Stop Guessing: VOC Testing And Mold Testing Do Not Measure The Same Thing

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Your house shouldn’t make you feel worse. We unpack the crucial difference between VOC testing and mold testing, and explain why treating them as the same can waste money, delay answers, and leave you stuck with symptoms. We also take you beyond the basics to explore mycotoxins—chemical defenses from mold that standard remediation often ignores—and why some homes feel “clean” after a wipe-down yet still trigger headaches, brain fog, or throat irritation.

We share real examples of where VOCs come from—fresh paint, vinyl flooring, foam mattresses, adhesives—and how a modern “low-VOC” label helps but doesn’t solve everything. You’ll learn how labs compare indoor and outdoor mold samples to confirm if growth is inside, why timing matters for species that release fewer spores when wet, and how MVOCs can tip you off to hidden moisture even when air samples look normal. If you’ve recently remodeled, moved into a new build, or noticed you breathe easier away from home, this guide helps you choose the right test first.

Then we tackle the problem most people never hear about: mycotoxins. We break down how aggressive cleaning without first killing growth can spread toxins, why many HEPA setups won’t catch them, and what emerging practices—humidity manipulation, targeted sorbents, containment, and source correction—do differently. For sensitized listeners who react to small exposures, we offer a clear, stepwise plan: decide based on building history and symptoms, run the proper lab tests, and verify every remediation step before moving on.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start fixing, tune in, get the checklist, and share this with someone who needs a cleaner, safer home. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us the one air-quality question you want answered next.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
All right, Laura.
James.
We've had people go, what's thedifference between actually
somebody the other day he wantedto know about mold testing
versus VOC testing?
He didn't know the difference.
Because he thought, well, whatdoesn't don't they each do the
same thing?

SPEAKER_00 (00:17):
Nope.

SPEAKER_01 (00:17):
Like, no, they do not.
Not even remotely.
So this was the house that wewere inspecting.
It was, it was, I can't thinkhow old was 2001, maybe.
So it wasn't all, it wasn't veryold.
And they ordered a bunch ofother stuff.
So he he was like, So we go kindof overboard on all the extra
services.
I'm like, no.

SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
Not if you want to know what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 (00:40):
True.
True.
But I'm like, no, no, no,because we've had people spend
over$3,000 on a single homeinspection because they wanted a
BOC test, mold test,formaldehyde, chimney scope,
sewer scope.
We offered they they wanted.
Yes, yes.
So their their home inspection,I think maybe eleven hundred
dollars, twelve hundred.

SPEAKER_02 (01:00):
But they I don't remember which one this was, or
was that.

SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
It was a nice place.
You were not with me.
Okay, that's why I don'tremember it.
But it was a nice place, decent,not a massive place, but
beautiful location.
That we did a chimney scope,sewer scope, inspection, uh
radon.
We did that as well.
No, we did not do radon.
We did not do radar.
They were asking about that.
But so anyway, VOC testingversus mold testing, they kind

(01:27):
of thought it would do it didthe same thing.
No, it does not.

SPEAKER_02 (01:31):
Not even remotely.

SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
So VOC testing, how would you describe that?
What is that mainly looking for?

SPEAKER_02 (01:38):
So VOC stands for volatile organic compounds,
which is basically chemicals.
So anytime you've remodeled,anytime you've got a new house,
anytime you've got some type ofa chemical smell and you don't
know what's going on, that'swhat VOC testing is for.
The only time that VOC willcross over with mold is the fact

(02:02):
that mold, as it is activelygrowing, releases their own form
of a VOC that can be caughtduring a test.

SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
So VOC is it's just chemicals that are evaporating.

SPEAKER_02 (02:16):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (02:16):
So if I have lighter, so if I had lighter
fluid and I filled up my uhlighter.
So I had a zippo.
I filled up a zippo.
Um you can smell it.
That's a VOC.
It's probably like a petroleumproduct, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 (02:31):
Butane?

