Do you suspect you have a mold problem in your home or business? It’s a dismal thought, isn’t it?
No homeowner or business person is ever quite prepared to deal with mold, mentally, physically or financially. It can be a real (and unexpected) stressor. As soon as you noticed signs of mold – whether it’s that tell-tale musty smell or those nasty little green dots on the wall – you likely started ‘Googling’ it.
For the sake of time and money, many mold victims are ecstatic to find that Amazon offers countless DIY Mold Test Kits. At first glance, it seems like a good option, especially if you’re thinking that hiring a professional is out of your budget.
Mold test kits are available at many home improvement stores and can also be purchased online. There many different types and brands to choose from with prices ranging from $10 to over $200.
Seems like a good deal, right?
Not quite.
Before you add a DIY Mold Test Kit to your cart, we’re here with some expert tips on why DIY mold test kits are an absolute waste of money.
Hidden Costs for Mold Test Kits
Many mold test kits do not include all the supplies necessary to collect mold samples around the house. You may be required to purchase swabs or adhesive strips separately. This adds to the cost of your mold test, not to mention the hassle.
DIY Mold Test Kits are NOT Accurate
Here at Air Quality Consultants, we get asked about the accuracy of DIY mold test kits on a regular basis. Many home or business owners want to find a quick, cheap way to qualify and quantify the severity of their mold problem. The fact is, a DIY mold test is not the way to do it.
Most DIY mold test kits come back 100% positive.
The truth is, every home has mold in it. It is virtually impossible to eliminate 100% of the mold spores in your home. The good thing is, not all kinds of mold are unhealthy. DIY mold test kits will sometimes test positive based merely on the presence of harmless mold in your house. When homeowners see a positive result, they often get scared, and it can lead to them spending a lot of unnecessary time and money trying to eliminate harmless mold spores from the air.
DIY mold test kit companies are built on the idea that when people think they have mold in their house, they get scared. Yet, all the kits can do is answer this question (and usually inaccurately, at that); “Is there mold in my house?” The answer will almost always be “yes”, but the tests don’t tell you if it’s harmful mold or harmless; a lot of mold or a little.
DIY Mold Test Kit Expiration Dates
Mold test kits don’t have expiration dates, and could end up sitting on warehouse shelves for far too long. When buying a kit, there is no way of knowing how long it has been on the shelf or how much exposure or handling your kit has experienced.
DIY Mold Test Kit Labs are NOT Legit
Many DIY mold test kits require you to send the test in to a ‘lab’ for results. These labs are rarely accredited or certified. Even the process of shipping and handling the test for ‘lab analysis’ presents a threat to the accuracy of the results. The process is unregulated, and the test could be exposed to extreme temperatures, moisture, unpredictable time delays, and other factors that could skew the results, creating false negatives or positives. Either way, it’s scary.
Professional Air Quality Testing
Negative Consumer Reports and Customer Reviews on DIY Mold Test Kits
User feedback in the market of DIY mold test kits is decidedly negative. Why? Because DIY mold test kits are essentially useless when it comes to getting an accurate diagnosis for the scope of airborne mold contamination. This is simply one job that is best left to professionals.
In fact, because so many customers are unsatisfied with their mold test kits, they end up hiring an expert mold inspector to come and conduct a thorough mold inspection in the long run. DIY mold test kits are notoriously a waste of time and money.
DIY Mold Tests are Limited
Many DIY mold tests kits help you test for mold in a certain area of your house. However, that is not helpful if you are not sure where you have the mold problem. If you accidentally conduct the test in the wrong area of your house, you could get a result totally different from the next room over. That could be a potentially dangerous mistake. The DIY tests will not help you locate where the problem is or define how serious it is.
This is shocking:
DIY mold tests cannot test for unseen mold. That defeats the entire purpose, because the whole point of using a DIY test is to know whether or not you have mold, and you do not need to test for mold if you can already see that you have it. It’s a joke! What you DO need to know is how bad your mold problem is and what you should do about it. Only professionals can deliver that kind of accuracy.
Professional Air Quality Test
The professionals at Air Quality Consultants can provide the level of accurate diagnostics that DIY tests simply cannot.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) itself took a clear stance saying that “Sampling for mold should be conducted by professionals who have specific experience in designing mold sampling protocols, sampling methods, and interpreting results. Sample analysis should follow analytical methods recommended by…professional organizations.”
Air Quality Consultants Solve Your Mold Problem
There is no DIY mold test on the market that can replace the value of a professionally conducted inspection. Our experts here at Air Quality Consultants are trained in the science of detecting and measuring the complexity of mold-related threats.
A thorough inspection done by a trained eye and precision testing equipment will provide you with the unbiased analysis you need to find the source of the mold, identify the type of mold, and locate the cause of the moisture problems.
Our experienced mold inspectors know what they are looking for and will get you a comprehensive diagnosis of your mold issue timely manner. They will outline what molds are present, and which, if any are harmful. Air Quality Consultants can also recommend mold remediation methods, if necessary.
We give fast, reliable, professional results that stand up even in a court of law. Our reputable mold inspectors are experts in this field and are looking forward to providing you with exceptional customer support.
Get in touch now to schedule your mold inspection.
