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Variation in Air Sampling Tests for Mold MoldAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• How much variation occurs when using air sampling to test for mold?
• What is the range of variation in air test samples for mold and what does that say about the accuracy of air tests used to state mold exposure?

How much variation do we see when using Air Sampling to test for Mold Exposure or Contamination Levels in Buildings? This document is a brief tutorial which provides information about the accuracy of and sources of errors in tests for the level of allergenic and toxic mold in residential buildings: Are spore counts valid? Are cultures and swab tests valid? These critical questions are discussed in this paper. Readers should also see Mold Spore Counts: are indoor fungal spore counts valid?, and for a more in-depth critique of popular mold testing methods than this tutorial see Mold Sampling Methods in the Indoor Environment © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Extent of Variation of Airborne Particle Counts

There is normally high variation in the level of airborne particles from moment to moment in buildings, often by several orders of . Actual field data easily demonstrates that particle presence in indoor air varies by orders of magnitude from minute to minute. Sampling identical quantities of air indoors just a few minutes apart regularly shows up in my data as enormous differences in particle density from interval to interval, as you can see in this photograph of parallel traces of airborne particles captured by an air sampler which collected these samples just minutes apart in the same location in a building. We always see this phenomenon in buildings, since unless we are measuring airborne particles released at a fixed rate in a controlled test chamber there are quite a few site conditions that agitate airborne debris.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ACCURACY OF VARIOUS MOLD TEST METHODS
  Causes of Variation in Airborne Particle Levels
  Indoor vs. Outdoor Spore Counts
  Extent of Variation of Airborne Particle Count
  Particle Levels vs Sampler Height
  Particle Levels vs Windows/Doors
  Particle Levels in Ducts
  Concentration Bursts of Mold Spores
  False Negative Results in Mold Tests
  Mold Culture Plate Test Errors
  Why Use Airborne Mold/Particle Sampling?
  Visual Inspection and History for Mold

Technical Reviewers & References

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material.

• Thanks to Susan Flappan, Flappan Consulting, moldetect.com, Overland Park KS, 913-402-1131, for contributing comments and some suggested text from ACGIH Bioaerosols: Assessment and Remediation 12/2006.
• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• Technical reviewers are invited to comment or ask questions - contact us

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