Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 A home test isn't going to show you much.. it will identify if there's mold or not, but won't tell you what type of mold you have. If you need to identify the type of mold you have, you'll have to have a professional mold test done. I purchased a home test at Home Depot. I don't remember the name of the brand. It may have been simply called " Home Test " . Cyndi Lourdes Salvador <salvadorlourdes@...> wrote: What is the best source for a home test kit for mold... not expensive... a single-test kit. Thanks! Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 I believe the mold test kits at Home Depot are from Pro Lab and I used them for my home. I got reports back stating the amount of colonies in each test and the name of the mold involved. It doesn't get down to *which type* of aspergillus but it was say it is aspergillus or cladosporum, etc and give a count. I found that they worked fine. Test came back that mold was within normal limits in home, but attic and porch were too high. The count in home I was not happy with though. I have read to try to get count down to less than 4 inside the home if you have sinus trouble. It is on sinus website that has been posted here before, an allergist's opinion and some solutions. I then got a professional air quality person because one of the bedrooms that the mold count was okay according to ProLab had an odor so I didn't believe it was okay. Professional mold test turned out good for my home, less than one or two I believe in suspect bedroom, so I think odor is from attic, as there is a crack in plaster wall and ceiling there due to old water leak around chimney. Since attic mold count was high, probably mold problem is in attic due to now repaired chimeny flashing leak but mold is still growing just from high humidity in attic I cannot control. From that mycotoxins or VOCs are getting down into bedroom due to crack in ceiling so professional test did not show anything different than the mold test kit from Home Depot. I will say that humidity conditions in your home can affect test. I would do the test with humidity in your home over 50% for day or two before (if you can take that), so any mold that is there is active and not dormant. I read somewhere that home test kits can be too stale to be good but the ones at Home Depot from Pro Lab come in liquid that is sealed in tube. You make the culture dish yourself by pouring liquid into dish, covering dish and waiting an hour for it to gel, then take lid off and set it in room for an hour, then cover it again and follow the directions that come with it from then. Perhaps if dish is already made into gel and you buy it like that it could get contaminated or stale but the Pro Lab culture plate is made by you so I don't see how it could be stale. It grew mold fine for me- unfortunately. I heard someone else say they bought one from Home Depot and it didn't grow any mold caught in an hour. Well it may be that no mold fell into it in an hour. Allergist at that website that I don't have handy says you should aim for a count of 0-4 in a room if you suffer from sinus trouble, so zero is possible. It doesn't mean you have no mold in house at all, it just means the count is very low at that time so that none fell into the plate. I wish I could get that count. I have old air-leaky house and there is always some mold floating around in here. --- In , Your Friend <yor1friend2@...> wrote: > > A home test isn't going to show you much.. it will identify if there's mold or not, but won't tell you what type of mold you have. If you need to identify the type of mold you have, you'll have to have a professional mold test done. > > I purchased a home test at Home Depot. I don't remember the name of the brand. It may have been simply called " Home Test " . > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Who does professional mold tests? I don't think we have any companies like that here... I live on a small island. Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html Re: [] Mold Test Kits A home test isn't going to show you much.. it will identify if there's mold or not, but won't tell you what type of mold you have. If you need to identify the type of mold you have, you'll have to have a professional mold test done. I purchased a home test at Home Depot. I don't remember the name of the brand. It may have been simply called " Home Test " . Cyndi Lourdes Salvador <salvadorlourdes@...> wrote: What is the best source for a home test kit for mold... not expensive... a single-test kit. Thanks! Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Thanks for this information... to me ANY mold is not good and this test is a good place to start if looking at new homes or workspaces. Do you remember how much the test costs? I believe the mold test kits at Home Depot are from Pro Lab and I used them for my home. I got reports back stating the amount of colonies in each test and the name of the mold involved. It doesn't get down to *which type* of aspergillus but it was say it is aspergillus or cladosporum, etc and give a count. I found that they worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 There are always mold spores in the outdoor environment and when you open your window mold spores enter your home. You will never be completely mold free. These test kits that homeowners use are a waste of money. I have done over 600 residential mold inspections....I have been hired by many a homeowner that bought a test kit, sent the samples to ProLab and were told they have a problem based on one sample they sent in....in many cases after throughly inspecting the house and taking more samples, I often find no problems. If you want I will look over your results. Lourdes Salvador <salvadorlourdes@...> wrote: Thanks for this information... to me ANY mold is not good and this test is a good place to start if looking at new homes or workspaces. Do you remember how much the test costs? I believe the mold test kits at Home Depot are from Pro Lab and I used them for my home. I got reports back stating the amount of colonies in each test and the name of the mold involved. It doesn't get down to *which type* of aspergillus but it was say it is aspergillus or cladosporum, etc and give a count. I found that they worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 I know Dr. Lipsey monitors this list, when he gets a chance perhaps he will suggest something. I wonder if Berkley Analytical Labs would have one????? On Sun, 28 May 2006, Lourdes Salvador wrote: > Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 09:44:49 -1000 > From: Lourdes Salvador <salvadorlourdes@...> > Reply- > > Subject: Re: [] Mold Test Kits > > Who does professional mold tests? I don't think we have any companies like that here... I live on a small island. > > Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... > www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html > > Re: [] Mold Test Kits > > > A home test isn't going to show you much.. it will identify if there's mold or not, but won't tell you what type of mold you have. If you need to identify the type of mold you have, you'll have to have a professional mold test done. > > I purchased a home test at Home Depot. I don't remember the name of the brand. It may have been simply called " Home Test " . > > > Cyndi > > Lourdes Salvador <salvadorlourdes@...> wrote: > What is the best source for a home test kit for mold... not expensive... a single-test kit. > > Thanks! > > Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... > www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Thank you... I'll post them when I do a test. Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... If you want I will look over your results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Be aware that I have heard culture plates are not likely to reveal stachy problem. If you think you could have stachy, you need to look into professional testers, unless it is visible, then you can use this kit, but you collect sample different. Directions are inside for sending a sample of visible mold. I think perhaps $10 to buy it and if no mold grows, that is end of test. If within two days mold is growing, there is an envelope to ship it off to ProLab, mailing expensives are covered but you must enclose a check for about $25 I think (it's been a couple of years since I did mine) for them to analyize. There are other places to get these but if you want to get started, these are handy to pick up. It's REALLY hard to get a reading of no mold. You have to be in good home with emaculate cleaning so don't expect to have none. It's large quantity of the same kind that is a problem. If there is visible mold, they tell you how to send a sample of that. I hear these plates are not good to find stachbotra since stachy does not float around in air or something (not sure of my explanation) but if there is visible mold, you can send a piece of that per their instructions and that will be tested for stachy and other mold. said there is a type of medium for plates that has some chance of growing stachy. I think it may have been agar agar? , is that right? If so, he said they can be gotten at PK Labs > > Thanks for this information... to me ANY mold is not good and this test is a good place to start if looking at new homes or workspaces. Do you remember how much the test costs? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 The two areas they said were problems was outdoor porch which was wrecked by moisture and attic that appears to be causing odor in room below. Both areas retested by professionals I got from IAQ association found the same by another method of testing. Basement which is where I thought biggest problem was detected mold and told me which kind but said levels were not abnormal. I discussed test with mold expert. I had someone here he recommended to remediate attic and porch and he said he had bought one kit from Home Depot and he thought they didn't work since he got no mold growing in it but then since he is a remediator, he probably has a house in good condition. You will get different results using different methods and at different times of the year and with different humidity levels in your home. I think it is a reasonable start. Thanks for this information... to me ANY mold is not good and this test is a good place to start if looking at new homes or workspaces. Do you remember how much the test costs? > > > I believe the mold test kits at Home Depot are from Pro Lab and I > used them for my home. I got reports back stating the amount of > colonies in each test and the name of the mold involved. It doesn't > get down to *which type* of aspergillus but it was say it is > aspergillus or cladosporum, etc and give a count. I found that they > worked fine. