Mold Testing - near Cherry Hill NJ? can anyone recommend someone

[Hopeny]

We are moving into a new house and the basement is waterproofed with an alumninum like insulation. the inspector recommended we test for mold, none is visible but he is concerned that this type of waterproofing could encourage mold. We have a limited time to complete the test so any recommendations for this area are welcome. Also if you could give me an idea what the cost should be. One company quoted me $350 per sample, which would mean a minimum of 3 samples and it seemed very open ended as they didn't know how many they would need. TIA!

[szcasey]

Mold is a horrible thing; can cause so many health issues. In my opinion, it's worth testing for. It's hard to get rid of...

 

Good luck!

[mar]

I agree with azcasey test for mold before you move in. Mold cause a lo of issues!!

[mama2alex]

Hopeny,

 

Our doctor recommends the ERMI test from Mycometrics above all others. Our house tested high in mold via ERMI, and negative via air testing and dust testing for live mold. Afterward, we found a patch of mold growing in our closet, as well as a couple of other possible spots, so we know the air/dust tests were inaccurate. Mycometrics is in Monmouth Jct, NJ, so you might be able to get a kit pretty quickly and then pay extra for a quick turnaround. I believe it's about $300 per room for two rooms tested separately, or $300 to combine the samples from two rooms and test then together. I'm sure you could ask them about testing the basement only and see if they can give you a discount. They give you a vacuum attachment in the kit and instructions on what area to vacuum and for how long. Then you mail them the dust sample and they analyze it. Their phone number is (732) 355-9018.

 

If there's a way you can make sure the seller's realtor doesn't scrub the place down right before you test, that would help ensure accurate testing. The problem is that many realtors (all?) will try to increase the chances of a negative test by cleaning right before you test. An alternative would be to order the kit from Mycometrics that includes a cloth (instead of the vacuum attachment) and wipe the dust off the top of an armoire, kitchen cabinet, refrigerator or bookshelf that likely hasn't been dusted in a long time.

 

If you decide to ERMI test, let me know asap and I'll see if I can pick up a copy of the sheet my doctor used to interpret the test results. I had it, but we left it behind when we moved out of our house a few months ago.

 

I agree it's very important to test for mold before you move in. It's well worth the cost. Good luck!

[Familyof5]

I agree with ermi advice, and would add it may be worth it to do both a vacum sample from basement and a cloth swipe fom a piece of furniture not likey to be dusted. You want to get results offering worst case scenario. Ermi testing is more reliable than air testing. The results reflect the microbial environment over time. Also, many docs can correlate the ermi results to health hazard. For example, a 1 or a 2 may be safe environment for a susceptible genotype, but a 3 and above may not depending on genetics and history.