Mold Test Results
ERMI testing isn't a perfect way to evaluate an environment, but I believe it's currently the best way to screen a home to get a first glimpse at what might be going on behind the walls. The better test is how you feel in a home, which is why we offer a month-to-month lease. Still, we offer an ERMI test so you can decide whether The Haven might work for you.
Before we tested, we did a small particle clean and waited about a month. We then wiped all horizontal surfaces, including tops of door frames, horizontal surfaces of all cabinets and shelves, windowsills, and baseboards. The Swiffer cloth below shows how much dust was collected; almost none. This is a very clean home because it is tighter than passive house standards, and all fresh air come via a filtered Zehnder ERV.
It took a while to find a lab that could process such a small amount of dust, but luckily Lis Biotech was able to do it. Here's how I interpret these results.
The actual scores here are good, but like all ERMI scores, they're essentially meaningless. An ERMI test is based on exactly 6 weeks of dust in exactly 500 square feet of living space. With a dust sample that has been sitting there for less or more than 6 weeks, or if the home isn't exactly 500 feet (meaning, for almost all ERMI samples) the end score has no basis for comparison with the canonical results. It's more important to look at which molds were found, and in which relative quantities.
The two indoor molds that were found were Aspergillus niger and Aurobasidium pullalans. Neither of these molds needs water to grow. Therefore there is no evidence of water damage shown by this test. Aspergillus niger is commonly found in soil and decaying plant material, and we are surrounded by forest. Aureobasidium pullulans is almost always present indoors.
The outdoor molds that were found were Cladosporiums and Epicoccum, which all likely come from the forest outside. Epicoccum is also almost always present indoors.
The final ERMI score is simply the sum of the outdoor molds subtracted from the sum of the indoor molds. In this case, there were more outdoor molds than indoor molds, so this ERMI has an overall score of - (yes, negative) 4.4, well below the threshold of 2 that many CIRS practitioners recommend is safe.
The final HERTSMI score is the sum of the most inflammatory types of mold found in the home. None of those molds were present in this test, so the HERTSMI score is 0.
In summary: this is a healthy ERMI and HERTSMI test and suggests a safe environment for people with CIRS.
A good resource for navigating mold and interpreting test results is Mold Controlled: A Guide to Finding, Fixing, Preventing, and Getting Help with Mold Problems in Homes by John Banta.
