Reliability of tests to indicate the presence of mold
The best mold detectors are two things that every person already has and that is their eyes and their noses. If a discoloration is seen that is greenish or blackish in color and has a fuzzy sort of look to it that is wet or is in an area that has been wet there is a very good chance that it is mold and you may have to hire an Indianapolis Mold Removal Contractor. If an area has a musty smell to it then there is a high probability that mold is nearby. It could be located in a crawl space area, a basement or inside of a wall. If you are looking for mold you need to look for water or somewhere where water has been in the past. If there is any doubt about whether something you see is mold you should have a credible lab run a test on a sample from the area. When the test is analyzed under the microscope the only thing that is important is whether there is any mold present in the area. If mold is present a professional Indianapolis mold removal or mold remediation specialist may be needed.
More and more businesses are offering an air test to check for the presence of mold. Unfortunately air testing really doesn't give you any meaningful results for a couple of reasons. Air test will not conclude whether the level of mold present in the air in the tested area has a safe or hazardous level of mold. Air sampling was devised to help locate an unseen pocket of mold. If you have already figured out where the mold is coming from testing a sample of the air will not give you any more useful information.
Additionally, there are no recognized levels of mold in the air that have been deemed to be either safe or toxic. A particular test of a sample of mold merely gives you a picture of what was in the air while the sample was taken. The results are probably not an indication of the levels of mold in the air during the rest of the time.
The only time you should use an air sample for mold testing is either to get information that cannot be obtained without the air sampling or to acquire information as part of a research project. Air testing for mold is not recommended by either the Environmental Protection Agency or the Center for Disease Control.