Fungus and Mold Testing Of Your
Home After A Fire If your family has experienced a fire in your home, it is important that you have the home tested for mold or fungus growth from water damage. Not only is a fire a tragic incident but it is important that you don’t have a secondary problem with mold that can quickly grow and spread if it is not eliminated immediately.
A house that has been damaged in a fire may have not only structural damage but there could water damage from trying to put out the fire. The fire department and/or the police will let you know when you can return to your home and inspect it. This should be done very carefully as flooring and other surfaces could be slippery from the water and there could be debris that has made an obstacle course within your home. Having someone with you who is professional contractor or someone that can help you assess the damage would be advisable.
Once you are allowed access, you must ensure that no further damage occurs from rain, snow or other weather and that your pipes don’t freeze if the temperature is cold. There are several steps that must be taken so that you can make your home habitable again. Because of the smoke from the fire, there is likely a strong odor that permeates the building so a contractor or other professional should clean and deodorize the property.
One of the most important things that should be done is to dry your house out completely to prevent mold from forming. If there is flooded water, it should be removed immediately and then materials, furniture and surfaces can be dried with high performance dehumidifiers that should accomplish this within a few days. A contractor will have equipment and methods of drying walls and surfaces that will avoid having them warp or become worse. However, some walls, flooring, furniture and other items might need to be replaced if the damage is too great. Preventing mold to form and grow requires that the humidity level become below 50% to ensure that the mold does not form.
However, if mold has already taken hold, then many of the items will need to be replaced such as furniture, draperies, wallpaper and other materials. Also if drywall or flooring or carpeting has become moldy it needs to be removed as well. Even if it is dried out, the mold will still pose a threat unless it is eradicated completely by removing it.
Some homes that have been the site of a fire might not show that they have any mold but unfortunately, it is unlikely that there is no mold present. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it is not there. It is therefore important to do fungus and mold testing after a fire in your home even if it is not visible. You should do a visual mold inspection of your home looking at each and every room and search every closet, attic, basement, garage or bathroom for any signs of moisture or musty odors that might indicate that there are molds growing behind walls, above ceilings, under carpeting or under a sink.
Remove any wallboard or carpeting and discard it. Test moisture levels with a moisture meter on walls, studs and ceilings to ensure that there are no hidden patches of moisture that could be breeding mold spores. If you have vinyl wallpaper anywhere, it should be removed as it will not allow drying easily and could lead to future fungal growths. Clean all surfaces that are hard such as glass, concrete or metal with a solution of one cup of bleach to one cup of water.
Do not attempt to bring in new furniture or rebuild anything in your home until you have been assured that you are mold free. If you are unsure of some materials that you think might be mold free but aren’t sure even after you have attempted to clean it, you should contact a professional certified specialist who can advise you on the best course of action. Some things have sentimental value that are hard to part with, but it is less expensive to spend money now on assuring that your home is free from mold than to rebuild and have a mold problem occur at a later time.
There are specialists that can repair or restore furniture and other items that have had to have the fabric removed because of mold or water damage. You will be glad that you made the right decision to ensure your home is mold free and you have restored your home to a safe environment for you and your family. 
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| Mold Testing Lab Procedures If you have had mold testing at your home or business, your mold inspector will send it to a laboratory for testing analysis and species identification for the types of mold that are present. This is usually done with at no additional expense, this is necessary to ensure that you get accurate information and have a full and clear understanding of what your black mold situation is in terms of its degree of contamination and whether or not the mold is considered to be toxic.
It is essential that your samples are sent to a reputable laboratory that is certified to identify the mold that has contaminated your property. The laboratory should be certified as a full service fungal laboratory or IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) Laboratory. This laboratory must have procedures and protocols and qualified staff that will allow it to accurately provide the information you need. There are standards that have been set by the International Organization for Standardization or ISO with strict guidelines that should be adhered to by any laboratory performing this mold testing. This means that they should have top quality analytical testing procedures and these standards ensure that all the analytical data is scientifically valid.
