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 Mold Article by A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc.
Florida Mold Testing And Humidity

In hot humid climates, such as are encountered during Florida mold testing procedures, proper humidity testing can be crucial to properly understanding and solving a mold problem.

Every property has some mold. Three hundred mold spores per cubic meter of air (give or take a few hundred) is common for indoor environments. Indoor mold can grow out of control when the humidity is allowed to go above 60% to 65% RH.

Another factor in mold problems is allowing moisture to contact interior mold food sources (such as drywall, wallpaper, or carpet) for more than 24 hours. When either of the above occurs, and especially if both occur at the same time, then mold can grow out of control and result in serious problems in Florida homes.

There are many ways that humidity or moisture can be measured in the air.

At A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, we utilize two methods on a regular basis during our comprehensive Florida mold testing and humidity testing investigations.

The methods we use are as follows: relative humidity and mixing ratio

Relative Humidity
Relative Humidity compares how much water vapor is present in the air to how much water vapor would be in the air if the air were saturated with water vapor. When humidity is above 50%, dust mites can grow. If humidity is above 60% to 65%, mold can grow.
There is a serious flaw, however, with measuring relative humidity - the colder a parcel of air is, the more humid it becomes, even if you do not add water to it. Also, the warmer a parcel of air is, the less humid it becomes, even if you do not remove water from it. This may sound back wards or insignificant; however, I assure you it is not back wards and is a very significant consideration.


Mixing Ratio
Like Relative Humidity, Mixing Ratio is also measures the amount of water vapor in the air.
But mixing ratio measures the mass of water vapor for a given mass of dry air. Mixing Ratio, also known as Specific Humidity, or the measure of grains of moisture is not tricked by high or low temperatures.
Mixing Ratio measurements lets the inspector know the amount of moisture in the air as grains of moisture per pound of dry air and is not effected by high or low temperatures. Mixing Ratio testing is perfect for measuring how much humidity is in the air in hot, or cold rooms such as attics, and crawl spaces, and computer rooms. 

Example:
Inside the hot wall of a trailer that received moisture from a slow window leak in Ft Lauderdale, or in a typical Florida attic in Palm Beach that received moisture from a hurricane, the temperature may be 100° F and the humidity may be 50% RH. This is an acceptable humidity level if all you consider is relative humidity. Many Florida mold testing investigators may not think anything of this, however, with the use of various a scientific calculations, specialized instrumentation, or a psychometric chart, we see that this hot 100° F air at 50%RH actually contains about 145 grains of moisture per pound of air. Therefore, there that is a whole lot of moisture to have in your wall or attic. In fact, if a cool front moved in and the temperature dropped to 88° F in that wall or attic at night, the relative humidity would be 70%RH even if no new water was added, 70%RH is high.
These are wonderful conditions for many molds, and they will accept your invitation to take up residence in this humid environment. If a few nights later the temperature drops to 78° F in the evening without the addition of any new moisture from outside, the humidity would go up to 100%. At this point, condensation would form. At this point many more molds and even bacteria may take over.

About At A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc.

Our certified mold and humidity testing expert offers inspections for home owners, renters, and commercial building managers with mold, chemical or musty odors, allergens, moisture or humidity problems and other building related defects and IAQ issues. We provide air testing services for all towns in, near, and around West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Wellington, Lake Worth, Coral Springs, Plantation, Weston, and Ft Lauderdale, as well as Aventura, Hallandale, and Miami Fl. In Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties.