Do You Have questions?

Yes! The Dust Test is very easy to use. Depending upon the test you ordered, your kit will have a sealed collection cloth, a sealed alcohol wipe, or both, that is used for dust collection. Short video tutorials about how to use your test kit are available here! 

The Dust Test is a screening test designed to cover your entire home, so you only need one! There is no square footage limit. The test will tell you about the levels of mold present in your home environment overall.

Since this is a screening test, it is made to tell you about your home environment as a whole, but it cannot pinpoint any specific locations of mold sources or any problem areas within that. If you think about how dust disperses freely around a home, the same principle applies here. To identify actual mold sources within a home, a full mold inspection would be needed, like what is offered through We Inspect. 

Yes, you can download one here!

We have short video tutorials about how to use your test kit available here!

Orders are fulfilled within one business day after they are placed, at which point a shipping confirmation will be emailed to you. All orders currently ship UPS Ground, and an arrival estimate will be available in your shipment tracking link once it is active. (Occasionally there may be a 24 hour delay before tracking is available.)

Once you have collected your samples, your kit can be sent to the lab in your included prepaid mailer envelope. This shipment typically takes a few days via UPS Ground, and a lab tracking link will be available in your online portal. As soon as the lab receives your samples, it is typically a 7-10 business day turnaround for them to provide your results.

At this time, we do not offer expedited lab results. However, we understand the importance of receiving your results as soon as possible, and we are actively working on offering these options in the near future. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

At this time, we are only able to ship our products within the United States. We understand that our international customers are looking for a solution and we are working to expand our shipping options in the near future. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Orders are fulfilled Monday through Friday from 7AM to 3PM ET. If ordering within those time periods, orders will be shipped the same day. If ordering outside those time periods, orders will be shipped the following business day.

It’s no secret that water-damaged buildings come with a host of issues that can impact our health. One of the largest problems stemming from this event is the particles and potential toxins accompanying these sources of water damage that can inhabit our homes and buildings. These microscopic particles settle in the same places that our dust settles. Sampling and analyzing the dust for mold can help us identify if further action is needed, or provide you with peace of mind that your home is in great shape.

Traditionally, inspectors collect dust samples while they're inside the home. By the time the results come back, though, they’re long gone and working for the next client. This can leave you confused and wondering if they really "got it all" while collecting data. With The Dust Test, we help you identify the mold in the home that the inspector needs to find sources of. This data is crucial for successful remediation protocols because it provides the information needed to properly remove all sources of contamination from the home and ensure you and your family have a healthy environment that supports ongoing wellbeing.

ERMI stands for the Environmental Relative Mold Index. It was developed by the EPA based upon an evaluation they did in 1,144 homes. While ERMI may utilize PCR technology, the score itself is deeply flawed. If more molds are considered "outdoor molds" than "water damaged" molds, it may make you think your home does not have a problem when in fact there are still elevated levels of both types of molds that may result in adverse health reactions.

The Dust Test gives you better actionable data such as, how many sources of mold does my home likely have? How likely is it that my home contains mycotoxins? All based upon years of real home inspection and testing data to provide you contextually relevant information that you can actually use.

Air testing draws air from a small area into a sampling cassette which contains a slide that can be viewed under a microscope. When the lab technician analyzes the sample, they physically count the number of spores that are on the slide. This number is what is reported on the lab results.

However, fungal fragments (fine and ultrafine particulates) are not identified in an air sample. These fragments are aerosolized in much higher concentrations than spores (300–500 times), and specifically that of Stachybotrys chartarum (commonly known as the black toxic mold) may be 230–250 times higher concentrations than spores. Also, these fragments are much smaller than spores, so they can more easily make it to our lungs and even our blood stream, resulting in adverse health effects.

Multiple studies suggest that investigations in buildings with mold problems should include the quantification of fungal fragments. Air sampling is not capable of achieving this.

With The Dust Test, you get true analytical data of what molds are in your environment and how significant their contamination may be. This can be useful in drawing correlations to other clinical tests from your doctor.

Viable mold spores are those that are capable of growth and colonization. Non-Viable mold spores are not capable of growth or colonization.

A Petri dish or mold plate is used to collect mold spores that happen to land on the plate. It then grows only the viable mold spores (even if non-viable spores also land on the plate). The plate is then viewed under a microscope by a lab technician.

As with Air Tests (see above) petri dishes are unable to quantify fungal fragments which are present at much higher concentrations than spores and can invade our bodies much more easily. But petri dishes are even less reliable than air tests because they only account for a portion of the total spore load in an area. We can still inhale non-viable spores, and they can still create adverse health effects.  

Multiple studies suggest that investigations in buildings with mold problems should include the quantification of fungal fragments. Petri dishes are not capable of achieving this.

With The Dust Test, you get true analytical data of what molds are in your environment and how significant their contamination may be. This can be useful in drawing correlations to other clinical tests from your doctor.

No, this test is meant to be used to screen a home to understand if a mold issue may exist with in the property. A further inspection and additional testing will be needed to identify where the sources of the contamination are located.

Depending upon the test you ordered you will have a sealed collection cloth. Each test kit will include instructions for activating and using your kit, collection materials (a collection cloth and sample bag for it), and a prepaid return mailer envelope to send your sample to the lab after collection. Be sure to fully activate your kit online before mailing any sample.

When you receive your Dust Test, use the QR code/link inside the box to activate your test kit online. It is essential that you complete test activation and digitally sign your chain of custody during that process. Do not close out of it early. Samples mailed to the lab without prior test kit activation cannot be processed.

Only after you have activated your kit/digitally signed your Chain of Custody from online, use the prepaid mailer to send your sample to the lab.

If you order The Dust Test right now, you’ll receive the kit within 3-5 days. From there it is up to you to collect the sample from your home and ship it back to the laboratory. It can take 3-5 days for the laboratory to receive it. From the date the sample is received at the laboratory it takes 7-10 business days for them to analyze it and provide results. Once results are received, a report is emailed to you. Please note that all sales are final.

If you ordered your Dust Test earlier on, it would have included a paper Chain of Custody form, instead of a digital code to register with. Be sure to fill out and sign that paper COC form and include it in your mailer with your sample, and you are all set!