DIY Mold Test Kit: GOT MOLD? Inexpensive and Fast Home Diagnostic for Airborne Mold

Our friend, longtime mold inspector Jason Earle has developed an affordable DIY kit for renters, teachers, and anyone else who'd like a quick and easy way to spot check for airborne mold. Here's his background with mold exposure from childhood, and what led him to R&D for this valuable monitoring solution.
Check out the kits or order one: GotMold.com
Learn more about the Science of Homes: HomeDiagnosis.tv
Hear more about this mold disaster home that Jason inspected with us: • Mold House Tour and Sc...

[@MicahFunk]

Being certified in mold remediation and understanding more about mold than the average consumer, I'm happy to see something like this become available to more people who couldn't afford it. Mold must be respected because it can even cause death under the right circumstances for someone whose body cannot handle the exposure.

[@abel5925]

I almost lost my life because of mold. I’m glad this test kit is available I will be recommending it and using it myself for maintenance in my home.

[@HomePerformance]

Damn Abe, sorry to hear that. Glad you’re still with us!

[@hotpocket5501]

We paid $1000 for 5 mold spore air tests and 5 swab tests. All came back completely normal. My wife had just tested positive for high mycotoxins so I knew something was wrong. We then did a mycotoxin test in the house and the results were through the roof. These air tests usually miss the really bad black type mold spores because they are too heavy and sticky to do much floating around, but are kicking of mycotoxins. People are taking such tests thinking they are in the clear and are missing the most toxic molds.

[@Spgal]

What test did you use to find mycotoxins?

[@hotpocket5501]

@@Spgal We have used Real Time Labs for both their urine and environmental dust collection tests.

[@jenniferchi2117]

​@@hotpocket5501 Thank you for sharing this! I found some mold in the corner of my apartment and have been serving the internet to find an accurate mold diagnosis -- most of the advice seemed unpractical, how much did both the urine and dust test cost at Real Time Labs? Where can I find their services/products? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[@WiseGuyFTW]

@@Spgal I have the same issue, how did you test, please resopond.

[@Headingtowardhealing]

​@@Spgallook at the EMMA test. It tests for mold and mycotoxins in your home. Look at Vibrant wellness for mold test for your body

[@tubulartuber]

FYI the base cost is $199. it's good to have these kinds of resources available. Unfortunately the indoor/outdoor comparison doesn't have much support in the literature (DOI: 10.1038/s41370-021-00377-7). Most experts agree that if someone is experiencing symptoms, then it's worth doing some physical forensics (i.e. you can skip the testing--their body already shows it). Sampling with these kits might be useful for narrowing down what areas are likely to be affected, but ultimately opening up cavities to look for the physical presence is best. And if you can already see mold, you don't need to test for it.

[@HomePerformance]

Thx tuber- video of Jason describing how to look for mold coming soon too

[@RyanLeague]

While I totally respect the business that is going on here in having a $150 mold kit, I want to make an argument against it. The first thing that is missing from this setup is that you don’t have an experienced mold Insoector physically inspecting your home. Nothing is a substitute for having someone map the moisture of your home to determine where there may be any leaks creating mold conditions. Air sampling does indeed let you know if there’s a DETECTABLE elevation in mold spores compared to an outside control, but it’s not a be all end all. You can have a mold source in a wall cavity. An experienced mold assessor can take an air collection from within a wall cavity for example. In New York City, a cost for a mold inspection with 2 samples included is about $375, so we are only talking about a marginal cost difference to have an actual human inspect your home. Now, if you are in a location where people like myself are not accessible, this may be your best option, but you’re still left needing a person to interpret your lab results. A lot of companies in the mold industry are geared to scare you into thinking that whatever problems you have are greater than what they might be. This is the difficulty in this industry, in finding someone to work for you with some objectivity.

[@HomePerformance]

Valid points- and Jason, the founder, has said similar things. I don’t think it’s a silver bullet, but a solid stop gap.

[@RyanLeague]

@@HomePerformance thanks for your comment. I think you’re still doing a good thing, I just want to give consumers some info. Thanks for not deleting my comment

[@HomePerformance]

@RST1123 to be clear, this is not our product. We’re just sharing with our audience.

[@BrandiXo]

If the kit was more affordable since per room. If kit was $19.99 or cheaper, you would be a household name in about 5 years tops. And people would probably purchase multiple kits for multiple rooms. I need one but can't afford it. If want me to do a video and would be able send a kit or to for me to try and do a react video i would be interested.

[@natalieamberger2432]

Same totally agree the cost is outrageous but esp the refil 🤯

[@JeremyHorstDoctaDontist]

Y’all should show it working and show what the results look like, timeline, practical stuff if you want to close the deals

[@HomePerformance]

Yeah, they do all that at GotMold.com- I’m not trying to sell this just show you what’s possible.

[@denisbrogan2920]

Your video Doesn't explain how Your product works and just talks about your story. Why you created it versus explaining your product and how to use it

[@allthegrassisgreen]

I've been hoping to find a 100% at home process start to finish with no labs. I thought this was the one because of the intro hype. when will I learn lol. These things are all over the internet. Its cheaper than the one that cost more and more expensive than the one that charges less. I want a device like on Star Trek. Captain, I'm picking up abnormally high levels of Stachybotrys and Aspergillus. Enterprise beam down some N95 respirators.

