Mold Inspector Mold Test Kit Instructions

        Mold Inspector Laboratory, Ltd. offers Total Testing for mold! This Total Testing for mold package is a set of ten (10) patented mold test kits allowing you to accurately mold test your entire home, office, workplace or other real estate building the affordable way!

       Below is the easy-to-follow instructions on how to use the Mold Inspector Laboratory Ltd., mold test kits to ensure reliable results. Please read and print the following before doing mold testing of your home, office, building or other real estate. Click on a topic to go to that area of this page:
 

HOT TIP: You can record and analyze your visual observations about
mold test kit growths in a well-organized and meaningful way by utilizing the form
"Self-Analysis of Visible Mold Growth in Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Test Kits."

Important Notes | TOP |

1. BEFORE TESTING. 24 hours before mold testing or collecting mold samples please close all the windows and doors in test areas. Then tape plastic sheeting across the entire opening of any open room entrances to seal of test rooms or areas. At the same time, turn off the heating and air conditioning (HVAC) to the test areas either by completely closing vents or by turning off the entire HVAC system.

2. UNUSED KIT (S). Please do not open, touch nor expose the petri dish to air until you are ready to use it.

3. USED KIT (S). After each kit is utilized, please do not refrigerate it. Refrigerating the mold test kit with the mold sample can kill the mold which does not grow in a cold environment.

4. MOLD SAMPLE LABEL (S). Before collecting mold samples, please label each kit. Put a strip of ¾“ or 1” wide masking tape or white cloth tape (e.g. first aid type of tape) onto the outside of the bottom of the smaller plate (plate containing the mold culture material). The label should include:

5. TEST SAMPLE LIST. List the mold samples with their corresponding numbers and locations for your own personal easy reference on to the Mold Chain of Custody form. Make another copy of the list for the Mold Inspector Laboratory, Ltd. When making the list, you can assign a number or letter for a type of test or mold testing method (e.g. A - air sampling, B – fan test, C – direct swab).

6. TIME ALLOTMENT. During testing, make sure that the amount of time or duration that each mold test kit was used for testing is the same for all the mold test samples taken (e.g. attic fan test=10 minutes: basement fan test=10 minutes, air sampling-master bedroom=1 hour: air sampling-living room=1 hour, etc.).

Areas to Test for Mold | TOP |

1. Test every room, attic, basement and crawl space of your home, condominium, apartment, office, commercial property or other real estate property where there is a possible presence of elevated levels of mold or those where there is a likely mold infestation problem. It would be wise to test every room and indoor area.

2. Air flow out of the heating, ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC) duct registers in different locations of your home or building.

3. Visible mold growth locations anywhere inside your home, workplace or other real estate

4. Damp areas or any area with water problems such as water leaks, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, water intrusion or areas with moisture problem or high humidity (60% or higher)

5. Sump pump area and/or open floor drains for clothes washers

6. Inside walls, ceilings, floors, attic, crawl space and other cramped spaces

7. Outdoors for the control test [five (5) feet beyond the drip edge of the roof]

Methods of Mold Test Sampling | TOP |

     You can use one mold test kit for only one mold testing method in one room or area.

1. Air Sampling or settling method in testing for airborne mold spores

2. Direct Sampling in which you insert a small moldy physical sample such as wood, drywall, carpeting, padding, etc., with the moldy side down directly onto the surface of the mold culture plate or petri dish.

3. Lift Tape Test or Sampling which is the use of Scotch tape for collecting mold samples

4. Fan Test

1. Indoor Fan Test

2. Outdoor Control Fan Test (required)

To order Mold Inspector Laboratory, Ltd. mold test kits, please visit or click on: Payment Options.

Mold Testing Materials | TOP |

*The blades and grills of the fan must first be wiped clean with rubbing alcohol to remove dirt and mold spores.

Mold Testing Procedures | TOP |

1.  Air Sampling (using the settling method)

Indoor Air Sampling  | TOP |

1. Prior to testing, clean the blades and grills of the box fan with rubbing alcohol to remove the  dirt and mold spores.

2. Setup the large box fan on the floor in the closed testing room and turn it on for 30 to 60 minutes (slow to medium fan speed) to stir the air. This maximizes the airborne mold spores in the air circulation and the mold spores that would settle down in the mold test kit.

3. Turn the fan off.

4. Remove the lid of the mold test kit and place the open mold test kit, facing the upward towards the ceiling, on a stool or small table within a few feet of an area of which you are suspicious about having a mold infestation of mold contamination problem. Otherwise, you can put the fan in the middle of the room.

5. Expose the open mold test kit to the air for an hour to allow mold spores to settle onto the kit.

6. After an hour, put the lid back on the mold test kit.

7. Seal the outer edge with tape (as explained under Sealing Mold Test Sample) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag.

8. You can then grow the mold test sample for 5 to 7 days (or more) after which you can already interpret the visual results (explained under Mold Sample Interpretation) or send it to the Mold Inspector Laboratory for Lab Analysis and Identification with your Mold Chain of Custody.

Outdoor Air Sampling (control test)  | TOP |

      You need this control test to compare its test results with the indoor mold test results.

1. Remove the lid of the mold test kit and place the open mold test kit, facing upward on a stool or small table.

2. Expose the open mold test kit to the air for an hour.

3. After an hour, put the lid back on the mold test kit.

4. Seal the outer edge with tape (as explained under Sealing Mold Test Sample) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag.

5. You can then grow the mold test sample for 5 to 7 days (or more) after which you can already interpret the visual results (explained under Mold Sample Interpretation) or send it to the Mold Inspector Laboratory for Lab Analysis and Identification with your Mold Chain of Custody. Please click here to view the Mold Lab Analysis and Services Table at the bottom of this page or visit: Mold Lab Identification.

      2.  Direct Sampling (do this for each separate visible mold growth) | TOP |

1. Go to the location where you have observed visible mold/mildew growth.

2. You can collect a physical mold sample in several ways. Wearing your rubber gloves:

1. Scrape (with a clean utility knife) some of the observed mold growth into a culture plate

2. Alternatively, you can cut off a thin moldy slice of moldy wood, drywall, carpeting, etc., and put the sample with the moldy side down onto the mold culture material. Or;

3. Use the Lift Tape Test or Sampling method explained below

3. Close the lid of the mold test kit.

4. Seal the outer edge with tape (as explained under Sealing Mold Test Sample) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag.

5. You can then grow the mold test sample for 5 to 7 days (or more) after which you can already interpret the visual results (explained under Mold Sample Interpretation) or send it to the Mold Inspector Laboratory for Lab Analysis and Identification with your Mold Chain of Custody.

3.  Lift Tape Test or Lift Tape Sampling | TOP |

Viable Mold Sampling

1. Cut a three inch (3”) strip of one inch (1”) wide Scotch tape or transparent tape and wearing your rubber gloves, press it on to the surface you want to test.

2. Remove the tape from the surface you are testing.

3. Press the tape and the collected material onto the surface of the nutrient agar in the mold test kit or petri dish. Do this gently and carefully; leave the tape stuck on to the surface of the mold test kit. (For more instructions in lift tape test, please visit: Lift Tape Sampling.)

4. Close the lid of the petri dish.

5. Seal the outer edge with tape (as explained under Sealing Mold Test Sample) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag.

6. You can then grow the mold test sample for 5 to 7 days (or more) after which you can already interpret the visual results (explained under Mold Sample Interpretation) or send it to the Mold Inspector Laboratory for Lab Analysis and Identification with your Mold Chain of Custody.

4.     Fan Test (for room or area) | TOP |

Indoor Fan Test

The indoor fan test is done to test the entire air of a room, attic, crawl space or other hard-to-get-to area. Take note of the duration of the indoor fan test because the outdoor fan test should be taken with the same duration (suggested time is 10 minutes).

1. Set the fan in the room or area to be tested.

2. Open the mold test kit and tape it to the fan in a way that the air flow directly hits the perpendicular nutrient agar in the petri dish which catches the mold spores onto its sticky surface.

3. Leave the fan on for ten (10) minutes.

4. Afterwards, turn the fan off and remove the mold test kit from the fan.

5. Close the lid of the mold test kit.

6. Seal the outer edge with tape (as explained under Sealing Mold Test Sample) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag.

