STEP TWO: Understanding how to assess a mold risk
In order to create a the foundational health of any home, we first have to assess the mold risk.
Remember our top 3 questions?
Do I have toxic molds in my home?
Is my home a possible root cause for mine or my family’s health issues?
Is my home is safe?
Testing is the best way we can gauge and evaluate any mold exposure or active risk(s) in your home. It’s also the way we begin to answer those questions, while building a profile of your home’s health score, and starting to collect evidence to build our investigation.
What Test is Best?
We offer a full catalog of professional testing used to evaluate mold, mycotoxin & bacterial exposures. The best test to begin accessing a mold risk in the home is called the ERMI Test.
The ERMI Test is an easy to do, at-home, mold test that can be used to detect 36 different mold species, most notably - it includes the most common toxic molds that affect human health. It’s our top recommendation for gauging a home’s health status, or evaluation of a possible toxic mold exposure.
What THE ERMI is meant to TELL US:
IF there may be an issue
WHAT species of the 36 molds tested are in the sample
HOW much mold is in the sample, per species
What the ermi isn’t meant to tell us
The ERMI does NOT tell us WHERE any mold issue is, however, if you have a large home, (over 3000 sq. ft.) or multiple floors, it is suggested, (but not required) to consider additional ERMI tests, or to consider isolating one test per floor. This can allow for a more precise evaluation to assist in possibly locating an exposure.
HOW Do I do the ERMI Test?
The ERMI Test is super simple to do. After you receive your kit from us, there will be a white, disposable swiffer cloth included.
After reading the directions and learning some of our sample area recommendations, you will put on your gloves, and start wiping all over the house to collect dust in the cloth.
Wait, all over…not just one room?
Yes, ALL over. If you have a mold problem in your home, the source may be isolated, but the exposure has likely reached every room in the home. (Remember, we aren’t asking “WHERE IS THE MOLD” yet.) This reach of exposure is especially true for modern homes with HVAC systems & built-in ventilation. (There is a lot of air pressure & flow happening in a home that we can’t see!)
But why do we collect dust?
We collect dust from the entire area of your home because this is what you and your family are breathing in, everyday. Molds & Mycotoxins are super tiny, so they commonly latch on to dust as a way to travel freely throughout your house. Our laboratory looks in the dust to see what types of molds you are exposed to, and how much. The results of the ERMI can tell us a lot of things when we have our consult and interpretation session together.
Can I read the test myself?
Yes and No…
You will likely be able to gauge a bad test if it comes back super high in the thousands, but that isn’t a normality. The ERMI is very comprehensive, and too complex for the untrained eye to evaluate properly. I have interpreted over 400 ERMI’s in 2020, and there are still some that come back and make me do a double take.
There is also an ERMI “score” but it’s not ever recommended to go by that alone. An interpretation consult is elemental, so you understand the values and types of molds that are present, along with getting a risk assessment, further recommendations and next steps.