1. Samples Instead of Inspections

First off, what are DIY mold testing kits? Essentially, you use a petri dish and set it in any random place in your home to collect air samples. After the samples are collected, you must mail the specimens/kit to a lab for analysis. The problem with a DIY mold test kit is that you do not have professional guidance on where to place the mold kit, versus having a Denver Mold Test Service professional inspect and assess where best to search for mold.

2. Inconclusive Conclusions/Answers

An important thing you need to understand is that most Denver homes will show signs of some sort of mold because there is mold everywhere in our world. Mold is nature’s clean up crew. If we did not have mold, we would all be trying to move around in hundreds of feet of leaves and organic debris. Therefore, most DIY test kits will likely give you a positive result, even if there is not actually a mold hazard present. As a homeowner, you need more information. Where is the mold growing? How much mold is in the air of the home compared to the normal amounts outside? What is the mold's concentration, the type, and does it pose a threat to you and your family’s health? You also need to figure out how to remove the mold.

Unfortunately, at-home kits are unable to provide you with any of these vital details. The only thing you will find out from this kit is whether you have mold floating around in your home or office, and we already know that will happen anyway.

3. At Home Mold Test Kits Do Not Have Expiration Dates

If you decide to purchase an at-home mold testing kit, you will not have a clear idea of how long the test kit has been on the store shelf. Most at-home mold test kits do not have a date of expiration listed. This, in turn, means you and your family are at risk of being exposed to mold in your home if the test results give a false negative. Basically, you are throwing money away on a test that may be expired and thus may give you inaccurate results.

4. Missing Control Sample

Do you remember taking science courses when you were in school? Wasn't it always essential to make sure you had a “control specimen” while administering a lab test?

Since the home test kits do not include control samples, mold test kits may not give reliable information. In other words, if you see mold growing on a petri dish, how do you know that that mold growth is hazardous if you don’t know what the normal levels of mold outside are in your neighborhood. So, without a control sample to compare against, the inside test is useless.

5. Errors from the Shipping and Handling of the Kit

You will not be taking your sample and hand delivering it to the lab by yourself. Test kit samples must be mailed back if you want the mold growth on the petri dish to be analyzed and identified.

Of course, this creates a scenario where your samples could be contaminated and lead to inaccurate results. You can’t be 100% sure how your sample will be handled in transit.