Chapelle,
I would say the best test depends on your goal. Almost ALL buildings have some mold growth, often hidden in wall cavities, under floors and cabinets, in crawlspaces, attics, and basements. Any building that has ever had water damage from any source should be assumed to have mold. Humidity, condensation, dampness all can cause mold growth.
The ERMI / HERTSMI-2 is most useful for those who have CIRS. It is useful in determining a building’s overall moldiness factor and can reveal whether a building is “water damaged,” if that aspect is unknown. It requires some understanding, and we can help with that. Shoemaker, the CIRS guru, has his methodology for it. I personally found that I have far less tolerance for mold than his standards indicate. The ERMI / HERTSMI-2 will not tell you where the mold is.
If you are in the New England area, there’s a great lady you should contact. She travels all over the NE. I am outside of her range of travel, but I have communicated with her before. She’s a gem.
https://createyourhealthyhome.com/home/contact/I have also heard good things about
a guy in FL who trains and works with a dog. The dog is like a drug dog and can locate the areas where there’s contamination. Very helpful if you’re doing remediation.
https://mold-dog.com/I have been on the long road of mold illness for 3 years now. It has been a long, painful journey that has not ended. Dealing with mold is much harder than Lyme/co, as it involves your home, all of your possessions, and your finances.
I would suggest if you know your house is significantly moldy or water damaged or you are very sensitive, then you may want to seriously consider relocating and replacing possessions if needed.
If you don’t have reason to believe the house is very contaminated and you want to stay and have the means to remediate whatever contamination is there, then I would suggest contacting the people Sara or I suggested and get it done and over with.
Too often people hem and haw and don’t commit. If you have Lyme or other chronic immune dysfunction, you should make sure you deal with whatever contaminants are present in your environment, as all buildings have them to some degree. It’s also imperative to correct the causes of contamination, whether it be leaks, improper building construction, drainage issues, etc.
Finances, of course, play a big role in this. It’s far easier to take care of mold issues (remediating or moving) if you’re still able to work rather than waiting until your disabled and have no money because you didn’t want to spend the money or ran around in circles of indecision forever about
how to deal with it. I’m speaking from sad experience here, but I am definitely one of the highly sensitive people who should probably go out in the dessert somewhere for a few years, but I haven’t been willing to. I keep trying to be “normal” and want to live in a normal house.