One standardised dust sample, with DNA extracted and counted element by element in an accredited laboratory. Fifteen fungal elements, each reported with its own concentration, so you end up with a profile of the building instead of an opinion about it.
Nothing in this pipeline is a judgement call. The sampling protocol is standardised, the laboratory is accredited, and the arithmetic at the end is fixed.
The panel is fixed, and it is short on purpose: fifteen fungal elements, each one on the list because it tells you something specific about a building. Nine are Aspergillus and Penicillium species, the genera that dominate damp interiors and produce most of the mycotoxins we test for separately. The other six are named one by one. Fusarium is reported at genus level; everything else is a named species.
A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. terreus, A. versicolor, A. ochraceus, A. niger, A. penicilloides, P. chrysogenum and P. brevicompactum. A. versicolor is one of the most frequently found molds in water-damaged buildings, and P. brevicompactum is one of the most common indoor molds anywhere.
Stachybotrys chartarum, Chaetomium globosum, Fusarium, Alternaria alternata, Wallemia sebi and Candida auris. Stachybotrys and Chaetomium are the classic water-damage markers, Alternaria and Wallemia are significant allergens, and Candida auris is a healthcare-associated yeast.
Every element is reported with its measured concentration and placed against the reference level expected in a building without water damage, so the result arrives as a position rather than a lone figure you have to take on trust.
ERMI is a screening index for buildings, not a medical test and not a diagnosis.
Everything an accredited laboratory produced, plus the reading that turns it into a decision.
An air sample measures what is airborne at the moment of sampling and changes with the window, the air conditioner and the time of day. ERMI analyses DNA in dust that accumulated over months, so it tells you what has been growing in the home over time, even if the air was clean on inspection day. Most clients do both: air for today's exposure, ERMI for the history.
With a vacuum fitted with a dedicated filter, or a sampling cloth, from surfaces that are not cleaned daily: the top of a wardrobe, a door frame, behind the fridge. Several rooms go into one composite sample. We collect it during a visit, or send a kit with instructions to anyone who prefers to do it themselves.
The score is the difference between 26 species that indicate water damage and 10 species found in every home. Below 2 is considered low, 2 to 5 moderate, above 5 high. But the score is only the summary: the report lists every species separately, and that is where you see Stachybotrys or Chaetomium even when the overall score looks fine.
The qPCR analysis takes a few days in the lab, and the full report usually arrives 10 to 14 business days after collection, with an explanation of each species and what to do about it.
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