Air Testing Can Be Used To Find The Source Of Odors
Air Testing can be an interesting experiment. Sometimes, it comes back positive for mold and sometimes it does not. We have found that the over-flow drain can have odors in them and not be mold, just garbage that needs to be cleaned out. Air Testing can help you find some of these types of problems also. If your air testing does not find elevated microbial growth, then you know to look at a different source for your 
odor.
Odor Source Discovered to be Classroom Sink Drain at Hopewell Crest School; tests show no mold at Hopewell Crest School
HOPEWELL TWP. — Questions surrounding an odor in a first-grade classroom at Hopewell Crest School have been answered by environmental experts, and Superintendent and Principal Dr. Terry Van Zoeren said on Thursday that the problem had not been mold.
“There was an odor in the classroom, and to safeguard the health of the kids and staff, because we couldn’t initially identify the source of the smell, we decided to close the classroom,” Van Zoeren said.
“…What we did discover was that a drain had been clogged with paintbrushes and any number of other things that shouldn’t have been there,” he explained. “The clog apparently backed up the drain and essentially sealed the drain, so when the clog was repaired, an odor was released in the air.”
Van Zoeren said the smell was detected on Friday, Feb. 24 by the classroom’s teacher, the day after the classroom sink’s drain had been unclogged. In response to the odor, the room’s furniture was removed, and the classroom was cleaned and aired out over the weekend.
However, when the odor persisted on the following Monday, Feb. 27, Van Zoeren, with custodians and the school’s business administrator, decided to close the classroom and enlist the help of an environmental consulting firm.
“The first thing the environmental engineer said was, ‘It does not appear to be mold, but we’re going to reach a scientific conclusion byair testing,’” Van Zoeren said.
The environmental engineer took samples from the classroom’s exposed surfaces, as well as from ceilings, under sinks and other parts of the building, and compared those results with the presence of mold spores outside of the building — the standard evaluation procedure for problems with a potential to be related to mold, Van Zoeren explained.
“The tests came back and showed the air quality was fine, with little or no presence of mold spores when compared to the outside air. There was concern about the possibility of airborne particulates, but obviously it came to nothing,” said Van Zoeren. “We’re glad we erred on the side of caution and had testing done in response to the possibility that there was something that could have been potentially problematic in the room, but it was just the odor that had been trapped, no mold.”
Van Zoeren said the first-graders and staff from the classroom in question had been relocated into another room directly across the hallway for the week.
A follow-up cleaning of the drainage system and classroom sink had eradicated the offensive odor, and Van Zoeren said on Thursday afternoon that students and staff were anticipated to be able to return to their proper classroom “as soon as we can move the furniture back in, probably in the matter of a day or so.
“There was never a health risk. I don’t want to minimize it, but it turned out to be much ado about very little,” Van Zoeren said. “But that’s the way we want to approach problems like that — we can’t jeopardize anyone’s health. Anyway, this is a chapter behind us.”
Source: Air Testing
Air Testing can be an interesting study of the environment. What some people think is mold really turns out to be allergens in the air. Air Testing has positive results with the right person doing the air testing. Experience at air testing is a great benefit for the client, especially when they have Asthma or Allergies.