The personnel of any laboratory should be trained in the protocols and procedures necessary by maintaining strict methodologies and quality assurance to ensure that all samples are handled according to these guidelines. Laboratory staff should be qualified chemists or microbiologists with degrees in microbiology or other related life sciences. Most laboratories have analytical staff members that are Certified Indoor Air Quality Professionals or registered mycologists or biochemists. These high qualifications for staff members ensure that clients are getting the utmost in diagnostic reporting on their mold contamination.
Dr. John D. Shane, a respected authority in the field of environmental mycology with over 25 years experience in fungal spore analysis, teaching, research, and laboratory management, joins the team of our most used laboratory. Dr. Shane serves as the Vice President of Laboratory Services and head of our lab's Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Shane was formerly a Senior Aerobiologist and sat on the Scientific Advisory Board of EMLAB, Inc. Prior to that Dr. Shane was the Director of Research and chief scientist at the McCrone Research Institute in Chicago, one of the Nation’s most prominent teaching and research institutes. Dr. Shane has personally taught over 3,000 mold analysts from laboratories around the country on the proper identification of fungal spores, pollen, and house dust, as well as the proper testing techniques and how to interpret results.
Dr. Shane earned his Bachelors of Science degree at Brigham Young University in Botany, and his Ph.D. at Arizona State University from the Botany and Microbiology Department, specializing in Palynology (the study of fungal spores and pollen). Dr. Shane belongs to several professional societies relevant to indoor air quality; including Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), Mycological Society of America (MSA), American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), Pan-American Aerobiology Association (PAAA), International Commission for Palynology (ICP), American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), International Association of Aerobiologists (IAA), International Commission of Palynologists (ICP), and North American Mycological Association (NAMA). He is a Certified Residential Microbial Inspector, certified by the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization, and a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society.
Dr. Shane is a frequent featured and invited speaker around the country to teach the identification and interpretation of mold and house dust in indoor and outdoor environments, and has personally conducted thousands of indoor air investigations. Dr. Shane has also served as an expert witness on high profile mold cases involving millions of dollars.
A laboratory must adhere to a strict protocol in data control to ensure that a sample is monitored every step of the way to the completion of testing. Records are kept of the results and the personnel are trained to ensure that there is a record trail to the end of the testing with retention and confidentiality of records in a secure computer management system. With the quality assurance procedures that ensure accuracy and a precise process, the data is secure throughout the process.
Quality Assurance plays a big role in ensuring that all analytical results are reliable and measured accurately. With constant and thorough audits and evaluation of every detail, the quality controls require standards of recordkeeping and documentation that is constantly subject to review. There are systems in place so that at each step there is another review of data with a final quality review before a report can be produced. These stringent procedures are standardized and approved by the IAQ guidelines. Sometimes called Chain of Custody, this analytical review gives the client the results with the understanding that the data has been graduated to each level by a review system to give the analysis a factual integrity.
Laboratory analysis usually includes several types of samples that are analyzed. These include samples of cultures of airborne mold, cavity mold, surface or bulk mold. Others include direct microscope analysis of tape live samples or non-viable spore trap samples. These will all be analyzed comprehensively and a full report will show the test results and the concentration levels in each area that was tested. Testing with spore traps can tell you a total mold spore count along with types of pollen, skin or insect fragments and the overall density of particulate matter. It will determine what the quality of your air is and the types of contaminants that are there.
Most laboratories will provide analytical services for: Cultural air samples such as Anderson air samples Non-cultural air samples such as Air-O-Cell, Z-five's and Micro-fives Bulk samples such as cultural bulk samples or non-cultural bulk samples such as a bulk tape lift Surface samples such as culturable swab samples or tape live samples for all organisms that might be present
Not all laboratories deliver high quality services with fast and efficient turnaround time so that customers get the results as soon as possible. The costs that Olympian charges are nominal for the services that are provided to give clients information that is affordable as well as accurate. The best laboratories are those that focus on fungal analysis so that you can be assured that they are experts at providing the best information available. |
