Development of Mold Symptoms
Holly Kestinis was worried about her 8 yr old son because of his recently developed head aches. After a series of consecutive complaints about his head hurting, Holly found that she too was beginning to have severe pain head aches which she had never had before.
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Realizing she had to do something about the newly devoloped , Holly called the local mold inspector to have her house examined.
Within the next couple of days Tim Glisson arrived to do a routine check. After a couple of red flags were sent up, he decided to run a few tests to see if the mold found was extremely harmful.
Testing for Mold
Tim collected a few samples and then was asked to compare the Do-it-yourself tests to a professional mold inspection. Tim agreed and followed the directions. Setting out the plate in the mold affected area to wait, Tim finished his tests within a few hours and took them back to the lab. Meanwhile, the do-it-yourself test would take a full 48 hours to finish.
Compare Test Results
Two weeks later Tim was back with his results and the do-it-yourself results to compare. The do-it-yourself detected two mold breeds while the professional lab detected three.
Do-It-Yourself Mold Tests or Professional Tests?
So while the kit detected only two breeds of mold and Tim’s tests found three, both agreed that Holly’s mold was not toxic… yet. To deal with the issue at hand, Tim gave Holly the instructions to have her ducts cleaned, and replace the drywall ceiling in the bathroom. He also advised her to add a ventilation vent in the bathroom.
Advertisement In this case, Professionally done mold inspections work the best by being faster, and more efficient, detecting all breeds of mold, not just two, though they both agreed none of the mold was toxic.
Further Recommended Reading
Source : Tampa Bay’s 10 News
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13 comments
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I did a do it yourself mold test with a lab called ImmunoLytics (www.immunolytics.com). Their results along with my health symptoms allowed my doctor to figure out that the mold in my house was making me sick. Now that I have fixed my mold problems, my health is returning! I recommend using ImmunoLytics.
So what was causing the severe headaches? And are they still having them?
Mold testing shouldn’t be done by non-professionals. Open windows or ceiling fans can really mess up results. Even walking across a carpet with shoes on can have an effect.
I own a mobile home my daughter lives in, there was a water leak in the kit and soaked the carpet and floor vents. we cleaned up all the water but now a mold company agent went through the entier 2 bedroom traier and gave us an estimate of over $5000. seems overly high, mostly they walked around with a meter, the said we needed to remove all the carpet, walls in back of tubs, remove sink cabinets and flooring in the laundry room and kitchen, price doesn’t include replacing anything. I think this is a scam, found out a do it yourself website and seems these guys always over estimate the problem. the carpet was only went near the kitchen, not the entire place, I won’t use them, but what do people think of these kind ot businesses
As a professional in the industry of mold remediation and water restoration; we deal with a lot of skepticism. To a homeowner or construction contractor our approach may seem a bit extensive and expensive. There is a lot more to this work than feeling for wet materials with you hand and bleaching any discoloration you find. Mold and wet materials can be hidden and can persist unknown to the resident. As a professional, we need to make sure our job is done in a manner that we are confident the customer will not be dealing with future issues as a result of the damage. It is also expensive for us to perform these services as it requires extensive training, expensive equipment, and methodical procedures. Like any business there are scam artists, though there are also many reputable contractors whose goal is to take care of your problem in the most effective and safest manner.
[…] home mold test kits Mold testing is seldom used to find out any dangerous threats of molds. Thesedo-it-yourself test kits are designed to track down the presence of harmful molds that can trigger serious health problems. […]
Hi
I have mould in my house….
i have bought a mould machine…
The Mold Alert Thermo-Hygrometer
39%
28c
12 TD
is this reading too high..
The red light also bleeped!!!
I have not done any tests or inspections but I am pretty sure that I have a mold problem i my house. I am in Southern NM and would like to find local companies that do mold cleanup. Thank you. Any help is appreciated.
Great article. I always love the examples in your posts whether they’re internal or other peoples business.