Indoor Air Quality
Allergen testing: what you are actually breathing at home.
If your home is making someone unwell but a mold test came back clean, the trigger is usually something mold testing never looked for. Allergen testing names it: pollen, dust mites, pet dander, fibers including fiberglass, and carbonaceous particles from smoke or fire. Read by a microbiologist in Orlando and Central Florida, and added to any inspection or booked on its own.
What is allergen testing?
Allergen testing is a laboratory analysis of the particles floating in your indoor air. Under a microscope, an analyst identifies and counts the allergens and irritants present: pollen, dust mites and insect fragments, animal dander and skin cells, plant debris, cellulose and fiberglass fibers, fungal fragments, and carbonaceous combustion particles from smoke or fire. It turns a vague “something in here bothers me” into a specific, named list of what is present and in what amount. That distinction matters because a mold panel only reports mold. If the actual irritant is fiberglass shed from failing duct insulation, or combustion particulate from a fireplace, a clean mold result explains nothing and the discomfort continues unexplained. The sample is collected on a calibrated air pump under chain of custody and analyzed by an accredited laboratory, and the result is interpreted alongside the moisture and HVAC findings from the same visit.
What it detects
Everything else riding in your air.
A mold test tells you about mold. But mold is one of dozens of things floating in your air, and often not the one making you miserable. Allergen testing widens the lens to the full particle picture, identified and counted room by room, so you know exactly what you are breathing.
- Pollen. Grass, oak, ragweed, pine, mulberry, sycamore, and more, the seasonal triggers that get indoors through windows, doors, and HVAC.
- Dust mites and insect fragments. One of the leading indoor allergens, concentrated in bedrooms, bedding, and upholstered furniture.
- Animal dander and skin cells. Pet and human dander that builds up in household dust and stays airborne.
- Fiberglass and synthetic fibers. Irritant fibers shed from insulation, HVAC systems, and building materials, a common hidden cause of throat and skin irritation.
- Carbonaceous (combustion) particles. Soot and char from fire, smoke, wildfire, candles, or cooking. Useful documentation after a fire or smoke event.
- Fungal hyphal fragments. Mold structures beyond spores, complementing a standard spore-trap count.
- Plant debris and cellulose fibers. General airborne particulate that rounds out the picture of what is in the air.
When you need it
When is allergen testing the right fit?
- Allergy or asthma symptoms that ease when you leave the house and return when you come back
- A child’s bedroom where nighttime coughing or congestion will not resolve
- Homes with pets, where dander and dust accumulate
- After a fire, smoke event, or wildfire, to document combustion particles for insurance and remediation planning
- Suspected fiberglass or fiber irritation after HVAC or insulation work
- A mold air test that came back low while symptoms persist, the trigger may not be mold
How it works
One visit, the full picture.
Consultation → Daniel collects an air sample in each area of concern → an accredited lab identifies and counts every particle type → you get a plain-English report, room by room, of exactly what is in your air. Add it to any inspection, or book it on its own.
Honest answers
Allergen testing, answered.
Do I still need allergen testing if my mold test came back clean?
Often, yes. A mold test only counts mold. If your symptoms continue after a clean mold result, the trigger is usually one of the many particles a mold test never looks for: pollen, dust mites, pet dander, fiberglass, or carbonaceous particles from smoke or fire. Allergen testing identifies and counts those, so you stop guessing and find the real source of what is bothering you.
Is this the same as a doctor’s allergy test?
No. A doctor’s allergy test, a blood or skin-prick test, measures how your body reacts. Allergen testing measures your environment: it identifies the allergens and irritants actually present in your home’s air, such as pollen, dust mites, and pet dander. The two are complementary. We test the building, not the patient, and we do not diagnose or treat.
Can allergen testing detect smoke or soot after a fire?
Yes. The analysis identifies carbonaceous, or combustion, particles: the soot and char left in the air by fire, smoke, wildfire, candles, or cooking. After a fire or smoke event it documents how much is present and in which rooms, which is useful for an insurance claim and for planning cleanup.
Which allergens and particles does it detect?
Pollen (grass, oak, ragweed, pine, mulberry, sycamore, and more), dust mites and insect fragments, animal dander and skin cells, fiberglass and synthetic fibers, fungal fragments, plant and cellulose debris, and carbonaceous combustion particles from smoke or fire. Each type is identified and counted room by room.
What does allergen testing cost?
It depends on how many areas you want sampled and whether it is added to an inspection or booked on its own. Quotes are custom and always free. Call (321) 324-7756 for a straight, no-obligation number.
How this service works
How does allergen testing actually work?
The question is not whether something is in the air. It is which particles, and how many of each.
01Scope the complaint
What the occupants react to, where in the building, and when. That decides where the sample is taken.
02Collect the air sample
A calibrated air sample is drawn onto a cassette in the space where the reaction happens.
03Laboratory microscopy
An analyst identifies and counts what is on the slide: pollen, dust mites and insect fragments, animal dander and skin cells, plant debris, cellulose and fiberglass fibers, fungal fragments, and carbonaceous combustion particles.
04Named results, with amounts
The report replaces “something in here bothers me” with a specific list of what is present and in what quantity.
Service areas
Serving Orlando and all 67 Florida counties.
Based in Winter Garden in the Orlando metro, PureSpec covers all of Central Florida at standard rates and the rest of the state by custom quote. See the full service area.