Are there reliable tests to indicate the presence of mold?

Almost all of us already have two effective mold detectors: our eyes and our noses. If black or green discoloration is noticed that is fuzzy in appearance and is in a location that is damp or had been damp, it is almost certainly mold. If a building smells musty, there probably is mold somewhere; the mold may be on boxes stored in a basement or in walls or in the crawl space. If you want to find mold, look for the presence of water or a location where water was likely to have been. If there is still any question about whether the black stuff is mold, have a reliable laboratory examine the material. All you need to know is whether mold is seen when the material is examined under the microscope.

Bye Bye Mold™ uses the services of a professional laboratory and maintains proper chain-of-custody procedures for dispatching samples.

An increasing number of companies are offering “air testing for mold.” On the surface this seems like a reasonable thing to do, but the results of most air sampling for mold may be meaningless if not performed properly. Our lab can indicate the specific mold if need be, especially useful if an allergist is narrowing down possibilities of specific allergens.

Air sampling should help identify the location of a hidden reservoir of mold. It may also provide a meaningful record if you ever have to go to court, although safety benchmarks for airborne mold have not been universally agreed upon by health, science, and legal professionals.
Air sampling for mold should be done either to obtain an answer to a question that cannot be answered without the air sampling, for legal purposes, or to obtain data as part of a research project.

The outdoor sample establishes a baseline for comparative evaluation of the indoor air samples. Because there are no federal standards for mold spore count levels in residences, schools, or other buildings, the mold inspection industry guidelines are derived from the standards of NYC (New York City Guidelines) and the ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists).