thorough analysis. A professional will likely have a microscope so they can look at the samples under high magnification to identify mold spores as well as other organisms that could be contributing to your allergy symptoms.
Mold Testing by a Professional Mold Tester
A professional mold tester will use a microscope to look for mold spores. A professional will also be able to identify what type of mold is in your home and whether or not it’s toxic. The results from the lab can help determine if your symptoms are related to mold exposure. In addition, some researchers believe that there may be different types of molds that affect people differently depending on their genetic predispositions. If you have been experiencing chronic or severe symptoms such as bloodshot eyes or skin irritation, you should consider using a professional testing service.
You will need: Powerful Microscope with Light Source – Accurate identification of any problems requires a microscope specifically designed to view mold organisms. The microscope needs a fiber optic light source and should be at least 100x magnification. A Compound Microscope is Ideal – If you are looking for accurate results, it’s important to use a microscope like this one that will allow you to make comparisons with other test samples as well as identify the genus and species of the mold.
Estimated Cost: $500+ Mold Testing DIY Kits
DIY testing kits can cost anywhere from $20-$150 depending on what kind you get and whether or not they include professional lab testing. These kinds of tests usually only test for the presence of mold, which means that if an area tests positive, then there may or may not be a problem depending on how much mold is in that area. The results only show the presence of mold, not what type it is or how much there is.
DIY Mold Testing Kits
The most common types of testing kits are Tape Lifts and Petri Dishes. A tape lift consists of placing a piece of tape over an area in your house or on your person, then sending the tape to a lab for analysis. This 7-minute video shows you exactly how to do it yourself when testing surfaces in your home! Petri dishes are another option that work by placing an agar mixture over an area for between 12-72 hours depending on the instructions given with your kit purchase. You can then send away these samples to be analyzed by a lab.
Both types of kits will allow you to see if there is mold in that area and if so, whether or not it’s toxic. These kits are a good option for people who do not have severe symptoms such as bloodshot eyes or skin irritation. They can be used to test for the presence of mold in general, but won’t tell you how much mold is present or what type it is. Petri dishes can also use regular agar which may give inaccurate results because agar bought at the grocery store isn’t usually intended for this kind of use! You can read about why I don’t recommend DIY testing kits here .
DIY Mold Testing Pros & Cons
A major advantage of using DIY testing is that it’s quick and easy. You can test your own home to see if there’s any mold growing in areas that you suspect could be problematic. Some DIY kits are also cheaper than sending samples out for professional testing, but this may not be cost effective in the long run depending on how much mold is found and what type it is! Depending on where you live, you may or may not be able to send samples to a lab yourself which means that you would have to hire someone else to take care of getting the samples tested for you. The other option is having the samples sent directly to an environmental hygienist who will charge a fee. If you suspect that there is mold in your home, I would recommend hiring an environmental hygienist to come test for you rather than testing yourself.
Closing Thoughts
The bottom line is that DIY testing kits are not as accurate as professional testing. They can however be helpful if you’re interested in finding out whether or not there’s mold growing in your home or on your person, but won’t tell you the type of mold present, how much there is, or what to do about it! Professional testing services can provide you with exact results which can help lead to a quick and effective mold remediation plan. Contact Same Day Restoration of Orange County today!
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