SPEAKER_01 (02:32):
I don't know if you no, I don't know.
I don't know what's you whatwhat's the never tested it
straight up, but no, and maybewe should.
It would dump a petroleumproduct.

SPEAKER_02 (02:39):
It would be a petroleum product.

SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
So VOC, you'll find those in New houses and remodels
because chemicals in productionof paint, stains, vinyl planking
for the floors, furniture,bedding, mattresses, foam has
has a lot of chemicals in it.

SPEAKER_02 (03:00):
So Jim and I, like about a year or so ago, had, you
know, we moved and we werelooking into what kind of a bed
do we want.
And one of the ones that we hadlooked at was purple.
And, you know, I'd heard greatstories, the mattress was
awesome.
But when I read the reviews,there was a significantly high

(03:20):
amount of this thing stinks.
I can't get rid of the smell,it's making me sick.
And so we didn't get that, wegot a different one.
Fast forward to this year whenwe've done some stuff with a
company who does well, well, youyou had a friend, friend, your
friend Lori had bought one.

SPEAKER_01 (03:41):
Had bought one, and you told me, like you asked her
if it had a weird smoke to it,and she said no.
So we looked online, and purplenow has low VOCs.
So they probably realized thathey, we're getting a couple of
weird odor, so they changed it.
So that's a new change withinthe past year.
So whenever time for us to get anew mattress, I'm I'm probably

(04:01):
gonna go with purple.
Well, I'm definitely gonna lookat purple because now we have to
worry about the weird chemicalsin there because they're doing
it safer.

SPEAKER_02 (04:07):
There's also King Coil yet because I don't think
they had like the foam stuff oldschool type thing.

SPEAKER_01 (04:12):
Old school metal springs.
Yes.
Yep.
So VOC looks for chemicals.

SPEAKER_02 (04:17):
VOC looks for chemicals, mold looks for mold.

SPEAKER_01 (04:20):
So, all right, so molds, it's a plant.
I'll call it a plant.

SPEAKER_02 (04:24):
It is, it's a plant.

SPEAKER_01 (04:26):
And like apple trees, it doesn't always put out
fruit.
Like the spores.
Right.
Correct.
So when we do air testing formolds, what you're doing is
looking for spores that arefloating around, or maybe little
parts.
If it if somebody wiped it up,you could have break break off
little tiny.

(04:47):
Yep, the hyphae, break thoseoff, and they could be floating
around.

SPEAKER_02 (04:52):
Well, for example, Stachybocturus, you know, the
whole black mold thing, it doesnot put off spores until the
area is dried because the moldspores are too heavy to become
airborne when it's growing andit's and it's wet.
So based upon what's in the airor what's in your swab, that can

(05:13):
tell you a lot about what'sgoing on in the house, like how
long has it been wet?
You know, if it'sSacchyboctorus, it's been wet
for at least like a month and ahalf.

SPEAKER_01 (05:22):
Yes, because that needs a long-term high moisture
for it to grow.

SPEAKER_02 (05:26):
To grow.
So mold testing can tell you alot about what's going on in the
house, what's going on in thatarea.

SPEAKER_01 (05:36):
Well, mold testing can tell you the type of mold,
how much and is it elevatedcompared to the outside?
If you do an outside sample, andyou should always do it outside.
You should do an outside sampleand then do it inside, and the
lab will look at those and go,Yep, your inside is ten times as
high as the outside, so you havea mold within the house.

(05:57):
If they're like the same, no,no.
And you're all good.
You're not getting anythingweird going on in your house.
But the VOC testing, like yousaid, molds, when they grow,
they make their own vaultorganic compound called an MVOC.
And when we do VOC testing, wecan look for MVOCs and go, yes,

(06:18):
you have mold actively growingin your house somewhere, which
is typically whenever it's gonnabe where there's a moisture
issue, which is commonly crawlspace or basement.
Basement, yep, lower area, ormaybe a roof week, but typically
it's it's basement crawl space.

