Hear from Our Customers
You can’t see mold spores. You can’t see VOCs or particulates. But you can feel them in the headaches, the scratchy throat, the way your kids’ asthma flares up at home.
Philadelphia’s air quality has been declining for years. The city earned straight F’s in the American Lung Association’s recent assessment. And that’s just outdoor air. Inside your home, especially in Brewerytown where most houses were built before 1960, the air can be significantly worse.
Indoor air quality testing gives you actual data. Not guesses. Not assumptions based on what something looks like. You get lab results showing exactly what’s floating through your home mold species, concentration levels, contamination sources. Then you know whether you’re dealing with a minor issue or something that needs immediate attention. Most importantly, you stop wondering if that persistent cough is just seasonal or if your home is making your family sick.
We’ve spent over 15 years inspecting homes throughout Philadelphia. We know Brewerytown’s housing challenges the pre-1940s construction, the moisture issues that come with older plumbing, the ventilation problems in converted row homes.
We’re not a national franchise following a corporate script. Jeff personally handles inspections and knows these neighborhoods. When you call, you get someone who’s seen hundreds of Brewerytown homes and understands what problems show up in this specific housing stock.
Our testing goes to EMSL Laboratories, one of North America’s leading environmental testing firms with over 40 years of experience. You’re getting the same lab analysis used by industrial hygienists and environmental consultants, just without the inflated price tag.
First, we inspect your property room by room, including spaces you might not think about crawl spaces, wall cavities, attic areas. We’re looking for visible mold growth, water damage, ventilation issues, and conditions that promote contamination.
Then we collect air samples using equipment that mimics human respiratory patterns. This captures what you’re actually breathing. We also do surface testing on materials that show signs of contamination drywall, wood, insulation. These samples go to the lab for analysis.
You get results within 24 hours. The report identifies specific mold species, concentration levels compared to outdoor air, and contamination sources. We walk you through what the numbers mean in plain language. If remediation is needed, you’ll know exactly what needs to be addressed and why. If the results show normal levels, you have documentation proving your air quality is fine.
The whole process typically takes a few hours for the inspection and sampling, then one business day for lab results.
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Your indoor air quality check covers multiple testing methods because different contaminants require different detection approaches. Air sampling catches airborne mold spores, allergens, and particulates. Surface testing identifies which specific materials in your home are contaminated critical information if you’re dealing with hidden mold growth inside walls or under flooring.
In Brewerytown, we pay special attention to common problem areas in older homes. Basements with stone foundations. Bathrooms with outdated ventilation. Kitchens where moisture accumulates. These are the spots where mold takes hold in pre-1960s construction.
The lab analysis breaks down exactly what’s present species identification, spore counts, comparisons to outdoor baseline levels. This matters because not all mold is equally problematic. Some species are relatively harmless. Others produce mycotoxins that cause serious respiratory issues. You need to know which you’re dealing with.
You also get a detailed written report with our recommendations. If remediation is necessary, we explain what needs to happen and why. If your air quality is acceptable, you have documentation for insurance purposes, property transactions, or just peace of mind. And because Pennsylvania doesn’t regulate indoor mold, having professional lab results gives you leverage if you’re dealing with a landlord or property management company.
You need testing if you’re experiencing unexplained health symptoms that improve when you leave the house respiratory issues, headaches, eye irritation, persistent coughing. These are classic signs of poor indoor air quality.
You also need testing if you’ve had water damage, even if it was cleaned up. Mold can grow inside walls and under flooring where you can’t see it. In Brewerytown’s older homes, past leaks are common and often lead to hidden contamination.
Testing is also smart before buying a property, after discovering visible mold growth, or if you smell musty odors but can’t locate the source. Given that Philadelphia’s childhood asthma rate is nearly three times the national average, testing makes sense for any family with young children or members with respiratory conditions. The $300-500 you spend on testing is minimal compared to ongoing medical costs or major remediation work that could have been caught early.
