What You Need to Know About the ERMI Method of Mold Testing in Portland, OR

Mold dust and spores can cause a host of health issues. It’s very common to find mold growing in homes and buildings around the world, regardless of location or upkeep. It’s scary to suspect you have a mold problem in the house you own or rent.

You can become stressed and overwhelmed about what to do, but something must be done right away. Mold is the type of health hazard that poses serious risks to people’s physical and mental well-being.

Safely detecting mold and identifying its species is essential to determine the best course of action in remediating it. The recommended way to test mold dust is to use the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) method. Here’s a lot of what you need to know about the ERMI method of mold testing in Portland, OR:

The ERMI Test

Your brain may already be frazzled from suspecting you have a mold problem. To maintain your sanity, look into one of the easiest, less invasive and inexpensive ways to test for mold—the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index.

The test focuses on sampling dust in your live or work space for the presence of mold. The dust collected is examined to determine the mold species, then it’s compared to a national database to show your homes relative moldiness index (RMI).

How does this test work? Basically, it uses the analysis of the settled indoor dust to determine the concentrations of the DNA of all the species of molds that are inhabiting the space. The results are compared to other homes in the U.S. EPA national database, which lets you evaluate the moldiness of your home in comparison to other similar homes across the country.

ERMI is reliable and the best first step toward mold remediation.

Collecting Mold Samples for the ERMI

The ERMI only needs dust samples from carpets or rugs—these fibers readily trap mold spores. Here’s what you will need to do to collect a mold sample for ERMI:

• Vacuum: To collect dust samples, you’ll need a Mitest or DustChek sampler-fitted on a vacuum. Vacuum 21 square feet in your living room and again in a bedroom, 5 minutes for each.
• Ship it: Remove the dusted cassettes and ship them with overnight delivery to the desired laboratory.

ERMI Scores and Overview

The ERMI method of testing and indexing mold is becoming more and more common these days. It’s easy to do and understand, and it can save people from the symptoms of toxic mold illness. Mold inspection companies, and homeowners and building and property owners who have used it are in agreement it works. But always use a reliable mold inspector laboratory, or you may not get accurate results. Once you receive an ERMI test from the lab, you can evaluate the results and review your mold dust score.

Want to schedule mold testing in Portland, OR for your home or commercial building? Call the experts at Active Mold Control LLC today!

Categorised in: Mold Testing Services

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