SPEAKER_00 (06:34):
Habitation investigation is the way to go
for a home inspection in Ohio.
Trusted licensed home inspectorsfor your needs.
From radon to mold to warranty.
For a great home inspection, youreally can't go.

(06:54):
Visit home inspections inOhio.com.

SPEAKER_01 (07:00):
So that's the main thing, the difference between
VOC testing and mold testing.
Now, years ago, telling someagent, he asked about VOC
testing.
I said, he asked what it was.
I told him what it was.
He's like, oh, here's anotherthing we can't do anything
about.
So I think so I think he he wasnever gonna tell his clients
about it because he didn't wantthem doing this test because he

(07:21):
thought it'd be a deal killer,which it is not.
So there are things that can bedone to get rid of the VOCs in
the air, but you have to know ifthey're there and verify that's
what it is.
And if you if we do VOC testingfor you and it comes back high,
at that point, then we can tellyou what to do.

(07:42):
Because the VOC test may justshow, hey, there's there's mold
growing somewhere.
And they go, okay, now you gottafigure out where your moisture
issue is and figure that out.
Or what you and I will do if wedo VOC testing or mold testing.
See if you're doing moldtesting, I will come in and do a
quick inspection looking forjust moisture in the concerning
areas, and that way we cansolidify and get them a good

(08:05):
game plan for them.
So I think that's about it.
Really different between VOCtest and mold testing.
Mold tell you actually this typeof mold, and if it's elevated,
where the VUC test would tellyou about the chemicals and tell
you if there's mold growing inthe environment, but it does not
tell you the type of mold.

SPEAKER_02 (08:25):
Right.
Now, there is also the mycotoxintesting that we haven't talked
about much for people.

SPEAKER_01 (08:31):
No, no, so so which is another so which is something
that a lot of mold remediationcompanies do not want to talk
about.
They don't want to touch that.
Right, and and I think thirdrail of responsibility.

SPEAKER_02 (08:43):
I I can kind of understand why, because if
you've come in and you'vecleaned it up and you don't have
any mold spores, but people arestill getting sick, you know, as
a remediation company, you'regoing, well, I did my job.
There's there's no mold.
True.
But depending on the processthat you used, you may have made
it worse.

SPEAKER_01 (09:03):
So and aren't those clients who the mold companies
would refer to as difficultclients, and then they they just
blow them off.
They just bail them up.
Yeah, bail them.

SPEAKER_02 (09:13):
So so basically, mold is like any living creature
and it's got a defensemechanism.
But the defense mechanism thatmold uses is a chemical, and
it's you know, kind of think ofchemical warfare.
So you've got two differentmolds growing in the same space,
and they each want to have thatspace to themselves because

(09:33):
they're not very good shares.
So mold A puts out one type of achemical, mold B puts out
another type of a chemical andthey're competing against each
other.
That's going to show up in theair, or it can show up on a swab
in that area.
Or if you've got a remediationcompany that came in and they

(09:54):
did not kill the mold firstbefore they started scrubbing,
that's another reason why youmight have some mycotoxins in
the air.

SPEAKER_01 (10:01):
And the mycotoxin are basic chemical warfare from
the molds against other molds oragainst anything that's touching
touching it or or hurting it.
So it's chemical warfare, andthen some people are sensitive
to the mycotoxin.
So you can make you sick.
You could have a house that youhad, it was remediated, they

(10:22):
wiped it all down, or could beyou could have a cellar, wiped
it all down, got rid of it,painted over it, put bleach
everywhere, everything to makeit all look clean.
Never killed it before they didthat.

SPEAKER_02 (10:36):
And now you've got mycotoxins.

SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
And now there's mycotoxins floating around it.
Mycotoxins, can you filter thoseout of the air with uh a HEPA
filter?

SPEAKER_02 (10:45):
They are too small, I believe.

SPEAKER_01 (10:47):
They're too small.

