Aug 19, 2025 - 10:00 AM
View all Mold & Mildew Questions & Answers
We’ve provided several answers to questions related to Mold & Mildew , see some other helpful Q&A related to this product.
Question: I am testing in a building not where I live. Is it OK to put the sample in the car after the 1-hour exposure, bringing it back home with me? Or should it not be jostled about for it's 48-hour incubation?
Answer: According to Pro-Lab, this should not affect the test results. Please try to keep the sample as level as possible and make sure it it tape closed and air-tight.
Question: Do I need to leave the petri dish in the test area for the full 48hr incubation time?
Answer: This is covered in the directions of the kit. There are 4 types of collection methods, 2 of those 4 have a 48 hour incubation period after a limited exposure time. (Do not just set out in a test area for 48 hours). Use one petri dish per test area/method (if you are testing in multiple areas, you will need multiple kits/petri dishes).If you are doing the HVAC AIR SAMPLING, you tape the petri dish to a HVAC fan vent and turn on the fan for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes of exposure, you untape the petri dish, put on the petri dish lid (sealing in the sample), and then let the isolated sample incubate for 48 hours.If you are doing the SETTLING AIR COLLECTION method, you leave the petri dish open in one location for 1 hour. After that 1 hour, you put the lid on the petri dish and let the isolated sample incubate for 48 hours.After 48 hours in both sample tests above, if you have growths in the sealed petri dish, you can opt for sending the sealed petri dish to the lab for analysis with the associated lab fee. The lab analysis will get you specific results back as to what type of mold it is.The other test methods are VISUAL SAMPLING (which involves a swab and the petri dish) and BULK SAMPLING (which does not involve a petri dish), neither of these has an incubation period, but both involve the lab analysis and lab fee.
Question: where is the lab that you do the testing located, and how do I pay the $40.00 lab fee?
Answer: Per the verbiage on the product page, "For analysis, place the petri dish in the enclosed pre-paid postage envelope along with the information form and a $40 lab fee." All of the information needed is in the kit when you receive it.
Question: If you have different rooms to test and more than one kit would the lab fee be per Petri dish or for all of them together?
Answer: The lab fee is per petri dish.
Question: will this detect mold between the walls?
Answer: The way the kit works is you have an open petri-dish in the location you are testing for mold (for example, your kitchen). Any mold particles that are in the air that land on the petri-dish will encourage growth of a sample that can seen (and analyzed via an optional additional lab analysis fee). So if the mold in your wall is getting out of your wall (via air vents or through electrical sockets) and into the air, then the mold testing kit can capture that.This kit also allows you to test visible mold. And for mold in HVAC systems. 1 kit will work with one testing method/1 area. Multiple kits will be needed if you are testing multiple areas (kitchen air, HVAC, living room air, bathroom visible mold, bathroom air. for example would require 5 kits).
Question: My petri plate grew a little mold is that normal?
Answer: If you followed the mold test kit directions, visible mold growing on the petri dish indicates there is a source of mold at the location you tested. We would recommend mailing your sample in to the pro-lab for a more thorough analysis.
Question: will this tell me what kind of mold it is?
Answer: The petri dish you collect is not going to tell you what kind of mold it is. A detailed analysis of the exact mold type is optional. To receive this analysis, place the petri dish in the enclosed pre-paid postage envelope along with the information form and a lab fee.
Question: I am sampling one AC vent in my home. The vent grills have what appears to be dark mold on them. I would like to take a sample from the surface of the grills (visual mold) and also attach the petri dish to the same vent. Can I put the surface mold on 1/2 the petri dish and leave the other half empty when I attach the petri dish to the AC vent. If I need to use 2 tests, one for the air flow coming out of the AC vent (attach to the AC vent) and one for the surface mold, is it ok to swipe the surface of both the grills and the inner wall of the same AC vent. I didn't know if I need 2 test kits for sampling the AC grills and the vent wall on the inside of the AC grills. It is black with suspected mold growth too, unless it is just dust.
Answer: You should isolate one petri dish for each sample you take. You cannot combine half petri dish for one and half for another, that will corrupt the results.I think your logic is sound that the same mold that is on the surface will be what collects from the visual mold, however, if your estimation is wrong and that is dust or some other thing, it will not show up as a result in the mold testing kit.
Question: Can I test more that one room/area per kit?
Answer: Each kit comes with testing area for one room/space. If you need to test multiple rooms, you will need multiple kits.
Question: Should you test every room?
Answer: This depends on your situation. This test kit comes with a single petri dish that you would use in one space/room. Your sample can be gathered one of 4 ways, 1. HVAC air sampling (attaching the petri dish to an air vent). 2. Visual Sampling (finding a mold growth and rubbing a sterile swab against it and then rubbing the sample against the petri dish) 3. Settling Air Sampling (have open petri dish exposed to the air for a period of time) 4. Bulk Sampling - Put a small sample of mold into a plastic bag. Personally, I have just moved into a new apartment and am running the mold test myself. I have no visible mold (though having an allergic reaction to something) so I am running the HVAC air sampling in my bedroom and the settling air sampling in the two rooms I spend the most time outside of the bedroom (kitchen and home office). Based on how those results come back, I may get additional kits for additional rooms.
Question: After the petri dish sets for one hour, what will the gel look like?
Answer: We note in the instructions it does say "The petri dish bottom contains a special pretreated layer that under certain conditions may appear cloudy. This DOES NOT indicate contamination and WILL NOT interfere with the performance or effectiveness of the Mold test kit." (if you are talking about the initial appearance of the gel after the first hour, before you put the petri dish in your testing area). If you are talking about after the hour where the petri dish is sitting in the test area you are checking for mold, it is very possible that the petri dish will appear unchanged, which is why it is critical you set up the incubation time (48-96 hours, depending on the test you are doing) to see if mold grows.