A mold inspection is visual we examine your property for signs of mold growth, water damage, and conditions that promote contamination. We can tell you where problems exist and what’s causing them.
Air quality testing is scientific we collect samples and send them to a lab for analysis. This tells you exactly what’s in your air, at what concentration levels, and which species are present. You can’t determine this through visual inspection alone.
You need both. The inspection identifies problem areas and contamination sources. The testing quantifies what you’re breathing and provides documentation. In Brewerytown homes where mold often hides behind old plaster walls or in unfinished basements, air testing catches contamination that visual inspection might miss. We include both in our service because neither is complete without the other.
You’ll have lab results within 24 hours of sample collection. EMSL Laboratories processes our samples quickly, and we review the results with you as soon as they’re available.
The inspection and sampling process itself takes a few hours depending on your property size. For a typical Brewerytown row home, plan on 2-3 hours. Larger properties or homes with extensive problem areas take longer.
Once you have results, you can make informed decisions immediately. If remediation is needed, we can often start within days. If results show acceptable air quality, you have documentation right away for whatever purpose you need it insurance claims, property transactions, or just confirmation that your home is safe. The quick turnaround matters because respiratory symptoms don’t wait, and mold problems get worse over time.
Yes. The lab analysis identifies specific mold species, and that tells us the health risk level. Some molds are relatively benign. Others like Stachybotrys chartarum (black mold) or certain Aspergillus species produce mycotoxins that cause serious respiratory problems and allergic reactions.
The report also shows concentration levels. Even less toxic mold species become problematic at high concentrations. We compare your indoor levels to outdoor baseline samples. If your indoor counts are significantly higher, that indicates active growth inside your home.
What matters most is the combination species type, concentration levels, and your family’s health symptoms. A small amount of common mold might not require remediation if no one’s experiencing symptoms. High levels of toxic species require immediate action regardless of symptoms. The testing gives you objective data to make that call instead of guessing based on appearance. And in a neighborhood like Brewerytown where 34% of homes were built before 1940, older construction materials and poor ventilation often create conditions for the more problematic species to thrive.
Professional air quality testing typically runs $300-600 depending on property size and how many samples are needed. That includes the inspection, sample collection, lab analysis, and detailed reporting.
We offer free initial inspections so you understand what you’re dealing with before committing to testing. In many cases, we can give you a same-day quote. If you’re dealing with obvious water damage or visible mold growth, we’ll tell you upfront whether testing is necessary or if the situation clearly requires remediation.
Some situations don’t need extensive testing. If you have a small patch of surface mold from a recent leak, testing might be overkill. But if you’re experiencing health symptoms, buying a property, dealing with hidden contamination, or need documentation for insurance or legal purposes, testing is worth the investment. It’s significantly cheaper than guessing wrong either by ignoring a serious problem or paying for unnecessary remediation. And because we’re local and family-owned, our pricing reflects actual service costs, not franchise fees or corporate overhead.
Home test kits exist, but they’re unreliable. Most use petri dishes that collect whatever settles on them which doesn’t accurately represent what you’re breathing. They can’t tell you species identification or concentration levels, and they often produce false positives that cause unnecessary panic.
Professional testing uses calibrated air pumps that sample specific volumes of air over set time periods. This mimics human respiratory patterns and provides quantifiable data. The samples go to accredited laboratories where trained mycologists identify species under microscopes and measure spore counts.
The bigger issue is interpretation. Even if a home kit gave you accurate data, you wouldn’t know what it means. Is 500 spores per cubic meter a problem? What about 5,000? It depends on the species, your baseline outdoor levels, and your family’s health vulnerabilities. We’ve been doing this for 15 years in Philadelphia homes. We know what normal looks like for Brewerytown’s housing stock and climate, and we can tell you whether your results indicate a problem or fall within acceptable ranges. That expertise is what you’re paying for not just the test itself.
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