SPEAKER_02 (10:48):
What they need to do, so there's something about
them being um hydroponic.
They they're moistureattracting.

SPEAKER_01 (10:59):
Hydro hydrophilic.

SPEAKER_02 (11:01):
Hydrophilic.
So there's there's a a new trainof thought where you have to
increase the humidity in thehouse, and then what you do is
you run a dehumidifier and yourun that out of the house or
into a drain or whatever, andthe mycotoxin stays attached to

(11:22):
that water and it gets kickedout.
So that's one of the ways I'veheard of getting rid of it now.

SPEAKER_01 (11:29):
Yeah, mycotoxin, it it is a different beast to take
care of.
And it is only and it is a newerthing.
It's been around for a longtime.
I mean, Department of Defenseknows of it.
No, yes, they know well.
And then some of thesemycotoxins are known to cause
liver cancer.

(11:52):
Is it aflatoxin?
Yeah, I think that's one ofthem.
That's a big one.
Yeah, that was, I think.
That's a very common research onthis one.
I think that one causes livercancer.
But those are differentprocesses to clean up.
There are chemicals and andprocedures to clean that, but
most mold remediation companiesdon't know squat about it.

(12:15):
And they don't they don't evenwant to touch it because to
them, these are difficultclients who can never be
satisfied.
Well, they're probably sensitiveto mycotoxins, and you and the
mold remediation companies aredoing nothing to treat that.
In fact, they may be making itworse.
Right.
They did what you said byremoving the mold without
killing it.
Killing it prior to touching it.

(12:38):
Yes.
So that that's different VLC andmold testing.
I mean, they're both they'reboth important to do.

SPEAKER_02 (12:46):
Well, and and another, like a lot of the
people that we've been dealingwith lately are what they call
sensitized individuals.
So let's say you have somebodythat's been in a house that had
mold.
They're then you've got, youknow, like maybe VOCs coming in,
and everything kind of snowballsand it taxes that body even more

(13:07):
until they just have tocompletely step back and
completely decontaminate thatarea that they're in and
decontaminate their body.
And it's not a slow process.
I mean, there are so many thingsthat they're still studying and
still learning about with allthis removal of the mycotoxins
and the VOCs and everything.
It's literally an up-and-comingfield where they're they're

(13:30):
doing a study now, normally iswith uh medical doctors, and
they're taking all this data andthey're analyzing it.
So there's going to be some newstuff coming out in the next few
years that are going to bereally interesting to see.

SPEAKER_01 (13:44):
Yep.
So anyway, it's part of a homebuying process.
You don't always need to dothese things, but if you're
sensitive, yeah, it's a goodidea.
Or if you lived in your housefor a while and you notice that
you actually feel better whenyou're out of your house, you
may you definitely probablyshould get your home tested.
I would probably depend on hownew the house is, but I would

(14:06):
consider VOC testing becausethat tells you if it's chemicals
or there's mold grown in thehouse.
VOC is more like a row, more ofa well-rounded test, but it
still doesn't it doesn't doeverything because it doesn't do
formaldehyde, which you'll findin newer houses or you like
remote.
It's a separate test.
So that's a question.

(14:27):
That's a question that we canask about with a questionnaire
that we go through to helpdetermine what tests would be
best for people.
But anyway, that's that's aboutit.
VLC versus mold testing.
Moles can be very important, butyou need to know what they look
for, and then we can help youdetermine which one's a better
route for you.

SPEAKER_02 (14:44):
I was just about to say, call us if you've got
questions or if you know someonethat's sick and having problems,
it give us a call.
We'll we'll talk and figure itout.

SPEAKER_01 (14:52):
Well, you can call Habitation Investigation, we can
do those tests, or EnvironmentalConsultants of Ohio, which our
sister predominantly focuses oncompany, which predominantly
does focus on more air qualityand micro toxin testing.

SPEAKER_02 (15:08):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (15:08):
So it focuses on that.
But either company can do that.
So that's about it.
Thank you, everybody.
Bye bye.