Spore trap data should be reliable if results are to be used in assessing indoor spore types and concentrations and ultimately to evaluate the validity of exposure potential or remedial success. Spore trap analysis results are primarily used in indoor mold investigations to: assess the airborne spore concentrations and the potential for human mold exposure […]
Understanding Spore Trap Analyses and Results
When enumerating airborne fungal spores, most labs, for practical reasons, analyze a percentage of the sample trace (often 15-25%) instead of 100%. A few labs claim that they analyze 100% of the sample trace. Obviously analyzing 100% of the sample trace sounds better than analyzing say 15 or 25%. In fact, some people argue that […]
What Do Your Mold Lab Test Results Mean?
Interpreting lab test results for indoor mold is currently not standardized. Therefore, it would not be surprising if you give 10 different people same copy of lab test results for interpretation and you get 10 different opinions. However, if you tell the 10 people what you wanted to find out from those results and also […]
Interpreting Numerical Data of Viable Airborne Mould Samples
Another article on airborne mould samples provides guidelines for interpreting numerical data of viable air samples. To see the guidelines for non-viable air samples click Guidelines for Interpreting Non-viable Air Samples. The guidelines may be used to decide whether further investigations are required after initial investigations. As was indicated in the last Issue, numerical laboratory […]
Airborne Fungal Spores: Non-viable and viable Air Sampling Methods
Which Sampling Method Should One Use for Airborne Fungal Spores? Concerns about health issues, especially allergic reactions from inhaling fungal spores, has made air sampling an important component of indoor mold investigation. Air can either be sampled onto some growth media for culture analysis (a.k.a viable or culturable samples) or on a sticky surface or […]