Guest guest Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Wei: You hit the nail on the head for me!!! I collect a lot of settled dust samples and look at them VERY closely. (I like looking at settled dust.) I am also aware that carpet dust near doors has (more often than not) a significantly higher concentration of mold spores (and silica, feldspars, isotropics, inerts, etc.) than carpet dust collected elsewhere in an otherwise non-compromised home. I also feel that this bio-load is periodically re-distributed when vacuumed. This said, how effective is QPCR when the source of the biological cannot be determined? I, for one, believe that many unnecessary and unwarranted claims of ³contamination² with be forthcoming when QPCR is used and elevated concentrations of a mold spore are detected; primarily due to the lack of a known source or the source is from outdoors but no one knows it. Thoughts? -- Geyer, PE, CIH, CSP President KERNTEC Industries, Inc. Bakersfield, California www.kerntecindustries.com > > > > > Carpet is a reservoir of mold spores and dust from many possible sources (not > necessary indoor mold growth only) > > (1) settled airborne mold spores aerosolized from an indoor mold amplification > (on building material or others, e.g. plants) > > (2) settled airborne mold spores migrated from outdoor air > > (3) spores in dirt carried in by shoes, pet, etc. > > (4) settled airborne mold spores aerosolized from the dust bag of vacuum > cleaners used in other locations > > > > QPCR is a very new (comparing to traditional mycological methods) tool, which > can look into mold in dust samples. Direct microscopic examination is > difficult due to high debris contents. Culture method usually show low > culturable count. Dust samples represent a longer history than 5 min air > sampling. The question is that do you want a history that include events from > (3) and (4) above which could be a large spike of mold spores carried-in and > not related to on-site building mold growth at all? > > > > Perhaps, more researches will reveal the answers. > > > > Wei Tang > > QLab > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.