Article
John P. Lapotaire, CIEC
Do It Yourself Mold Test Kits Earn a Not Recommended Rating from Consumer Reports.
If you see or smell mold, you don’t need a test kit to tell you it’s there. Generally, it’s not necessary to identify the species of mold growing in your home, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If mold covers an area less than 10 square feet, you may be able to eliminate the problem yourself. Larger areas require a pro. When we tested the kits below for our report, we found significant shortcomings in all of them, flaws that were serious enough to earn each a “Not Recommended” Rating.
Related articles
- Article
Mold Test Kits: DIY vs. Professional Testing
Can you trust a DIY mold spores test kit? Compare home kits and professional mold testing on accuracy, hidden moisture, and cost to know when to call an expert.
- Article
Air Quality Test Kits vs. Professional Testing: What You Need to Know
Discover what air quality test kits can and can’t detect in your Florida home. Learn when DIY kits are useful—and when you need professional indoor air testing.
- Article
DIY Mold Inspection vs Professional Services: What to Know
Discover the pros and cons of DIY mold inspections vs professional services. Learn how experts ensure accurate detection and long-term mold prevention.
- Article
How to Test for Mold in a House: A Florida Guide
How to test for mold in a house in Florida: store kits versus lab air sampling, moisture mapping, what results mean, and when to bring in a certified assessor.
- Article
Mold Air Quality Test: What It Detects in Florida Homes
A mold air quality test measures airborne spores against an outdoor control. Learn what it detects, what it misses, and when Florida homes need one.
- Article
Should You Test for Mold?
When we get calls for mold testing, we conduct a very thorough client interview to help get us acquainted with the client and to help determine the client’s individual needs. In some cases the client simply needs to have air samples collected to find out if there is a presence of a known allergen in their home or office. In other cases they need to know why there is mold in their home or office and how to stop it from growing and how to get rid of what has already grown.And far too often we ar
