Home Kits That Test For Growing Mold

[Guest guest]

Home Kits That Test For Growing Mold

Wall Street Journal - New York,NY

By LAURA JOHANNES

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117978241315910005.html?

mod=googlenews_wsj

It's mold season again -- for some homeowners, a time of fretting

over whether fungus may be secretly growing behind the wallpaper or

other places. Companies that sell do-it-yourself mold tests say

their simple and inexpensive sampling methods can find a mold

problem. Scientists say some tests are useful while others are a

waste of money.

Mold inside your home can cause allergic reactions and contribute to

asthma and other respiratory ailments.

You have reason to suspect mold is in your house if there's been a

flood or other moisture source; if there's a musty smell; or if you

see something growing. To grow, mold needs moisture, oxygen and an

organic surface. Common areas include sheetrock walls, wallpaper,

carpeting and wood.

Having an expert come to your home to test can cost $1,000 or more.

But home kits test for fungus for much less, generally around $10 to

$60. They're sold in pharmacies, home-improvement stores and on the

Internet.

The kits vary widely in how they work and what they promise to do. A

common and simple test involves taking a sample from a surface where

you see mold or suspect it may be growing. Sometimes a piece of

adhesive is used to take the sample, and sometimes a swab is used to

transfer it to a petri dish with a nourishing growth medium. The

mold grows for several days then you send it to a lab. The petri

dish test tells you the specific type of mold and whether it

is " alive " or " dead. " So-called dead, or nonviable, mold spores

won't spread but still can cause negative health effects, scientists

say. The adhesive test tells only whether mold is present and the

general type.

Another method is called the " settling plate " test. That test

involves leaving a petri dish out on a table or countertop,

generally for an hour. In theory, the mold will settle on the petri

dish, then after a few days it will grow enough so you can see it. A

dish with a lot of mold indicates you may have a problem in that

area, and if you like, you can send the dish to a lab to identify

the mold.

The simplest tests in which you sample a surface in your home work

well and do what they say they do, says C. Straus, a professor

of microbiology who specializes in mold at Texas Tech University

Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. Both are useful to provide

a fast guide to the homeowner on whether there may be a problem and,

if so, which type of mold is involved.

Dr. Straus says home tests that involve a petri dish and waiting for

mold to settle are " a waste of money. " The settle test is likely to

miss some common types of mold that are too light to fall onto a

petri dish, he says. Moreover, he adds, the tests can unnecessarily

alarm homeowners since most homes have a significant amount of mold

spores in the air that come from outdoors and don't necessarily mean

it's growing in the house.

If mold is found, the first step is to identify the source of

moisture and eliminate it. After that, you can try to clean the mold

yourself or hire a professional. Experts say a small amount of mold

can be eradicated simply by using a bleach solution on it. Avoid

tackling large areas yourself, scientists say, because if you don't

do it right you could end up spreading it throughout the house and

making the problem worse.

• Email aches@...