- Home air quality test
- How to test air quality
- Indoor air quality testing cost
- Air quality testing near me
You live near a hill, and when it rains, several inches of water begins to pool next to your house, so before taking a vacation, you decided to put a French drain to direct the water away from home. And you also have an unused exterior water tap that leaked, but you fixed it and placed a cap over it. Well done; it appears that you’ve done an excellent job, and now it’s time to go on that vacation and have some fun. When you come back two weeks later and enter the front door, there is a strong mold odor, but there are no visible signs. After doing some research, you find out that there is non-visible mold and that it can be just as dangerous as visible mold. Now you want to find out how to test the air in your home.
Home air quality test
You need to do a home air quality test because you can smell what you suspect is mold and can’t see it. A home air quality test is used to detect air contaminants in your home, and you can test for mold, asbestos, VOCs, formaldehyde, and a host of other compounds. There isn’t one test that can detect all airborne contaminants, and each element requires its unique test.
How to test air quality
When testing the air in your home for mold, two standard methods are using a Petri Dish with Agar or an air pump with a mold trap. The Petri Dish sits out for a while to collect mold spores that settle. You can buy these inexpensive kits at a local hardware store or online, and they offer an easy and affordable way to test for mold. However, there are drawbacks to using a Petri Dish. The Agar in the plate will eventually expire, and no expiration date is listed; only a limited colony of spores will be gathered. The plate will need to be shipped to the testing lab, and variations in temperatures can negatively impact the accuracy of the results.
If you use an electric pump with a mold trap, you can adjust the flow rate, which allows you to capture all the present colonies of the mold spore and collect viable and non-viable spores. You will get more data. The mold trap is sealed and usually gets to the mold testing lab the same day for analysis. The drawback to using an electric pump is cost.
Indoor air quality testing cost
Choosing to test the air quality for mold with a Petri Dish will be the least expansive option costing about $15 for the kit and $40 per sample. But opting for the electric air pump can cost $260 and as much as $550. However, the work is usually done by a professional with the latter.
Air quality testing near me
5 Microns Inc. offers indoor air quality testing. Our knowledgeable industrial hygienist can help you with all of your air quality testing needs. Call 425-440-8787 Now!
