mold

Living in an environment with mold is extremely detrimental to your health, as it causes the body tremendous dysfunction! Once mold is in the body, it begins...

Did you know that the EPA estimates between 30-50% of all buildings in the USA have damp conditions that may encourage development of molds, and that mold causes billions of dollars-worth of damage to crops and livestock ever year? Whether it is growing on the grout in your shower, the decomposing vegetables in your refrigerator, behind your drywall after a pipe leaked,  or in the cracks of your basement foundation due to a flood, mold can have massive consequences for your health. While mold and its spores are present everywhere all the time, the species, concentration, and overall health of the individual are what gives its presence the potential to be deadly. 

Testing For Mold

  • ERMI testing, or environmental relative moldiness index testing, is a standardized, objective, DNA based way of testing to help identify and quantify mold indoors. It analyzes dust that has settled in the home to identify 36 different mold species DNA and determine how much mold is in the area. This is the most accurate and reliable type of testing available for indoor mold!

  • HERTSMI-2 is similar to the ERMI. The HERTSMI-2 is more cost effective and only analyzes the "big 5" mold species, Aspergillus penicillioides, Aspergillus versicolor, Chaetomium globosum, Stachybotrys chartarum, and Wallemia sebi.

  • There is a HERTSMI scorecard that can be used for both the HERTSMI and ERMI to help determine if a given building is safe for occupancy for someone who has previously experienced illness due to mold exposure. https://www.survivingmold.com/diagnosis/hertsmi-2

  • Professional remediation service will often do free inspection using high-quality measurement instruments like moisture meters and thermal guns to detect for presence of heat given off by actively colonizing mold. Some professionals even use mold sniffing dogs!

  • Petri dish and air sample methods are generally less reliable, as species with "heavy spores" that don’t float in air will not be picked up. Some of the most dangerous types of mold including "black mold" Stachybotrys have these kind of heavy spores. If using an air sample, have it done professionally.  DO NOT use big box store kits. Store bought kits do not measure the amount of spores per given unit of air (mold spore are naturally present in all environments but it is about the concentration), they do not have a controlled environment for shipping, the testing methods are not very accurate, they just test for general presence not amount of spores or exact species. Marketing is often deceptive, as it only costs 10-15$ for the kit at the store but then you have to pay an extra fee for the lab to process it which is $40 on average.

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There are many different ways to test for mold in your home, and some are more effective than others. Listen in to find out which tests I personally recommen...
 
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