I've been working from home and have noticed I've been feeling stuffy more often over the past year. So, I decided to try an at-home mold test kit—it's the type where you set out petri dishes in various rooms for an hour before sealing them up to check for mold.
The results were mixed: my office was clear, but I found small mold spots in both bathrooms, a small mold spot in the basement, and quite a few tiny spots near the HVAC vent. The only visible mold I see is a small patch on the grout in one of the bathrooms.
I'm wondering if this is typical for an older house or if it's something to worry about. I'm open to getting a professional to check it out, but I want to avoid unnecessary expenses if it isn't a serious problem. What's your take?
3 Answers
Honestly, if your bathrooms and basement showed some mold, I’d be surprised if they didn’t. Mold is everywhere; it's part of life indoors and outdoors. Without proper testing to identify what kind it is, you won't really know what you’re dealing with. Check out the CDC’s guidelines on mold testing and remediation.
You definitely need to compare the results to an outdoor sample. It could be normal or it could be high—hard to say without that. Also, consider if you have dust mites or if the house just needs a good cleaning. What’s the state of your carpets or your overall home cleanliness? If you’re using forced air heating, do you have any filters? Don't rush to conclusions about mold.
Most houses have some mold, so don’t panic. Those at-home tests can be pretty unreliable. If you're worried, it's best to get an outdoor control sample and one from inside sent to a lab to see if what you found is excessive or potentially harmful.