Guest guest Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Where can we send tape lift sample now of visible mold found? I know it has changed now and then, as U of TX no longer taken them, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Barb, The previous " main three " (P & K, Aerotech and EMLab) have all consolidated as EMLab P & K. http://www.emlab.com/app/main/Welcome.po They are very good but are not my favorite lab anymore.They are AIHA accredited per EMLAP and EMPAT. ProLabs is the most " poplular " because of their HomeDept test kits. They were my least favorite but Dr Shane has made vast improvements so I'd trust them with tape lift analysis. I still don't like their home test kits. I work with a couple of smaller labs with trained personel who give consistent results plus expertise on how to best achieve accurate answers to my hypothesis. For example, in a recent one I was looking for a specific organism, because this is what the other initial samples found that the medical doctors said was a problem. I needed to determine the extent of that organism. There are specific collection and handling techniques critical for the lab to best analyze for it that was important for me to know. In qualifying a lab, they must first be at least AIHA accredited (as above), reasonable but not the cheapest prices, and they do NOT interpret your results. Most give general guidance and a variety of interpretation methods but none can credibly determine what is " safe " or " unsafe " for you or if it is " a problem. " They don't know if your tape lift, for example, is representative of the whole building or just the tiny spot under the tape. Carl Grimes Healthy Habitats LLC ----- > Where can we send tape lift sample now of visible mold found? I know > it has changed now and then, as U of TX no longer taken them, correct? > > > ------------------------------------ > > FAIR USE NOTICE: > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Carl, In reading over the ProLab material, I remember now I did not send them a tape lift before, but rather a cotton swab sample of mold. That is only other method they mention on the instructions that come with their plates. They do recommend in addition to swab sample, a plate is done to come along with it. I guess the two together help to better identify it. I guess I'll send a cotton swab of the mold then. It's just as easy. Anyway, I got a tape lift off of insides of ductwork when they were open recently and don't know what to do with it. I posted this to IEQ accidentally. Meant to ask here. What do you adher your tape lift samples to before shipping them off. Can I just stick them to plain white paper, or should I stick it to something clear like sara wrap?? Thanks, Barb --- In , " Carl E. Grimes " <grimes@...> wrote: > > Barb, > > The previous " main three " (P & K, Aerotech and EMLab) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Barb, ProLab can, and will, analyze much more than the home test kit. Tape lifts are one of them. The best way to handle tape lifts is to stick them to a microscope slide. Another acceptable method is to stick them to the inside of a clear plastic baggie. Tape lifts, swabs, culture plates innoculated from swabs, culture plates used as settling plates, culture plates from a calibrated -type sampler will all give you different types of information. All the cultureable methods above can utilize different growth media which " select " different segments of mold and/or bacteria of what may be present. So the decision of which to use depends on what you want to know. Carl Grimes Healthy Habitats LLC ----- > Carl, In reading over the ProLab material, I remember now I did not > send them a tape lift before, but rather a cotton swab sample of mold. > That is only other method they mention on the instructions that come > with their plates. They do recommend in addition to swab sample, a > plate is done to come along with it. I guess the two together help to > better identify it. I guess I'll send a cotton swab of the mold then. > It's just as easy. Anyway, I got a tape lift off of insides of > ductwork when they were open recently and don't know what to do with > it. I posted this to IEQ accidentally. Meant to ask here. What do > you adher your tape lift samples to before shipping them off. Can I > just stick them to plain white paper, or should I stick it to something > clear like sara wrap?? Thanks, Barb > > > > > > Barb, > > > > The previous " main three " (P & K, Aerotech and EMLab) > > > ------------------------------------ > > FAIR USE NOTICE: > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 I took the dust sample with tape already, so I'll go ahead and stick those in a baggy. The mold I want identified I'll use the swab and put some of what is gotten on swab in a culture plate, mainly because I already bought the plate and swab kit and am not doing many plates anymore, so I'll use it up. I think I learned already what I can about the house from plates. I'll call ProLab to find out cost to send along with tape sample. Thanks again!! Barb --- In , " Carl E. Grimes " <grimes@...> wrote: > > Barb, > ProLab can, and will, analyze much more than the home test kit. > Tape lifts are one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.