[@thinkingoutthebox7253]

very heroic of you to do this

[@nftniche9548]

He wanted people to not go through what his family went through. Not being able to afford a kit but his price starts at $150 🙄

[@pheasant1361]

My thoughts exactly...

[@HomePerformance]

What exactly would you think a kit like this would cost to design, make, ship to you and ship to the lab for analysis?

[@pheasant1361]

@@HomePerformance not sure, but living in a poorer society as I do, im damn certain I and no one around me could afford $150, let alone the $199 actual price that was pulled up when I hit the link. Especially not for a "what if" or "just in case" purchase. When you're living paycheck to paycheck, there's no way that you could drop that much money or even be willing to with what you'd have to do away with to save the money. If you're trying to make a point that it's affordable for a low class family to afford then even $50 would be on the high side just to see if you have mold 🤦‍♂️ with this you're only saving half what you would pay if you got an expensive inspection, and at least with the inspection you'd have certainty and someone to point where the issue actually is. It's extremely frustrating when someone says they have a cheap solution that really isn't cheap by any means.

[@pheasant1361]

​@@HomePerformance$200 for ONE ROOM when an inspection for a 5 room 2 bath is quoted as $500. But this is the "cheap option" smh 🤦‍♂️

[@marshmallow1488]

Y’all obviously don’t know what labs charge, especially for non-typical testing. $150 is very cheap compared to in-home testing.

[@frankgall6]

Omg I swear I almost bought two of them like a week ago

[@Desaree1]

Mold is killing me slowly its a torture that i cant even describe. Its is head to toe inside and out. I'm gonna put some videos up so you really see what being in a moldy environment does to a once smart and attractive gal fast forward 7 years 6 moves every single place I moved into has been infested. I dont wish this on my worse enemy

[@dmuse869]

Mold has a specific scent to it. I just walk into the room and I recognize it as if it slaps me in the face!!

[@WiseGuyFTW]

How does it work ?

[@chantalgerbaud9168]

Hi, we are experiencing an issue with our cabin. We recently had it insulated on the inside walls and since then, we’ve noticed mould growing on walls on the inside walls. We are only there a few times of the year. The cabin is surrounded by trees and doesn’t get very much sunlight. My partner doesn’t believe that it’s mould. Can you tell us why this is happening. Thanks.

[@HomePerformance]

Yes, it’s very likely to happen in your case. When you insulate, you’re slowing down the home’s sync with outdoor temps, but you probably still have a fair amount of air leakage. So the mass of materials is staying at a cooler temp, but every time the humidity spikes outside it can come in and condense (just like dew on the grass). Solution: keep your HVAC running to maintain temperature while you’re gone.

[@chantalgerbaud9168]

@@HomePerformance hi, thanks for your response however, there is no HVAC system in the cabin. Do you have any other suggestions.

[@HomePerformance]

Ouch. That’s unfortunately a classic dynamic of home performance: everything you do to the home has side effects. Install a dehumidifier at least, and keep it at 50-55% RH.

[@mariahersey4219]

please do a video of your products .... "How To Do it" thank you

[@HomePerformance]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rl6ngZeVgMx2ga8si=SkyroOyqq1l2Oski

[@5t66t5]

Seems like a potentially interesting idea but show how it works or give some details about the product.

[@nap41123]

This is absurd. I have to get a lawyer enough enough. My buildmanager said they cleaned it up and this was seven years ago. It definitely grew back.

[@Nolaready]

Can this pump be used for inspections, it’s seems like it would be. Am I correct?

[@HomePerformance]

Yes, inspectors can use this as a supplemental tool

[@Nolaready]

@@HomePerformance thanks, I honestly don’t see the point in paying $800 air sampling pump ✊🏾. You probably should market to inspectors like myself, I promise you there are 1,000s of inspectors like myself.

[@Nolaready]

@@HomePerformance can you guys handle air sampling from professional inspectors?

[@HomePerformance]

This is not my product, feel free to tell it to Jason and his team at GotMold

[@williammiller6110]

What happens when someone uses your kit, and the results come back elevated??? Who interprets the results? How do they know where to look for the mold? If they cannot afford the inspection, they certainly won't be able to afford the professional remediation bill... and handing over elevated results from a diy kit to a remediation company could potentially be like issuing them a blank check. I KNOW these lab results from 20 years in the water damage and restoration business. As a professional mold re-mediator, I was forced into doing my own testing because the "experts" doing the inspection could not accurately correlate the lab results with the location of primary sources of growth. I had to figure that out for myself. Don't get me wrong... I LIKE what you are doing here... but it doesn't go far enough. You need help with interpretation.... and good luck finding any information out there about how to read these results beyond "problem" and "Not problem". If you have results from these tests your customers have sent you, and don't know what they mean, I would like to help if i can... no obligations.

[@HomePerformance]

Agreed, I don’t think Jason created this to replace professionals, just to offer a solution for airborne contamination testing.

[@nadagabri5783]

200 - 300 dollars. That is not inexpensive at least to me

[@johndeleon9910]

Yeah your tests is expensive lower your price I can't not Afford two hundred dollars

[@darthtater]

$199*

[@HomePerformance]

There are different options, yes

[@darthtater]

@@HomePerformance I see 3 options, 1-3 room. Base 1 room kit is $199. Regardless, appreciate you bringing awareness to the product.

[@HomePerformance]

Oops sorry, we shot this a few months back

[@sammedic]

very annoying conversation ... couldnt watch full video evn though i wanted

[@blueboy3303]

I learned Nothing.