Testing for mold??
 

Anyone know of a company that does this...anyone have this done before....what do they do (exactly), how much, etc......I ask because I would like to have my basement checked. --thanks!

I'm so glad you asked.For a while I've been trying to find a "reliable" company to do this, I want to have this test done in my house as well.

My company does this, but we are not in your area ~ sorry :(

H2M Group

Anyone???

You can buy the kits to do it yourself. Just Google mold testing kits. I'm pretty sure we sell them at Lowe's.

You can actually take in a sample yourself to a place that does testing and lab work in your area. Look for a micro Lab in your area. You can take it in, they will test it and its usually not that much. Then you will know what you are working with and how to handle it.

I suggest you go to epa.gov, the EPA website, and look up mold testing. They do not recommend it. Why? because mold is everywhere. You will detect it, but then what? There are no recommended levels that are safe or unsafe.

EPA's first recommendation is that you stop the source of moisture, and then clean or remove the material.

THe Center for Disease Control (CDC) also have info on mold on their website.

Jenn, I work at an environmental testing lab. Yep, that's my new full time job. I'm a part time paint queen at Lowe's now;). If you like, I can check the cost of a test. We ship the bottles and instructions directly to you, you send them back and we do the rest. Let me know if you're interested - don't know why I didn't think of that before - probably because of the sleep depravation(2 jobs = 60-75 hrs/week, YIKES). We are Benchmark Analytics if you want to check it out online.

My mom had a mold problem in her crawl space. We bought a mold test kit at lowes and it worked in 2 ways...you could follow directions and see how much mild grows and you could send off the sample to be analized for what type of mold it was. I think you also need another mold test tray for outside as a control. My sister and I crawled under my moms house and saw mold growing. We had to hire someone to pull out the old moldy insulation and then we found a company that "fixes" your crawl space. The man that came in and fixed my moms crawlspace said that pulling the insulation out may have been more dangerous because it "stirred up" the mold spores and allowed them to float around in the ari and possible through the floor. He said that it is a big misconception to have a vents open around the foundation because that allows heat and moisture to go under there and it makes good condition for mold to grow. This company that we got sealed off all the vents from the inside and placed some type of plastic covering on the ground and up the walls, place a dehumidifier in there and also placed a drain system in. He told us that that mold has to have certain condions to live and grow and if you seal out any heat, and air and control moisture then you will have no problems. It really worked, before when you walked in my moms house the musty smell would knock you over, now there is no smell at all. Sorry this is so long but we have struggled with the worry over mold for so long. My mom has had a very rapid decline in her health in the past few years and we felt that the mold problem may have contributed to it. As a matter of fact she is now being evaluated for a lung transplant. I hope you don't have a mold problem. If you have any questions Pm me, I feel like an expert on this now...:rolleyes:

I got info for you at the lab, Jenn. PM if you have any questions. It's too long to put it all down here.