DIY Mold Test Reviews

Are you interested in a DIY mold test? We’ll tell you about some of the most popular mold home test kits on the market today, including the pros and cons of each.

In most cases, if you need to test your home for mold, we recommend hiring a professional mold inspector. It costs more, but your test results are likely to be more accurate because user error can render do-it-yourself tests useless. Plus, if you hire someone to test your home for mold, you’ll have a trained professional that can help you interpret the technical lab report.

Note that if you want to have your home tested for mold after mold remediation has been completed, in order to make sure the job was done right, the U.S. Environmental Agency recommends hiring a professional that adheres to industry standards established by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). If any mold is found during post-remediation testing, the mold remediation company should come back and remove it at no additional cost to you. They may not do that if a do-it-yourself test says there is mold, however. You may need a professional to conduct the post-remediation testing.

DIY Mold Test Reviews

DIY Mold Test (By the Mold Inspection Network)

As the name of the test implies, this is a do-it-yourself mold test kit. The test kit actually includes three surface sampling tests so that you can test three different areas of the home for mold. According to the manufacturer, this kit tests for all types of mold, unlike some tests that only identify a few of the most common types of mold.

Unlike some DIY mold test kits, the price of this one includes the lab fees and lab report, unless you live in the state of Texas. For some reason, there is an addition charge for laboratory analysis for customers living in Texas. You do have to pay the shipping costs in order to send the samples to the lab.

The kit also comes with a printed guide that shows you how to inspect your property for mold.

This is one of the more expensive home mold test kits, but that is most likely because it includes the lab fees. Cheaper tests charge extra for the laboratory testing.

With this test you can only surface test. There is no air testing, so it cannot detect any hidden mold.

Healthful Home 5-Minute Mold Test

Instead of testing surfaces for mold, this test samples the air. It can help you determine if mold is present even if it’s growing in a place where you can’t see it or on a surface you cannot access in order to test for mold, like when mold is growing inside a wall or under carpet.

This diy mold test checks for 32 different types of aspergillus, penicillum and stachybotrys (also referred to as black mold). Those are common types of mold found in homes but there are other kinds of mold that could be present that this test may not detect.

You get results in just five minutes. However, you can also use the prepaid mailer to send samples to a lab for confirmation of the results.

Pro-Lab MO109 Do-It-Yourself Mold Test Kit

This is an inexpensive home test kit that tests surfaces for mold. It also tests for pollen and dust mites, but you’ll find pollen in most homes during spring and summer months and you’ll find dust mites in nearly all homes all year around, so those tests may be less useful.

While the test kit itself is inexpensive, to get results you must submit the samples to a laboratory along with an additional fee for testing. A prepaid mailer is included with the test kit. You should receive the results in about one week.

First Alert MT1 Mold Detection Kit

This is another inexpensive test kit that requires you to send samples to a lab for test results. The test includes enough supplies to test up to nine different surfaces in your home. Then you have to pay $10 per sample that you want tested, so the laboratory tests may cost as much as $90 in total.

The kit includes a preprinted envelope for mailing samples to the lab. You should receive the laboratory results in about one week.

If You Want to Hire a Professional Mold Tester

If you want to make sure you get accurate results, we suggest hiring a professional mold tester, sometimes referred to as a mold inspector. Follow this link to find qualified mold testers in your area. You can also learn more about what a mold inspector does, and how to choose the right one for the job.

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