How to Inspect & Test for Mold

Locating mold in your home can be tricky, as it can hide under carpets, behind wallpaper, inside duct work and in most any other hidden spot. Depending on the type, mold can produce allergens and harmful mycotoxins. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency outlines safety recommendations for home mold inspection. However, disturbing hidden mold colonies can exacerbate the problem and make you or your family sick; thus, cases involving hidden mold warrant extreme caution and may be best left to professionals. The EPA suggests that do-it-yourselfers can tackle a mold problem no larger than 10 square feet.

Things You'll Need

• Long rubber gloves
• Safety goggles
• Protective disposable clothing
• Respirator
• Flashlight
• Mold test kit
• Borescope

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Instructions

• 1

  Protect yourself with personal protective equipment, or PPE. The goal of PPE is to prevent inhalation and skin contact with mold spores. For do-it-yourselfers tackling a 10-foot-square or smaller area of mold, the EPA suggests that your PPE include gloves that are made from a durable material such as natural rubber, neoprene or PVC and that extend to the mid-forearm; protective safety goggles, not including ordinary safety glasses; and disposable clothing, from disposable paper overalls to mold-impervious bodysuits, which are both available to the public. In addition, the EPA suggests using at least a half-face respirator, including the minimally protective N-95 respirator or the more protective air-purifying respirator, or APR, with a HEPA filter, both of which are readily available online and at home-improvement stores.

• 2

  Identify the areas in your home most at risk for mold infestation; grab a flashlight and inspect there visually. Mold needs two main ingredients for growth: moisture and food. Often, a small amount of condensation triggers mold growth. Bathroom grout, areas around windows and sinks, and areas with roof or plumbing leaks are good places to start your inspection. Also, mold feeds on anything organic, such as paper, cloth, wood and plants. Thus, any part of your home that includes these types of materials, in addition to a good bit of moisture, should be inspected first.

• 3

  Use odor cues and moisture and humidity measurements to try to identify the hidden source of the mold if it is not apparent visually. Often a moldy smell due to the release of microbial volatile organic compounds, or mVOCs, can help you narrow down the moldy area. Measuring the moisture in a certain material as well as the overall relative humidity in a space can also help you determine if mold is present. Several tools identify moisture issues, including moisture meters, which use a thin probe to measure the amount of moisture in building materials, and humidity meters or gauges, which measure indoor humidity.

• 4

  Have a sample taken, if necessary. The EPA says that if mold is visible, a sample is usually unnecessary as the focus shifts to cleanup and remediation. When it comes to sampling hidden mold, the general consensus among the EPA and mold experts is that it should be left to the experts because disturbing a mold colony could make the situation worse and expose the person taking the sample to harmful spores. Homeowners can purchase a home test kit, but Consumer Reports questions its reliability. Nevertheless, for homeowners who want to try this option, kits are available at most home stores or online for about $9, as of early 2011, with a $30 fee for a detailed analysis of the sample.

  If you hire a professional to take a mold sample, he will probably use a borescope, which is an optical probe that is inserted into a wall to inspect for mold, says the EPA. This device allows for decreased drywall damage and minimal spore release. Borescopes are available to the public, starting at about $100 as of early 2011.