An air quality test is not one single reading. Depending on your concerns, we sample for mold spores, common allergens, volatile organic compounds from paints and furnishings, excess humidity, and airborne particulates. The right test depends on the question you are trying to answer, which is why we start every job by asking what made you call.
For most homeowners, the core concern is mold. Air sampling captures whatever spores are floating in each room and sends them to a lab, which identifies the types of mold present and counts them. Different molds tell different stories. Some types are common outdoors and drift in through open windows. Others almost always indicate active indoor growth. The lab results separate the two.
The most important part of any test is the comparison. We take an outdoor control sample at the same time as the indoor samples. Indoor air always contains some spores and particles; what matters is whether your indoor levels are significantly higher than the air right outside your door, and whether the types found indoors suggest active growth. A room with the same spore profile as the outdoors is normal. A room with ten times the outdoor level of a water-damage mold is not.
Sampling is targeted, not random. If one bedroom smells musty, we sample that bedroom and a reference room. If the concern is the whole house, we sample multiple zones plus the outdoor control. When the ducts are suspect, we can also take samples from inside the system to see what is growing where the air actually travels.
Beyond mold, testing can cover volatile organic compounds, the chemicals off-gassed by new flooring, paint, furniture and cleaning products, plus humidity and particulate levels. For new construction and recently renovated homes, VOC testing answers the question a lot of new homeowners have: is the new-house smell just an smell, or is it something worth addressing?
Lab analysis identifies what is present and at what levels. Then we sit down with you and walk through the results in plain language: what is normal, what is elevated, and what, if anything, should be done about it. Sometimes the answer is remediation. Sometimes it is ventilation, a dehumidifier, or nothing at all. You will hear the honest version.
You get written results you can share with a doctor, a landlord or a buyer, and a specific recommendation rather than a vague warning. If you have been wondering what is in your air, call (302) 378-7002 and we will help you find out.