Mold and Air Quality Testing in Michigan
Located in Birmingham and serving Southeast
Michigan
Telephone: 248 321 4437
We are glad to offer air quality and mold testing services in partnership with a certified laboratory.
Sample collection can be done with a mold inspection or
independent. The fees applied to specific mold and air quality
testing are listed below.
- Mold identification slide $150
- Mold culture swab $175
- Air quality test particle identification $175 per sample;
one outdoor sample is necessary to interpret results.
- Air quality test particle viability $175 per sample; one
outdoor sample is necessary to interpret results.
*A $75 service charge applies when testing is done without a
mold inspection and a minimum 2 samples have to be collected. A
laboratory report is provided; it identifies the species of mold
present in the sample and basic information characteristic to each
mold species. Site specific interpretation and corrective procedure including
remediation protocols are provided with mold inspections.
Basic Mold Testing Methods used in Michigan
Generally two types of laboratory work is involved when testing mold:
- Mold species identification based on mold spores appearance
at microscopic observations; also called slide, adhesion, or lift tape identification
- Viability studies and culture identification; cultures from the samples submitted are grown in the incubator
The third type; toxin production by mold colonies, involves a
chemical detection of toxins using specific reagents; this testing
is seldom used due to high cost. The type of laboratory testing
has to be decided before samples are collected.
Adhesion tape, AKA; lift-tape, bio-tape, slide. This method of mold testing
is best used when a visible surface spot is suspected to be a mold colony.
The method is practical, gives fast results, and is the least
expensive. As a bonus, this test gives a numeric relationship between the different species of
mold present on the sampled surface. The method has some
limitations because it is based only on microscopic observation of
mold spores; some mold species have very similar spores and errors
can occur. Some species of Penicillium and Aspergillus spores
cannot be differentiated, hence they are reported as "Pen/Asp
group", a culture is necessary to make the differentiation. This
test cannot tell if the spores present on the slide are viable or not
Mold cultures; allow for better differentiation of mold
species and will tell is the colony is dead or alive. This method is very good to determine
the presence of mold spores where colonies have not developed but the area is suspected
of contamination. The collected material is placed in a Petri dish containing mold nutrients,
then incubated for 5 to 7 days. The grown product is then studied based on characteristics
of colonies formed and the spores they produce.
Mold cultures give much more information vs. adhesion sampling,
however they take much longer and the cost is higher.
Additionally, some molds grow faster in cultures overwhelming or
killing others; if a slow growing mold is strongly suspected,
special culture media may be needed.
Air quality testing: Besides mold, a wide variety of particles present
in the air can be identified with this test, for the purpose of this page we describe
only the mold. The test involves collection of mold spores from the air using a
suction pump and trapping cassettes or culture media dishes. This is a very sensitive
mold test, but the interpretation of results is most illusive. The number of indoor
mold spores has to be compared with the number of outdoor mold spores,
this is why an outdoor sample must always collected. If there are significantly more indoor spores,
the test is considered positive.
The air quality test does identify the species of mold present indoors and outdoors
for comparison, but it does not tell the indoor location of the mold colonies producing
those spores. The mold inspector has to find the source of the spores, otherwise
the validity of the air quality test is questionable. Air quality testing is very useful
when mold presence is suspected but visible colonies are not found in accessible areas
without removing structural components or finishes. The test is also useful to establish
specific indoor mold species vs. outdoor species. Also patterns of mold spores movement
in different sections of the house/building can be determined by sampling different areas.
Interpretation of Mold Testing Results
Mold laboratory testing results have to be interpreted in
correlation with structural conditions
and ambient factors present on site. Because mold spores can be found almost everywhere,
the simple presence of mold spores inside the house does not
constitute a mold problem.
The magnitude of a mold infestation is also established based on inspection findings.
Therefore, mold testing alone is not sufficient information to
indicate the methods of
solving a mold problem.
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