Kitchen Mold Testing in Stow

Recently,  PowerBees was contacted to perform a Mold testing analysis of a property in Stow.  The customer and his family have been living in this single family house (built in 1947) for the last fifteen years. The customer reported a musty odor on the first level of his home in an entry off the kitchen and in the office area within the kitchen.  The odor appeared to be coming from two adjacent crawlspaces below.  The customer indicated that he the odor was noticeable in the basement as well. The customer stated that although the partially finished basement does not have a history of significant flooding, approximately one month ago after returning from being away for several days, the humidity was noticeably higher in the basement and the pungency of the musty odor had increased. The dehumidifier was reportedly shut off during the family’s absence.  In an effort to reduce the odor, the customer sprayed a commercially available “mister” in the crawlspaces.  However, the misting was not a functional solution. Concern was expressed over the air quality and the possible impact on his family’s health, although there had been no reported health issues at the time.

Three non-viable air samples were taken at the property.  One air sample was taken in main crawlspace, a second air sample was taken from the kitchen/office and a third air sample was taken outside.  The results from the samples showed high levels of airborne Penicillium / Aspergillus spores in the main crawlspace and slightly elevated Penicillium / Aspergillus levels in the kitchen/office. Stachybotrys was also found in the basement, although only 1 raw count or 53 counts/m³ was identified on the slide.