Capital Region Mold Testing Done Right
Air Test Pros is a NYS-licensed mold assessor (License 24-6ZXG4-SHMO) serving homeowners, real-estate buyers, and property managers across the Capital Region and Hudson Valley. Every inspection combines a thorough visual walkthrough with instrumented moisture and thermal imaging, followed by lab-analyzed air or surface samples that tell you exactly what mold species are present and at what concentration.
We’ve been doing this for 20+ years. We’re a testing company — not a remediation company — so the report you get from us is honest about what’s there, and equally honest about what isn’t.
When You Need Mold Testing
Some signs are obvious. Others aren’t. Call us if any of the following apply:
- Visible mold on walls, ceilings, attic sheathing, basement framing, or behind drywall
- Musty smell in basements, crawl spaces, bathrooms, or anywhere that gets damp
- Recent water damage — leaks, flooding, ice dams, plumbing failures, sewer backups
- Persistent allergy or respiratory symptoms that improve when you leave the property
- Real-estate transaction — buying a home with visible staining, a damp basement, or seller disclosures mentioning past water issues
- Post-remediation clearance — proving a previous mold job was done correctly
- Insurance or legal documentation needed for a water-damage claim
How a Mold Test Works
A Air Test Pros mold inspection takes about 45-60 minutes on-site for a typical residential property:
1. Walkthrough & Visual Inspection
We start with a top-to-bottom visual inspection: attic, all living spaces, basement or crawl space, mechanical rooms, bathrooms, and anywhere with a known moisture history. We’re looking for visible growth, staining, warped or buckled materials, and any condition that’s likely to cause hidden growth.
2. Moisture & Thermal Imaging
We use moisture meters to check drywall, framing, and subfloor for elevated water content, plus infrared thermal cameras to spot cold or damp spots behind finished surfaces — the places where mold likes to hide before it becomes visible.
3. Air Sampling (BIO-PUMP Plus)
Air samples are collected using a calibrated BIO-PUMP Plus pump that draws a known volume of air through a spore trap cassette. We typically take one outdoor baseline sample plus 2-6 indoor samples (depending on the property), then ship them to a third-party accredited lab for analysis.
4. Surface Samples (When Needed)
If we find visible growth or staining, we’ll take a tape lift or swab sample of the actual material. This tells us the species (Aspergillus, Penicillium, Stachybotrys, Cladosporium, etc.) and confirms whether what looks like mold actually is mold.
5. Plain-English Report
You get a written report within 2-5 business days of the lab returning results. It includes the spore counts for every sample, comparisons to the outdoor baseline, photos of any issues found, and a section called “What This Means” that translates the data into actionable next steps.
Real-estate transaction? Tell us your closing date when you call. We can usually scope the inspection, complete the field work, and get lab-confirmed results back within a week — often faster with rush handling. We’ve closed plenty of deals on tight timelines.
Common Mold Species We Find in the Capital Region
Capital Region homes have their own pattern of mold issues thanks to our climate — cold, damp winters and humid summers — and our older housing stock. The species we identify most often:
- Cladosporium — most common outdoor mold; routinely indoors at elevated levels when there’s a hidden moisture issue
- Aspergillus/Penicillium — the bread-and-butter indoor molds; lab reports group these together because the spores look nearly identical
- Stachybotrys — the “black mold” that gets the headlines; requires sustained wetness on cellulose materials like drywall paper
- Chaetomium — common after major water damage; often found alongside Stachybotrys
- Alternaria — common around windows and bathrooms with poor ventilation
After the Test: What Comes Next
If your samples come back clean, you get a report saying so — which is often exactly what a buyer’s agent, an insurance adjuster, or your own peace of mind needs.
If samples come back elevated, the report identifies the source area, the likely cause, and the scope of remediation that’s warranted. We can refer you to remediation contractors we’ve seen do good work, but we don’t take referral fees and we don’t do the remediation ourselves — that independence is the whole point.
Areas We Serve for Mold Testing
Air Test Pros provides mold testing across all 13 counties in our service area, including Albany, Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park, Schenectady, Troy, Glens Falls, Hudson, Kingston, Catskill, Poughkeepsie, and every smaller town in between.