Return to
Mold Products

Why and How should I test for Mold?

Why and How to Test for Mold

There are more than a million different species of fungi across the world. Molds themselves come in many colors, ranging the full length of the spectrum. While Aureobasidium can be pale yellow or pink, Chaetomium is usually gray or olive colored, and Stachybotrys appears dark brown or black. In texture they can range from silky or velvety to slimy or cottony. Also, depending upon the food source that’s sustaining the mold, their colors and textures may vary; therefore, the only possible way to be absolutely sure just what type of mold one has is to have a laboratory analyze a sample of the growth under a microscope.

Why Test For Mold?

Mold testing is an important beginning and ending step to cleaning up mold. In many cases it’s important to know what type of mold one has just to know if it’s safe to remain living or working in the house or building. Some heavier mold infestations can be severe allergy problems for residents even if the mold’s growing inside are not toxigenic. Health wise, it’s always in one’s favor to know just what species of fungi they’re dealing with. This applies to pretty much everybody; one doesn’t have to live in an unhealthy environment!

When actually performing mold remediation (mold killing, cleaning, and prevention), mold testing takes on several other levels of importance. Swab tests can tell what type of mold one has, even let one know if mold spores have landed on certain surfaces where they haven’t started to grow yet; on the other hand, air testing can give one the facts about how many mold spores are contaminating the air, and what rooms or other areas are contaminated. Testing can allow one to understand the full scope of an infestation, and thus shed light upon the possible cost of a full scale remediation project, if it’s needed.

Mold testing is essential; there’s no point in cleaning one section of a building and stopping when mold spores may contaminate the air of another room. A moldy smell should suggest that physical mold growth is present somewhere in the building, and should thus be located in order to be killed and cleaned. Mold testing can help to locate the source of the moisture problem or the mold growth.

How do I Test for Mold?


The simplest and most cost effective method for mold testing, which incidentally is one of the main methods used by all certified mold inspectors, involves a pretreated Petri dish, a vile of potato dextrose agar, and a sterile swab (EZ Mold Test Kit). This method is the best for home owners as well because they can take their own samples, thus the laboratory performing the analysis doesn’t have to take their own culture from the test in order to identify the mold. This greatly speeds up the process of an analysis. In cases where bacteria or other microorganisms have contaminated the sample a new culture may be helpful, but mold can still be identified separately from other microscopic particles and organisms.

Three ways to Test for Mold with the EZ Mold Test Kit:

Swab Test:
The first and most obvious test would be a swab test. Pour the potato dextrose agar into the bottom piece of the Petri dish, then place the lid back on and sit the dish on a flat surface to dry for an hour. Once the agar has dried, take the dish to the area to be tested. Use the swab, roll or rub the tip of it over the moldy surface a few times. Microscopic spores will adhere to the tip. Gently roll the tip upon the hardened agar surface inside the dish. Apply to as many places in the dish as desired in order to get several cultures started. Then close the lid, tape it shut on the edges with scotch or electrical tape. Then sit the dish aside for 24-48 hours. Mold will start growing within a couple of days, and then it can be decided whether analysis by a lab would be necessary.

Air Test:
Pour the potato dextrose into the Petri dish and then replace the lid. Sit the dish aside on a flat surface to dry for an hour. Once it’s dried, remove the lid and place the dish with the hardened agar on a flat surface in the room to be tested. Mold spores in the air will settle in the dish. Leave the dish there for an hour or two. After this, replace the lid and seal the lid to the bottom with scotch or electrical tape. Give the dish 24-48 hours to start growing something. If there really were excessive mold spores in the air, mold will definitely begin to grow within two to three days. If mold begins to grow, one might opt to send the dish to a lab for analysis.

Ventilation Test:
Pour the potato dextrose agar into the Petri dish. Replace the lid and sit the dish on a flat surface to dry for an hour. Once the solution is hardened, take the dish to one of the vents in the building. Remove the lid and tape the dish to the grill, open side facing into the vent. Then turn the ventilation system on for ten to fifteen minutes. If mold or mold spores are in the ventilation system, they will collect in the dish. After fifteen minutes turn the system off and then replace the lid on the dish. Tape the top lid to the bottom with scotch or electrical tape and then sit it aside for 24-48 hours. If the system was contaminated, mold will begin to grow in the dish within a few days. At this point one may decide whether to send the dish to a lab for analysis.

Return to Mold Products

Order Online Here