I want to check my basement for toxic mold. Are the test kits reliable?

Question

I've recently had water damage in my basement. I don't see any mold and there are no smells but as it's a furnished basement I'd like to make sure. I've seen test kits advertised but I was not sure if they are accurate or not. One site said that all test kits will give a positive reading for mold all the time. Is this true? I don't want to get a false alarm from an unreliable test.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

No

Avoid mold test kits. Based on our tests of four kits available at home centers and online, we don't recommend them. We found major flaws with each kit. First, none of the kits have expiration dates. That's problematic for kits that use petri dishes and growth media because old media could affect the reliability and accuracy of the test results. One of the kits was difficult to open and could become contaminated as you wrestled with the packaging. Others were simply a pain to use. Finally, three kits we tested made claims about detecting toxic mold, though none of their lab analyses are specific enough to tell you if you actually have any. To learn the specific problems of each kit, see mold test kits.
>>>>>>>>>> taken from Consumer reports<<<<<<<<<

Source(s):

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home-…

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks for the answer and the link!