Microbial Express Labs

SURFACE SWAB SAMPLES are best utilized during your mold investigation when a suspect mold-like growth is discovered.
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Swabs are an excellent choice for sampling if the area in question is difficult to reach or if it is too wet for a tape sample to adhere.
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Microbial Express Labs
1622 East North Street
Greenville, SC 29607
☎️: 864-203-7355
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📸: Mira Photographs

📍With sufficient humidity, Penicillium sp. 🦠 can be found growing on a large variety of substrates in an indoor environment.

📍It is often found growing on carpets, old mattresses, upholstery, clothing, wallpaper, books, and many other cellulose materials.

📍This mold group is typically green, blue-green, or grey-green, but can also be white, yellow or pinkish. It’s texture ranges from velvety to powdery.

📍Like many molds, Penicillium sp. can threaten those with weak or compromised immune systems, causing allergic reactions or infections. Some species produce mycotoxins which are known carcinogens.

📍Common health symptoms include: headaches, itchy and watery eyes, runny nose, congestion, coughing, sneezing, and rashes.
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Microbial Express Labs
1622 East North Street
Greenville, SC 29607
☎️: 864-203-7355
•

Settling Plates for 🦠 Mold. YAY or NAY?
While settling plates are very limited in their application, they are often marketed as an easy and inexpensive alternative to professional indoor air sampling.

To best discuss why this method is inferior and never good practice among the well trained for an indoor mold test, many points are made.

📍Passive Technique- settle plates rely on the physical principle of the downfall of the particle on a surface. In contrast, active air sampling requires the use of an air sampler to physically draw a known volume of air over, or through, a particle collection device. This preferred method allows for quantitative results.

📍Particle Size Dependent- because the plates will only grow what lands on them, smaller particles suspended in the air are neglected and cannot be sampled.

📍Airborne Dependent- settle plate will only capture molds that have become airborne and then settle downward by way of gravity. Molds located in areas with little to no airflow or molds with specific adhesive characteristics will remain connected to their fruiting structure and will not make it into the airspace in numbers great enough to then settle to the plate.

📍Only Viable Spores Detected- fungal parts and dead spores, while still allergenic will not grow on the plates and therefore will go unnoticed in the sample.

📍Preferred Media- not all types of spores will grow on all types of media. Therefore, molds that are media specific will not be detected in the settle plate sample.

📍Plates are Sensitive in Structure and Vulnerable to Contaminants- If left exposed for too long, the media or agar within the plate risks drying out and deteriorating. In addition, the likelihood for contamination and overgrowth is great and in result, the interpretation of data is difficult and not as precise.

For more information on this topic or if you’d like to be put in touch with a IAQ specialist that we trust, give us a call today.
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Microbial Express Labs
1622 East North Street
Greenville, SC 29607
☎️: 864-203-7355
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Contact Us Today for More Information!
Microbial Express Labs
1622 East North Street
Greenville, SC 29607
☎️: 864-203-7355