The Moldlab Pro Mold Test Kit is an easy way for home inspectors to offer mold testing to their customers and increase their profits. At $99* a kit, inspectors can earn upwards of $300 of profit for less than an hour’s work!
The Surface Kit is our best seller because of its incredible simplicity and speed. Included is everything you need to send samples right away. Keep these kits somewhere convenient and you’ll be able to test any time a customer requests it – it’s as easy as peel, stick, ship!
Our Combo Kit provides experienced mold inspectors with extra flexibility, allowing them to take a mixture of surface and air samples at each job site. Take surface samples on the issues you see. Cover your bases by testing the air for anything you might have missed!
The Air Kit is perfect for inspectors that need to locate hard-to-find mold issues, hidden inside of walls, behind cabinets, or under floorboards. Find the hidden mold a visual inspection might miss!
All kits that use air samples require an air pump to take samples. Don’t have one yet? You can buy one here!
Haven’t taken samples before? No worries! The instructions included with the kit will tell you everything you need to know to get started right away. Get started with the especially easy Surface Kit, and see our sampling guidelines for help knowing where to sample!
Instructions for use
Consider your safety.
Before you begin, consider the environment you will be entering and whether it is safe for you to do so.
The Project Name/Address and Company Name you provide will appear on your final report.
Provide descriptions of sample locations that let you identify where the samples came from. This can be as simple as ‘Living Room’, or it can be as long as you like. These descriptions will appear on your final report to help you identify your samples.
Take samples as desired.
You can use fewer samples than provided, if desired, but all 4 samples are already paid for.
Mark each sample with a number corresponding to form.
These numbers will allow us to match your samples to their location descriptions on the form.
If you do not mark your samples, we will be unable to identify which sample is which.
Write down your Test Kit Serial #.
You will want this number any time you contact us about this kit. Keep it somewhere safe!
Place all samples and the sample form inside the return mailer and seal it.
The return mailer will already have a FedEx return label applied to it, pre-addressed to our lab.
Drop envelope off at any FedEx location. You can expect results two days later!
One day for shipping and one day for analysis.
Results will come to your email. You can call the lab with any questions you may have.
Results will be issued from reports@moldlab.com to the email address provided on the form.
In rare cases, these emails may be erroneously marked as spam. Please check your spam folder if you do not see your results.
Your kit comes with a 10 minute phone consultation. Feel free to call with any questions you have!
Sampling Guidance
Tape Sampling Guidance
Taking a tape sample is simple and easy. First, you’ll need to choose where to test. Tape samples only tell you where mold is present in the exact location that you test- they are a “spot test”. They cannot tell you whether there is mold right next to the location you test, so it’s important to pick a good spot. Test in locations that show visible signs of water damage, or where there is a visible stain, discoloration, or otherwise suspicious substance. If you don’t see anything suspicious, it is very unlikely that your sample will come back with any mold detected. You can take tape samples from accumulated dust, but these samples may not be very helpful. Mold is a normal part of our air makeup, so it is normal for some mold spores to settle out of the air into dust.
When taking multiple surface samples, it’s a good idea to take samples for each different color of potential mold growth you see, and for each different surface that may have potential mold growth. These different areas are likely to be different from each other, either in terms of the type of mold present, or in the presence of mold at all. Additionally, take samples in suspicious areas that are far away from each other, such as in different rooms of the house.
Begin by opening the plastic container that encloses the tape slide.
Use a pen or marker to indicate a number on the Tape Slide, matching a number on the Test Kit Form. Write this number on the empty line on the paper part of the slide, under the words “Mold Tape Slide”.
Write down a location/description for the sample on the Test Kit Form, so you’ll be able to identify the sample on your report.
There is a thin plastic quality seal on the slide that covers the adhesive on the top of the slide. Peel this plastic back to expose the adhesive.
Holding the paper side of the slide, gently press the adhesive against the suspicious location, then peel it up. Do not press down too hard, as some of the material (such as paint) may come with the tape, making it difficult to analyze.
Look at the adhesive part of the slide. There should be a visible amount of material that has transferred to the slide. If you can see any significant amount of material on the slide, don’t worry – you’ve gotten enough sample. Otherwise, try repeating the previous step.
Return the slide to its plastic holder. Close the holder and press down firmly until you hear four clicks. Be careful; if the holder is not completely closed, the tape slide may fall out.
Place the plastic holder in the return mailer, and repeat for each sample!
Air Sampling Guidance
Taking an air sample is easy! It’s slightly more involved than taking a tape sample, but it is still easy enough that anyone can do it. Air samples give a “snapshot” of what the air quality is like in a particular room at a particular time. They’re very useful for finding mold in cases where there is nothing visible. However, mold is a normal part of our air makeup – there are some spores in the air all the time! For this reason, any time you take an indoor air sample, you should also take an outdoor air sample. This outdoor air sample will serve as a reference. When you get your results back, you’ll compare between the outdoor air and indoor air. If the indoor air has the same or less mold as the outdoor air, that is generally considered a fairly normal or acceptable result.
When taking indoor air samples, choose rooms that have been identified as “concerning” for one reason or another. For example, take samples in a basement or bathroom that has flooded, or a bedroom that has a musty odor. It can be beneficial to take samples in each area or room that has a substantially different air flow, or each area or room that is commonly occupied.
