Testing the Home for Mold

Using mold testing kits in your home and sending the culture dishes to a mold laboratory to be analyzed has been around for years, but not many people are sure about how to do it. Most test kits come with instructions, but sometimes they might not be as clear as you would like them to be or they might not explain enough.

If there is mold growing visibly on your ceilings, walls, floor, or your ventilation system, one trick that some use to take samples of the mold is to take a piece of scotch tape and put it over a small spot of the mold and lift it from the surface. You could use a knife to scrape off some of the mold particles off of the surface you are trying to take a sample from, but this is not generally advised because this will stir up the mold spores. If you do choose to do it this way, do not do it barehanded and wear a respirator. After the mold has been collected, you should go and wash your hands with some antimicrobial soap. Even if you are going to test another area of the home immediately after, wash your hands, anyway, because you do not want the mold from one site being transferred to another.

Whatever form of test kit you use, you should clearly label it with your name, the landlord’s name, and address of the property, where you conducted this test in the home, the sampling method used, and the date. How long it took to conduct the test should also be listed in hours and minutes and the name of whoever performed the test and their phone number or address.

Samples from ventilation system ducts should also be taken after the system has been run on its fan setting for around ten minutes. This will stir up the mold spores in the system if they exist and after this is done, the test kit should be taped to the grill of the air duct so that the air being blown through the duct hits the test at a 90 degree angle.

Every room of the house should be tested for mold after a house fan is run for around 15 minutes. Rooms such as attics, basements, kitchens, and bathrooms are particularly at risk for mold and you should be certain to test these first if you only have so many test kits.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood and water damage cleanup and
water damage restoration> companies across the united states.