7. You can then grow the mold test sample for 5 to 7 days (or more) after which you can already interpret the visual results (explained under Mold Sample Interpretation) or send it to the Mold Inspector Laboratory for Lab Analysis and Identification with your Mold Chain of Custody.

Outdoor Fan Test (required only if you are also doing indoor fan tests)  | TOP |

The outdoor control fan test should be done with same time duration as the indoor fan test.

If there is snow on the ground, put the mold test kit above the snow level by putting it on a stool or small table. You can skip the outdoor control test if it is raining or snowing at the time of your testing. Just put a note in your records that you were unable to do outdoor control test because of the rain or the snow. You can also do the outdoor fan test at a later date with full documentation and disclosure of that later testing date.

1. Set the fan 5 feet beyond the drip edge of the roof, facing the house, so that when turned on the air is coming from the area away from the house and not from the house or building itself.

2. Open the mold test kit and tape it to the fan in a way that the air would blow directly onto the nutrient agar in the petri dish to catch mold spores.

3. Leave the fan on for the same duration as an indoor fan test (suggested time is 10 minutes).

4. Afterwards, turn the fan off and remove the mold test kit from the fan.

5. Close the lid of the petri dish.

6. Seal the outer edge with tape (as explained under Sealing Mold Test Sample) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag.

7. You can then grow the mold test sample for 5 to 7 days (or more) after which you can already interpret the visual results (explained under Mold Sample Interpretation) or send it to the Mold Inspector Laboratory for Lab Analysis and Identification with your Mold Chain of Custody.

5.     Heating, Air Conditioning and Ventilating Equipment and Ducts  | TOP |

      Homes and buildings with a mold infestation problem are going to have mold contamination of heating, air conditioning and ventilating (hvac) equipment and ducts. Thus, it would be wise to mold test the airflow OUT of one or more hvac duct registers into one or more rooms by running the ventilating fan only with no heater or air conditioning utilization. If the house or building has more than one set of HVAC equipment, be sure you test the air flow out of at least one duct register in each zone or from each separate hvac system.

      To test each duct register, follow the following steps:

1. Turn off your HVAC equipment.

2. Close or cover (with plastic taped to the register or grill) ALL OTHER registers so that the air flows only out of each register grill that you separately test.

3. Tape an open mold test kit to the outside of the register/grill so that the outward air flow of the register/grill will directly hit the perpendicular sticky surface of the mold test kit.

4. Turn on and run the HVAC system fan (ventilating only; with NO heating or air conditioning) for precisely ten (10) minutes.

5. Turn off the HVAC system fan.

6. Seal the outer edge with tape (as explained under Sealing Mold Test Sample) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag.

7. You can then grow the mold test sample for 5 to 7 days (or more) after which you can already interpret the visual results (explained under Mold Sample Interpretation) or send it to the Mold Inspector Laboratory for Lab Analysis and Identification with your Mold Chain of Custody.

Sealing Mold Test Sample  | TOP |

1. Immediately after doing each test, completely seal the sample in the mold test kit by taping the entire circular edge (where the mold culture plate and lid come together) with a black electrical tape.

2. Place each sealed mold test kit into a separate Ziploc bag with the corresponding label.

3. When you send the samples for Mold Lab Analysis, using padded shipping envelop is suggested to protect the mold test kit from breaking.

   To order Mold Inspector Laboratory, Ltd. mold test kits, please visit or click on: Payment Options

Mold Sample Interpretation  | TOP |

       If you want to determine for yourself whether your have a mold problem before sending your mold samples to the Mold Testing Laboratory, grow your mold samples for five (5) to seven (7) days. Remember to keep your mold samples at room temperature protected from direct sunlight. Here’s how to interpret the visual results apparent in your mold test kits:

1. If you observe and count a greater number of mold colonies of any particular mold colony type (possessing the same or similar color, shape and/or structural pattern) growing in ONE (1) mold test kit than in the outdoor control mold test kit, then you can reasonably decide that there is a possible indoor-generated mold infestation in the area/location where you conducted that particular mold testing.

2. If you observe a particular mold colony type growing in ONE (1) mold test kit that is NOT present in the outdoor control mold test kit, then you can reasonable conclude that there is a possible indoor-generated mold infestation in the area/location in which you conducted that particular mold testing.

