Choosing Sanitation Every DayChoosing Sanitation Every Day

If you smell mildew in your home and don't know where it's coming from, or if you've recently had a water leak and fear there may be mold growing in your house, consider having your home tested for mold. Rather than live with mold that could be harming your health or live with fear and uncertainty, you can find out for sure if there are high levels of mold in your home. Here are some tests a mold inspector might use.

1. Moisture Detection Testing

Since mold needs moisture to grow, the mold inspector may look for hidden moisture in your home to find likely spaces where mold is growing, even if you can't see it. They can do this with an infrared camera or a moisture meter.

If you have a roof leak, rain may be dripping behind a wall and encouraging mold to grow where you can't see it. Mold can also grow under carpeting and behind appliances where it's out of sight. An infrared camera can spot moisture through the walls, so this saves the mold inspector from having to cut open a wall just to look around for mold.

2. Air Testing For Mold

The inspector may take an air test to find out how many air spores are circulating through the air you breathe in your home. It's important to understand that mold spores are always circulating through the air, so it's likely some spores will be detected with the air test. What the inspector wants to find out is if the level is elevated.

An air test can be done with a sampling tube that has a sticky strip inside. When air passes through the tube, mold spores get stuck on the strip so a lab can analyze the strip later and count the number of spores.

3. Surface Testing For Mold

Surface testing can also be done to check for mold and mold spores. This might involve pressing a sticky strip against a surface to pick up spores clinging to furniture, floors, or walls. The mold inspector might use a swab instead and run it over some surfaces in your home and then have the swab tested for mold.

A mold test can let the inspector know how bad a mold problem is and the type of mold you have growing in your home. No matter what type of mold you have, you need to have it removed, but if you have a type of mold that's linked to serious medical problems, you'll want to find out so you can protect your health.