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Indoor Air Testing For Mould

There are a number of methods that can be used to test air for airborne mould spores and fragments. The method chosen would depend on the objective of the investigation and subsequently the type of data required. The following methods can be used for testing air for airborne mould contamination.

Settle Plate Method For Detecting Viable Airborne Mould Spores And Fragments
With this method, a set of plates containing suitable growth media is exposed at table‑top level for half-hour to 4 hours. The mould spores and fragments suspended in the air settle by gravity onto the growth media. Light particles that remain suspended in the air for many hours are likely to be missed out. However, it is the cheapest way of sampling air since no other equipment is needed.

Volumetric Air Sampling For Detecting Viable Airborne Mould Spores And Fragments
The settle plate method is generally not recommended. A better method involves impacting a known amount of air on some suitable growth media. The media could be liquid or solid. With this method viable spores or vegetative material would form visible colonies (referred to colony forming units) in the media. These are counted in the lab and expressed as colony forming units (CFU) per cubic meter of air.

Volumetric Air Sampling For Detecting Total Airborne Mould Spores And Fragments
One disadvantage of impacting air on growth media is that only the viable propagules can grow on the media and hence detected. It is estimated that only about 10-15% of the mould spores may be viable. To enable us have a better estimation of how contaminated the air is, air is drawn on onto some inert sticky stuff. Depending on the efficiency of the sampling equipment used most of the spores and other airborne particulate matter including insect parts, pollen grain, and all sorts of fibres are trapped onto the sticky surface. Since these samples are directly examined under a microscope, the analyst is able to count the spores and vegetative fragments and express them as spores per cubic meter of air. It is also possible to identify some of the spores to genus level.

For more information on mould sampling visit our web page http://www.moldbacteria.com/sendingsamples.html.

Mold Testing Methods

A number of mold testing methods are available for the detection of mold contamination in indoor environment. Testing can be performed on dust from carpet, floor, mattress, or other surfaces; bulk material such as pieces of drywall, carpet, ceiling tiles, wallpaper and wood. In some cases air testing may be necessary. When should one test for mold in dust, on bulk material or in air? The decision should be based on the objectives of the investigations being conducted. The objectives of the investigation should help determine the type of data required, that is, either qualitative or quantitative and subsequently the type of samples to collect and the method the lab should use.

For more details on mold testing visit http://www.moldbacteria.com/services.html

Mould Testing Services In Canada

Often we get calls from people asking us to give them names of companies that provide mould testing services. Below are links to the list of companies providing mould testing services in Canadian provinces and terrritories. If you provide mould testing or removal services and would want to be listed on our website, please fill in the request form at http://www.moldbacteria.com/servicelist.html.

  1. Mould Testing Companies in Alberta
  2. Mould Testing Companies in British Columbia
  3. Mould Testing Companies in Manitoba
  4. Mould Testing Companies in New Brunswick
  5. Mould Testing Companies in Newfoundland and Labrador
  6. Mould Testing Companies in Northwest Territories
  7. Mould Testing Companies in Nova Scotia
  8. Mould Testing Companies in Nunavut
  9. Mould Testing Companies in Ontario
  10. Mould Testing Companies in Prince Edward Island
  11. Mould Testing Companies in Québec
  12. Mould Testing Companies in Saskatchewan
  13. Mould Testing Companies in Yukon

 

 

Note: Only companies that have provided us with their information are listed. We have provided this free information as a public service. The decision to use a company’s services is solely yours.

Black Mold: How Do You Know If It Is Toxic?

Black mold is generally thought by the general public to be toxigenic. But what is black mold? There are a number of molds that grow indoors and they appear black. Some of these are not even known to produce any significant amounts of toxins. Stachybotrys chartarum, which is incorrectly referred to as black mold is known to produce toxins. However, even the toxigenic molds do not produce toxins all the time. Several factors including substrate composition, water activity, pH and temperature influence production of mycotoxins.

It is difficult to know whether a toxigenic mold has produced toxins or not unless the material on which the mold is growing is tested for mycotoxins.

If you are a home owner worried about black mold in your house visit this web page Mold Testing Kits For Homeowners And Property Managers.

How To Recognize Mould Growth

Mould growth can be recognized by appearance and texture (a magnifying glass can help). Generally, mould growth could appear as fluffy, velvety or hairy spots or patches of various colours.

Mould growth may not be visible at the early stages of growth or if it is of the same colour as the surface on which it is growing. If a material susceptible to mould growth has been damp for a few days, chances are that there is some mould growing on it even if it is not visible.

If not sure whether what you are looking at is mould or not or you want to know what species (type) of mould is growing in a building, you can send samples to a lab for testing. Click Mould Testing Lab for details.

If interested on how you can recognize mould in a buildings or how you can interpret laboratory results, click Mold Training for details.

Salmonella food poisoning and symptoms

Salmonella food poisoning has been a growing concern in recent news. It has frequently lead to recalls of beef, salads and organic products and, even peanut butter products. Salmonella food poisoning occurs when one eats raw or undercooked foods such meat, poultry, eggs or egg products. Properly cooked food can get contaminated with Salmonella if […]

Legionella pneumophila – Guidelines for Laboratory Interpretation

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram negative, aerobic bacteria that is characterized as an opportunistic pathogen. It is the cause of Legionnaires’ Disease, a severe form of pneumonia and, it is the cause of Pontiac fever, a non-pneumonic form of L. pneumophila infection. Legionella spp.’s mode of transmission is through aerosols or aspiration of contaminated water. The Public Health […]

The Indoor Mold Is An Early Warning Device

The mold (or mould, in the Queen’s English) has been the victim of a bad press. Mention the word and it conjures up an image of something rotting or in the process of decomposition. And yet, were it not for the mold that inspired the discovery of penicillin millions of lives would have been lost. […]