3. If you observe three (3) or more of the SAME mold colony type growing in ONE (1) mold test kit, then you can reasonably conclude that there is a possible mold infestation in the area/location in which you conducted that particular mold test, REGARDLESS of outdoor control test.
   
         Think about this rat analogy: if there are only three (3) rats living INSIDE a particular area of your home or building, is there no indoor rat problem if there are more than three (3) rats living immediately OUTSIDE of your home or building? Since you live in your home or work in your building many hours per day, you are continually inhaling mold spores. When these mold spores go into your sinus areas or into your lungs, they can initiate dangerous mold growth inside your body! You can become very ill from continued, CUMULATIVE exposure to and continued, regular and cumulative inhalation of, even modest numbers of mold spores.

4. If you observe three (3) or more of the SAME mold colony types in each of several or many mold test kits taken from different areas of your home or building, you can reasonably conclude that that particular mold species is possibly widespread in its contamination of your home or building. The most dangerous mold species to you and other home or building occupants are the molds that are present in many areas of your home or building, causing continued and cumulative exposure and mold inhalation.

Mold Analysis Services  | TOP |

Mold Inspector Laboratory’s Associate Mold Laboratory in Florida [U.S.A.] provides the following types of mold sample analysis services, for only $49.00 per mold sample analyzed.  After your mold analysis payment [please read payment options at the bottom of this page] has been received by Mold Inspector Laboratory, you will receive an emailed laboratory receipt, which you will then mail [regular mail or any express service of your choice] along with your mold samples and completed chain of custody to the laboratory address printed on your receipt.

 To order Mold Inspector Laboratory, Ltd. mold test kits, please visit or click on: Payment Options.

Mold Test Kit Q & A
        Q. We are owners of a condominium which about 3 weeks ago was subjected to a flood of water from an overflowing toilet in the suite above ours.  The owners couldn't figure out how to get the toilet to stop, so it kept flooding for quite a few minutes.  Water poured down through several routes: our smoke detector, inside a wall from where it then flowed out to both on top of and (apparently) underneath our newly installed "wood" laminate floor, and through the vent in our bathroom. The restoration company that was called in by the condo mgt. said everything looked OK and saw no reason to do any restoration work.  However, subsequently, we have been noticing an extremely noxious sour odor that seems to be getting worse each day.  We also haven't been feeling very well - very achy and tired - and are wondering if there is a hidden mold problem that could be, at the least, causing the bad odor and, at the worst, making us sick.  As there is no visible sign of mold anywhere, we are wondering if there is a way to test for mold without having to actually tear out drywall?  Also, do you have any other recommendations?
          A. One way to detect hidden mold growth inside walls and ceilings is to turn off the appropriate electrical circuit breaker, and then remove the plastic electrical switch and outlet cover plates. Using a small fan that has been thoroughly cleaned [blades and housing] with rubbing alcohol, tape one of our opened do it yourself mold test kits to the fan so that the fan air flow directly impacts on the sticky surface of the mold test kit. Then place a stand of some kind to hold the fan in place for 15 minutes to draw air from the gaps around the uncovered electrical outlets and switches. You want to line up the mold test kit directly with the outlet gaps so that the fan draws air from inside the wall and then directly impacts that air on the mold test kit. Then seal the mold test kit, and properly mark it as to testing location, your name, property address, date of testing, and testing method [fan air test]. You can watch for mold growth over a 7 day time period in the mold test kit, or send the kit to a lab for mold laboratory analysis right away or after the 7 days. You would use a separate mold test kit for each hole that you are drawing air out of. You need to clean the fan blades and housing after every separate test location is completed. You can do the same procedure to test ceilings, by disconnecting the screws holding up the ceiling light [letting it hang by the electrical wires].  In addition, you will also want to mold test the air of each room, attic, basement, crawl space, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in comparison to an outdoor mold control test. You would you use our mold test kits for such air tests. To order kits, visit: Mold Mart As to the flooring, and likely, mold growth beneath, you need to drill several well-spaced testing holes into the flooring in several areas to conduct multiple location fan tests. You should visit our website: Mold Inspection.