Mold-Help.org - The world's largest TOXIC MOLD website
  • Mold Basics
    • Mold Overview
    • Mold Symptoms
    • Mold Types & Images
    • Fungal Infections
  • Resources and Tools
    • Home Care
    • Health & Diet
    • Tips for Parents
    • Coping with Loss
    • Private Research
    • Legal Suggestions
    • Mold in the Bible
  • Mold News
    • Current Headlines
    • “Sick Buildings”
    • The Environment
    • Construction Industry
    • Govt. & Politics
    • The Workplace
    • Landlords & Tenants
    • Insurance Companies
    • Schools & Institutions
    • Strange Fungal Tales
    • Personal Mold Stories
    • Additional Articles
  • Agencies & Experts
  • About Mold-Help
    • Mold-Help News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • X
  • Facebook

ERMI Mold Testing

in Home Care /by Carolyn Willbanks

Summary

If you suspect you have mold in your home, it’s important to test before doing repairs, like cutting into any drywall or lifting any carpet. If mold is an issue, disturbing the spores can make the situation much worse. ERMI Mold Testing – dust sampling – is an effective way to assess your moldy situation.

ERMI stand for the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index. The US Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) developed ERMI to provide a straightforward, objective, sensitive and standardized way to assess mold and indoor air quality investigations. This government organization developed the ERMI as a ranking system based on dust samples collected from homes.

Several labs offer ERMI Mold Testing, including EMSL Analytical, EMLab P&K, EnviroBiomics, and Mycometrics. Mycometrics offers the simplest form of ERMI testing, using a Swiffer-type AccuCloth Kit. They also offer an affordable HERTSMI test option, also using the AccuCloth collection method.

Ways You Can Determine Mold Infestation

  1. Look for signs of water damage. Where there is water damage, there is mold.  Take photos of any water damage and signs of mold you find. Remember 50% of mold is hidden, so you will not be able to see it all. But, it’s a good starting place.
  2. Use a moisture meter to determine the humidity in your home. Some meters have penetrating electrodes that can test inside walls and other hard to reach areas.
  3. Since air sampling is unreliable due to frequent variations, dust samples is more reliable in determining the species of mold. Mold spores in the dust can be examined for specifics, including multiple strains that may occur. Mold sampling from various parts of your house is best.
  4. Collect dust from areas in the house that do not readily get cleaned. Keep all dust samples separate from each other. If dust samples are mixed, it is not possible to know which areas are most contaminated. Excellent sample areas are refrigerator coils and other hidden dust accumulation areas (under washing machines), giving the history of the home since installation of the appliances. Dust from the top of kitchen cabinets is another good source.
  5. You can also do bulk sampling.  Cut out a piece of the contaminated materials, e.g. drywall, carpeting, etc. Put it in a Ziploc bag, date and label the bag, and send it to the testing lab. If litigation is involved, then a chain of custody is needed and a witness to the sampling.

Conclusion

In all cases, protect yourself from mold exposure. Wear rubber gloves and clothing that can be easily cleaned or discarded. To prevent eye irritation, wear goggles that do not have ventilation holes. Wear an N95 or HEPA respirator mask purchased from a hardware store to reduce the mold spores you breathe in.

Source: https://momsaware.org/home-buying-tips.html. This article quotes Dr. Thrasher’s work. For more information on Dr. Thrasher’s work, visit his website. To learn more about toxic mold, check out Andrea Fabry’s helpful resource, Is Your House Making You Sick? A Beginner’s Guide to Toxic Mold.

Tags: mold, toxic mold, mold testing, dust sampling, ERMI test, dust samples;, ERMI
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Share on X
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.mold-help.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/moldhelp-654x300.png 0 0 Carolyn Willbanks https://www.mold-help.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/moldhelp-654x300.png Carolyn Willbanks2018-11-19 16:28:142020-03-13 17:38:38ERMI Mold Testing
You might also like
Mold-Help logo Metro Tower Is Wary of Mold
Mold-Help logo Florence Schools Declared Mold Free And Safe
Mold-Help logo Teacher Will Lose Home After Losing Job
Mold-Help logo Exposure to Mold is a Proven and Serious Health Threat
Clorox bottle with a red sign meaning don't use on mold Want to Kill Mold? Don't Use Bleach!
Mold-Help logo Park Towers Apartments file suit over mold claim

Resources & Tools

  • Private Research
  • Coping with Loss
  • Spiritual Definition
  • Legal Suggestions
  • Home Care
  • Tips for Parents
  • Health & Diet

Latest Posts

  • Michigan Family Finds Toxic Mold Inside Home
  • California Winter Storms: Water Damage and Mold Exposure Concerns in California
  • Office and Commercial Buildings at Risk for Mold after COVID-19 Closings
  • COVID-19 Symptoms May Include Loss of Taste and Smell
  • New Mold Detox Information on the Horizon
  • COVID-19 Courses of Action
  • Stachybotrys
  • Simple and Easy Ways to Prevent the Coronavirus
  • Your Air Conditioning Unit Helps Eliminate Mold
  • Construction Workers Are Learning to Control Dust and Debris

Search Our Site:

Need Help with Mold?

Are you being affected by mold or other mycotoxins in your environment? Our team and community has over 15 years experience and can provide guidance. You can reach us by submitting your contact or through our Facebook page.

Have a Story to Share?

We're looking for stories and input to expand our database and to add to the personal experiences we've received from the thousands of victims over the last 15. If mold has impacted your life, please take the time to share your story. Your information is confidential and will only be shared with your permission.

Seeking Mold Experts

Are you an expert in the treatment of mold-affected health illnesses, or a provider of services to victims of mycotoxin exposure? Submit your information for listing consideration in our Agencies & Experts resource database.

Additional Resources

  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Survivor Resources
  • General Inquiries
  • Legal Disclaimer

© Copyright - Mold-Help Organization
  • X
  • Facebook
  • Mold Basics
  • Resources and Tools
  • Agencies & Experts
  • Mold News
  • About Mold-Help
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Accept settingsHide notification only