Professional air quality state certified inspectors can inspect your whole house for mold spores, this will be the highest level of service, but you can expect to pay around $100 per room for the test procedure. In a 10 room home, that is a bill of $1000, and that is before any mold removal work has even started.
Test Kits
Alternatively there is a number of consumer test-kits available from local stores such as CVS, Home Depot, Lowes, or Ace Hardware. There are a number of alternative kits available which use different testing methods. One type focuses on mold spores which can be found on carpets, rugs, floors, window sills, furniture, mattresses, pillows, pillowcases, upholstery, drapery, A/C filters, furnace filters by looking at the dust in the home. The kit contains a cylinder which can be connected to a vacuum cleaner hose, and once the test cassette is attached to the end of a vacuum cleaner hose, the vacuum is used on carpets, rugs, floors, mattress, pillows and pillowcases, upholstery and , A/C filter, until enough dust has filled the collection chamber as much as possible. This usually takes at least five minutes. Alternatively a dust sample taken from a vacuum cleaner bag or cyclone cylinder can be used to fill the test cylinder.
Alternatively some of the kits have a flat round petri dish and a special solution (mold growth medium), which you pour in, and leave the dish open to the air for one hour. After the hour is up, a clean plastic lid is placed on the dish, and then after a period of up to 96 hours, then it can be seen if mold has started to grow. This method tests the air quality for invisible mold spores floating in the atmosphere. Mold can also come from a heating or air conditioning unit, and the kits have options to collect the air coming out of an air vent to be tested as well. Of course if mold is visible, then a swab can be taken of the mold by taking a swab and wiping the tip across the visible mold growth. Mold must adhere to the swab tip to be testable. If the mold is on a surface of something like drywall, or wallpaper, then a small sample of the moldy material can be sent directly to a test lab for analysis and reporting.
Lab Testing
Most kits offer a mold test-lab facility where you can mail in the sample and receive a report after testing in the laboratory. The report will give you the result with the count of mold levels and the type of mold you have (or not). Hopefully the report will state your home is free and clear of mold, or that levels are of a normal background level, with nothing to worry about.
The home test-kit option is much cheaper than ordering a professional inspection, and in many cases can help put your mind at rest, as well as your wallet.
Service Area: Long Island