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Interesting that you should ask. I was a mitigation/mold contractor in a previous chapter. The short answer (don’t do it) begs the question what are you trying to find out? If you or a family member has a sensitivity to mold you probably know now of its presence. So there’s a lot of different ways to answer if testing is needed. Usually people don’t need to know the genus and species of microbial growth they just need to know if it’s microbial. And answering the question is it good mold or bad mold is a fools errand imho. That said, if your spouse is adamant about what she wants then by all means. If however you just have something small that needs to be cleaned (complete removal) then testing may not be needed for that (unless you plan to test before and again after for a “mold clearance”). OTOH if your basement is crawling with fuzz and you know the bad news already we’d be having a different conversation. Have I lost you yet? Feel free to DM a pic of whatever you’re thinking of testing. Or you can send it to Boadee at proton.me

Also, I forgot to mention that a big box store mold test won’t tell you genus or species. The results will be generic and possibly unreliable depending on the sample. To drill down into the exact genus and species you’re looking at getting someone to bring in air sampling pump with cassettes. They charge a show up fee and usually additional for each sample, so it can go to 250-300 USD fairly quick

Any of the Amazon basic indoor air quality testers any good? VOCs pollen etc

My experience with these is limited. They may be good but I don’t trust anything I can’t verify when it comes to IAQ (and other stuff). IEPs indoor environmental professionals aka industrial hygienists do tape lift testing, swab tests, air cassettes via air pump and material testing if needed. My go to has always been call a professional if it’s justified (possibly a sensitivity). Sensitivity to IAQ issues are a real thing (so don’t make that mistake 😅). A lab report gives an industrial hygienist something to build a scope of work for. From there I would take their scope and complete the work, and if the client wanted to get a PRV (post remediation verification) we would make sure the job is cleaned exactly to spec. PRV clearance testing is at the owner’s expense so, it’s not cheap to get all the work done and clear the job. My view has always been: let the client know the costs up front of different ways to approach, and save money on testing to go toward remediation if it’s known that will be needed. Knowing that up front helped them decide which way was best for them to proceed. Future prevention was my favorite conversation. “ An ounce of prevention”, per se. That’s another conversation. For another day Grace and peace

Wow, I lucked out with your response! Background: I recently bought this house which was built in the 1950s. It’s in relatively good shape inside, but the basement flooded within the past few years and the previous owner redid the basement walls and installed a sump pump. We recently opened up the upstairs walls and haven’t see any signs of mold. So, my concern for mold is from a precautionary, new owner perspective. From your response, it seems like I’m probably in good shape unless we start to experience symptoms or see any mold. Other than that, do you have any preventative tips or things to consider?

Oh yes. Currently it’s basically winter and relative humidity is low (unless you have a moisture source 😬). So, if you test your indoor humidity and it is UNDER 50% you’re probably good to go until spring when humidity seasonally goes from low to high. That’s when you should consider a dehumidifier in your basement or crawlspace. Yes, you should get one. Yes I have recommendations (Aprilaire), 75-80 pints per day, depending. Currently you should be good but make SURE your gutters and downspouts are working as designed and that rain runoff is channeled at least 10’ away from your foundation/basement/crawlspace. I am thinking of going back to consulting this kind of work as I was pretty decent at it. We’ll see. Hope that helps

This is super helpful, thank you! We’re redoing the roof since it was in bad shape, and we’re definitely going to make sure the rain runoff is away from the foundation because I think that was a major factor in the basement flooding. The dehumidifier recommendation is awesome, I’ll check it out. Thanks again!