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 barb123 -- Your post on HOW you used the test kits should be a model for others For those of you familiar with my position on mold testing in general, and especially home test kits specifically, this response may surprise you. (see also my response to ryan sherry). The reason I support your use of the home mold test kit is you didn't rely on just the numbers and the report. You used common sense to evaluate the meaning of the lab results. If the results, whether positive or negative, didn't fit the circumstances (e.g. fungal ecology, building science, air and moisture characteristics) you investigated further. THAT is what led to your hypothesis of the source in the attic being an exposure in the living area despite the lab results from home kits and professional sampling. Mixing the plate at the time of use insures it will be fresh. But unless you mix it in a sterile environment you will most likely get mold in it from the mold that is always in the air. Try this experiment: Mix a plate but don't otherwise expose it. Send it to the lab, Pro Lab or any other lab. See how many come back with mold growing. One company compared results of settling plates to professional collection methods ( sampler with calibrated air flow). Each spore on a settling plate represented 600-1200 spores with the professional method (depending on the kind of mold)! What does zero spores on a settling plate mean? It could mean 599- 1199 spores in actuality or maybe there really were zero spores at that time. Or, maybe, the real problem is with mold spores too small to fall out of the air. Or mold that won't grow on the specific food in the plate. Change the type of agar and you will grow different organisms. Or, it's dead. Or, the exposure is from fragments of the organism rather than the seeds (spores). E.g. there is more to a tree than the seeds. If you don't believe it try driving through a forest when you can't find seeds and see how far you get. ALL testing is conditional and not definitive. You need to know what those conditions are so you know how to interpret ANY lab results - irrespective of home test kits or professional. There are no normal levels because no one knows what they are. It changes. They are guessing and some guesses are better than others. And you may be the one person who reacts to below normal levels. You don't need to know what kind of mold is growing to make the decision on whether or not it should be remediated. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Just because you can see it doesn't mean you are being exposed. There are no certainties or absolutes. But there is absolutely a NEED to find out what is happening TO YOU. Detecting Stachybotrys: It doesn't grow well on typical agar and it grows much slower than the more common types (if it is in the air at all! Most of it isn't so those methods won't find it). Corn meal agar is more apt to grow Stachy rather than MEA or PDA agar. Another method some labs use is to include a fungicide in the MEA or PDA agar that inhibits other molds, allowing time for the Stachy to grow and not be covered up by the faster growing molds. Good work, barb123. I hope others follow your example of examining the whole picture and not blinding following numbers on a piece of paper. Without the context to create the meaning, lab numbers by themselves are no better than numerology or tea leaves. Carl Grimes Healthy Habitats LLC ----- > I believe the mold test kits at Home Depot are from Pro Lab and I used > them for my home. I got reports back stating the amount of colonies > in each test and the name of the mold involved. It doesn't get down > to *which type* of aspergillus but it was say it is aspergillus or > cladosporum, etc and give a count. I found that they worked fine. > Test came back that mold was within normal limits in home, but attic > and porch were too high. The count in home I was not happy with > though. I have read to try to get count down to less than 4 inside > the home if you have sinus trouble. It is on sinus website that has > been posted here before, an allergist's opinion and some solutions. I > then got a professional air quality person because one of the bedrooms > that the mold count was okay according to ProLab had an odor so I > didn't believe it was okay. Professional mold test turned out good > for my home, less than one or two I believe in suspect bedroom, so I > think odor is from attic, as there is a crack in plaster wall and > ceiling there due to old water leak around chimney. Since attic mold > count was high, probably mold problem