Since these samples are a “snapshot”, they only show how much mold is in the air at the time of sampling, so we generally recommend taking samples under normal household conditions. For example, if the home owner normally keeps the house closed up, the house should be closed for around an hour before sampling. Do not run the HVAC system if you believe it may be contaminated with mold; this can spread spores throughout the rest of the house. Samples should be taken with the air cassette at normal breathing height (4-5 feet) off the ground, and the open face of the cassette should not be obstructed in any way.
Use a pen or marker to indicate a number on the Air Cassette, matching a number on the Test Kit Form. Write this number on the air cassette beneath the word “Serial #:” on the cassette.
Write down the location/description for the sample on the Test Kit Form, so you’ll be able to identify the sample on your report.
If you are using a pump such as the Thomas Mega-Lite Pump, attach plastic tubing of the desired length to the pump nozzle. The other end of this tubing will attach to your sample. You do not need to change this tubing between samples.
Turn on your Air Pump. Allow it to run for 1-5 minutes without the cassette attached so the flow rate can stabilize. After your first sample, you likely only need to run your pump for a few moments before its flow rate will stabilize.
Remove the Top and Bottom Quality Seals from your samples. You will need these again when you’re done sampling – don’t get rid of them.
Attach the air cassette to your pump, either directly or using the tubing attached earlier. The small circular inlet in the side to attach to the pump. The rectangular open-face should be open to the air.
Start a timer for 5 minutes immediately. If your pump has a built in timer, set this to 5 minutes.
Set the cassette down either on a flat surface such that the open face is not obstructed, or onto a tri-pod (if available). In either case, the cassette should be 4-5 feet off the ground.
Adjust the Flow Rate of your pump to 15 Liters per Minute. This is the recommended flow rate for the air cassettes provided with your kit.
Note that bumping or moving the pump may change the flow rate. Different cassettes can also affect the flow rate.
For Thomas Mega-Lite Pumps, use the black turn knob to adjust the flow rate. The center of the bead should hover exactly on the line at 15.
For digital display pumps, there will be buttons to adjust the flow rate digitally.
If you do not know how to adjust the flow rate on your pump, refer to the pump’s manual for detailed instructions.
As soon as 5 minutes is reached, turn off your pump. Some pumps turn off automatically after their timer expires.
Remove the cassette from the pump or pump tubing. Replace the Quality Seals on the top and bottom of the cassette.
Place the cassette in the return mailer. Move your pump to the next sampling location, and turn it on.
Repeat steps 5-12 for each sample you wish to take.
Do not forget to take one sample outside – your results will be difficult or impossible to interpret without one!
Example Reports
Surface report
Air Report
FAQ
This kit is a great solution for new mold inspectors. It provides a streamlined process that makes your job much simpler and easier than setting up a professional account. Plus, this kit is a great value!
Everything is covered by the purchase price – no additional fees of any kind are required! However, if you would like faster results, you have the option to upgrade to Rush service for $20/sample. This fee should be paid when the samples are sent in.
Your kits will be shipped Priority Mail free of charge. Depending on where you are, this typically takes 1-3 business days to arrive. Once you’ve placed your order, you’ll get an email with a tracking number to see exactly when you can expect your samples to arrive!
No. You may send as many of the included samples back with your kit as you like. You can still send in any leftover samples separately, but you will need to pay an analysis fee for those samples.
A PDF report will be emailed to the email address you provide on this form within 24 hours of receipt of your completed kit. You will also receive a text letting you know your report has been issued.
As soon as we receive your kit, you will receive a text and email notification, letting you know exactly when to expect results. You can also track your shipment using the small number under the barcode on your shipping label.
Your kit includes a 10 minute phone consultation. Call us at 1-866-416-6653.
10 minutes is nearly always long enough for even new inspectors to understand their report and get the answers they need, as long as they have read their report in its entirety before calling. Make sure to read the FAQ and Glossary sections before calling- those sections are very helpful, especially to newer inspectors!
There are only two topics that will count against your phone consultation – understanding your report and questions about sampling. You should try the sampling guide above first – usually, that has all the information you’ll need to take your samples. Your report also comes with a Glossary and FAQ section. It’s a good idea to read all of the report before calling in. That way, you can spend your time as efficiently as possible, and only ask the questions you really need answers to.
For surface samples, yes! You don’t need anything else at all. For air samples, you will need an air pump. If you do not already have one, you can purchase one here! Additionally, you may want to consider what PPE you’re going to use while sampling. You can read more about the EPA’s recommendations for PPE in a moldy environment here. This kit does not include any PPE.
Mold inspections are all different, and how many samples each one needs is always a unique question. However, we’ve found that most inspections can get some benefit from four samples, but few require more. Of course every inspector’s experience is different, but this was the best balance between enough samples to get the job done, but not too many to waste samples.
There are pros and cons to each. Tape samples are usually better on dry, easy-to-reach surfaces. Swabs are easier to get into tight spaces, and they also generally work better on wet surfaces. Swabs tend to come back with lighter results than tapes, but tapes sometimes transfer too much material to get a good reading.
*Price when bundled. Higher price when purchased individually.
