Bulk Sampling: Another Form of Mold Collection

Bulk sampling collects a destructive test of materials, such as pieces of building materials and carpet segments, and determines if they contain or show mold growth. A small portion of the material is collected that can be transported and handled easily by the laboratory (a 2” x 2” square piece is more than enough). The sample can be cultured for species identification or analyzed using direct microscopy for genus identification.

Learn more about the different types of mold collection here. 

Air Sampling: The Most Common Type of Mold Collection

Air Sampling – the most common sample type for studying indoor air environments—can involve ‘viable’ or ‘non-viable’ methods.

• Viable method: Spores are collected using an agar impaction plate—they must be alive at the time of testing so they can grow and be analyzed.
• Non-viable method: Spores are collected using an air-o-cell cassette or allergenco-D cassette. Both alive (viable) and dead (non-viable) mold spores are identified after analysis.
• Time duration: Time for sampling is set to prevent cassettes from overloading and to disperse air spores completely. Outdoor environments with no visible dust are sampled for ten minutes, indoor environments (with individuals present & moderate activity) for five minutes, and extremely dusty environments (ex. drywall renovation) for one minute—at the least.

Learn more about the different types of mold collection here!