My boyfriend and I are both having some weird allergy issues in my house recently. We live in AZ, so its rather dry, but we did get quite a bit of rain the past week and its been much worse. I don't notice a musty smell or anything along those lines, but the only thing we can think of is that we have mold. Any suggestions on how to check for it? Who do you call to get something like this addressed, and what is the process/cost involved?
2007-01-24 03:58:37 · 4 answers · asked by Dr25 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
A home will only have mold if the home has a moisture intrusion problem (crack in a caulking joint allowing water into a wall cavity) Mold takes three things to grow
1. Moisture = Mold needs enough moisture to sporulate or grow this depending on the species can be as little as high R/H.
2. Tem. = Mold can grow in a wide range of temp.
3. A food source = mold can grow on a wide range of strata but does take a food source to grow most of the time it would be cellulose material (studs in a wall cavity)
With all that said you can take moisture test(s) to determine if a moisture problem does exist. Then air sample(s) with a pump that pulls a vacuum of at least 30 LPM of air and a sampling cassette (you can find out if the mold is viable or non viable living or dormant) there is a lot more than I explained to it. The cost of my sampling runs from 275.00 up depending on the SQ foot of the living space.
Then if it mold is found a remediation company does there thing (that’s a another can of worms)
I hope this helps and if you have any questions just e-mail me.
Ronnie CMI, CMA
Landmark Home Inspection
Mold and Allergen Testing
Oh and Beam274 the trouble with that way of sampling is you have no way of controlling the sample and unless your familiar with looking at lab reports and have an idea of what molds can cause harm to a immune compromised individual and you will just have no idea of what your looking at ...
2007-01-24 10:22:10 · answer #1 · answered by class_air 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've got bad news. If your place is 5 or more years old, it has mold. It may not be noticeable or detectible, but every place has a little bit on mold.
If you have been in your place for over a year, and right now you are getting allergy reactions, it can be something blown in. El Nino is at work, and the wind is bringing things in from different areas.
I have got it here in Kansas even.
Good Luck.
2007-01-24 05:30:43 · answer #2 · answered by A_Kansan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Home Depot and/or Lowes sell kits for 9.99 to tell if you have mold and mildew in your house. Then you can send it off to a lab to find out what kind of mold is there. That way you know if it is the mold in your house or just outdoor mold that is making your allergies worse.
2007-01-24 09:34:44 · answer #3 · answered by Beam274 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can have a specialist come out and take some air samples. Not sure of the exact cost, check around online.
2007-01-24 04:02:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