How to Test Your Home For Mold

October 17, 2020

If you have your suspicions that mold spores have found their way into your home, it’s time to test your home for mold. Key signs of a mold infestation include the emergence of allergy-like symptoms and if you and your family have noticed such symptoms, you may have a mold problem. Along with being harmful to your health, toxic mold can also be incredibly expensive to remove. That’s why testing your home for mold is a vital first step to combating a toxic mold problem.

Today, we will be giving you tips and tricks on how to test your home for mold. While noticing a toxic mold problem isn’t particularly difficult, identifying the type of mold and level of infestation can be a bit more complicated. That’s why conducting a home test for mold is so important. With this article, you’ll gain all of the necessary information to proceed with testing your home for mold and eliminating the problem faster!

Signs of a Possible Mold Problem

Before we get to how to test your home for mold, it’s important that you are aware of some of the most common signs of a possible mold problem. A mold problem could be lurking somewhere in your home, regardless of whether mold is visible or not. If left to thrive, this mold can turn into a toxic mold problem with potentially life-threatening consequences.

Of the most common signs of a possible mold problem is the emergence of health issues. These typically include severe allergy-like symptoms that don’t dissolve regularly as allergies normally would. In more severe cases, a mold infestation can cause a number of more serious health symptoms including:

Headaches
Fatigue or weakness
Stiff joints
Abdominal pain
Increased urinary frequency
Chronic cough
Itchy eyes
Itchy skin
Poor memory
Blurred vision
Sneezing
Runny nose
Dry skin
Watery eyes

Additional signs of a possible mold problem include the musty smell associated with mold, visible signs of mold growth, and water leaks that cause an accumulation of moisture. If you’ve noticed any of these common signs of mold in your home, you would do well to immediately test your home for mold with a home test kit.

Why You Should Test Your Home For Mold

It is important to test your home for mold at the first sign that there could be an infestation. Time is of the essence when dealing with a mold problem as, if left to grow, this problem could present serious issues. Testing your home for mold as early as possible gives you the chance to eliminate the mold presence as early as possible, therefore eliminating the risk of incurring future problems.

A mold problem left to grow larger can have serious consequences on both your health and wallet. As outlined above, toxic mold can cause serious health issues and, once left to grow into an infestation, can be extremely difficult to remove from your home. Worst of all, the most severe cases of mold infestation may mean that you have to get rid of most of your household belongings as no amount of cleanup can ensure that the mold threat has been eliminated.

Testing your home for mold upon the first signs of an issue will mean that you can identify the type of mold and degree of infestation present. In the best case scenario, your test will come back negative and you can move on with the peace of mind that there is no current toxic mold threat in your home. In the worst case scenario, you will be aware of the presence of toxic mold in your home and will have the necessary information to act with haste in eliminating the issue. With that, let’s get to how you can use a home mold test kit or professional service to test your home for mold.

How to Use a Mold Test Kit

If you have noticed any of the above indicators of a toxic mold infestation, there are two options at your disposal: either use a home test kit to test for mold yourself or hire professional mold testing and removal services. With visible signs as well as smells being common indicators of the presence of toxic mold, you will want to prioritize testing these areas.

DIY Home Test Kit For Mold

Home test kits tend to be the least expensive form of testing a home for mold. It should be noted that not all home test kits are the same. Some home test kits are designed to only determine whether or not mold is present on surfaces while others are designed to detect a mold presence in the air.

When you pick up a home test kit to test for the presence of mold, you’ll want to start by testing the areas of the home most commonly tested for mold. These areas include basements, bathrooms, kitchens, and crawl spaces as these areas are most known for accumulating moisture- something that mold needs in order to thrive. Once you have identified the areas of the home that you are going to prioritize testing, take samples of the air and affected areas. After doing this, you will send your samples into a lab for testing. We might be partial, but we GUARANTEE our tests are not only easiest to follow and do yourself, but come with better analyses and customer service, than any other on the market. Click here to learn about our best selling surface test!

Hiring a Professional Mold Testing Service

Those who don’t mind spending a little more money should consider investing in a professional mold testing service for their home mold test. These services are completed by experts who will take samples on your behalf, identify the degree of infestation and mold type, and extend recommendations on how to take care of the problem.

The Importance of Acting Fast

If your home test for mold indicates a toxic mold presence, it is vital that you act fast. While there are thousands of different forms of mold, not all harmful, toxic mold presents a huge problem and shouldn’t be taken lightly. If your home test shows that a toxic variety of mold is present in your home, delay in acting to eliminate the mold leaves time for you and your family to be contaminated from the spores.