is in attic due to now repaired > chimeny flashing leak but mold is still growing just from high > humidity in attic I cannot control. From that mycotoxins or VOCs are > getting down into bedroom due to crack in ceiling so professional test > did not show anything different than the mold test kit from Home > Depot. I will say that humidity conditions in your home can affect > test. I would do the test with humidity in your home over 50% for day > or two before (if you can take that), so any mold that is there is > active and not dormant. I read somewhere that home test kits can be > too stale to be good but the ones at Home Depot from Pro Lab come in > liquid that is sealed in tube. You make the culture dish yourself by > pouring liquid into dish, covering dish and waiting an hour for it to > gel, then take lid off and set it in room for an hour, then cover it > again and follow the directions that come with it from then. Perhaps > if dish is already made into gel and you buy it like that it could get > contaminated or stale but the Pro Lab culture plate is made by you so > I don't see how it could be stale. It grew mold fine for me- > unfortunately. I heard someone else say they bought one from Home > Depot and it didn't grow any mold caught in an hour. Well it may be > that no mold fell into it in an hour. Allergist at that website that > I don't have handy says you should aim for a count of 0-4 in a room if > you suffer from sinus trouble, so zero is possible. It doesn't mean > you have no mold in house at all, it just means the count is very low > at that time so that none fell into the plate. I wish I could get > that count. I have old air-leaky house and there is always some mold > floating around in here. > > > > A home test isn't going to show you much.. it will identify > if there's mold or not, but won't tell you what type of mold you have. > If you need to identify the type of mold you have, you'll have to have > a professional mold test done. > > I purchased a home test at > Home Depot. I don't remember the name of the brand. It may have been > simply called " Home Test " . > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 Thanks Carl. I think I will do experiment below. It would be interesting to see what grew if I didn't ever take the lid off of it!!! I knew there was a problem with testing Stachy but I didn't know what it was. --- In , " Carl E. Grimes " <grimes@...> wrote: > > barb123 -- Your post on HOW you used the test kits should be a model > for others > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 Excellent post, Mr Grimes. I was using Home Depot test kits to see how the remediation came out in the basement. I only grew one colony (I don't know what, don't care, doesn't matter, it was only 1 white colony). I was VERY happy with those results, but within a short time I began reacting again. After doing some more work with having the cement block walls painted and the floor sealed, joists too, I still was reacting to something, and it was not adhesive, or other things chemical, or otherwise. Finally I had the handyman pop off some tiles from the shower, and BINGO- there was that black evil staring me straight in the face. Even with the test kits coming out fine, I was reacting, so I knew something must be there. I kicked myself for not realizing it had to be there, sheetrock and tile shower, duh. That was the last bit. I would definitely be a very diligent detective before I spent much money on the test kits. The results need to be looked at in a comprehensive and intelligent manner. It is not a test that automatically gives a definitive answer. It says something, but what it says needs interpretation and common sense. > > A home test isn't going to show you much.. it will identify > > if there's mold or not, but won't tell you what type of mold you have. > > If you need to identify the type of mold you have, you'll have to have > > a professional mold test done. > > I purchased a home test at > > Home Depot. I don't remember the name of the brand. It may have been > > simply called " Home Test " . > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 Sal, There is some info about testing kits available at the Center for School Mold Help that you may want to look into. See the link below. _http://schoolmoldhelp.org/moldkit.html_ (http://schoolmoldhelp.org/moldkit.html) Sue What is the best source for a home test kit for mold... not expensive... a single-test kit. Thanks! Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Thanks, this is great! Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html Re: [] Mold Test Kits Sal, There is some info about testing kits available at the Center for School Mold Help that you may want to look into. See the link below. _http://schoolmoldhelp.org/moldkit.html_ (http://schoolmoldhelp.org/moldkit.html) Sue What is the best source for a home test kit for mold... not expensive... a single-test kit. Thanks! Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... www.mcs-awareness.org, www.mcs-awareness.org/19670.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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