About a year ago, I discovered that I have two genomes that make it hard for my body to get rid of mold. This causes me to feel ill at times for no apparent reason until I found out it was the mold toxins. My doctor advised I test my home for mold allergens.

I really didn’t want to. It’s so expensive, and I really didn’t want to open that can of worms if mold was detected. If I wanted to feel better, I knew I needed to do thorough testing of my home’s water and indoor air quality.

The first place to start when you don’t feel well and the doctors are stumped is to look in your home. Sometimes the symptoms seem benign, like feeling tired or lacking in energy. At other times, the conditions are more severe. I’ve previously tested our water, but I had not yet tested for air born contaminates.

We already know that using green cleaning products significantly improves our indoor air quality and healthiness of our homes. Sometimes there is something more sinister lurking in the very infrastructure of our homes.

We were sent Yogi® Indoor Air and Drinking Water Assessment Kit by Live Pure, Inc. At first, I was intimidated by this testing kit because it is soo extensive. It tests for:

• MOLD
• ALLERGENS
• RADON
• LEAD
• ASBESTOS
• VOCs
• FORMALDEHYDE
• WATER CONTAMINANTS

I though the Yogi test would be hard to use, so I procrastinated. Fortunately, I was wrong! The directions are so simple and clear! Live Pure lays out each step clearly, the tests are color-coded, and the instruction booklet and checklist could not be more clear!

The Yogi kit comes with a prepaid shipping label, and all lab fees are included in the price. It potentially saves thousands of dollars over other services and is just as complete and methodical.

Some of the collections take longer than others, but the kit lays them out in the appropriate order to be most efficient. My doctor advised when testing for indoor air contaminants to clean your home first, then wait a couple of weeks for new dust to collect. That way you are collecting the most recent information.

The Yogi kit gives clear directions as to what height to take the collection and includes a thermometer. For the water collection, you take a sample from a tap that has sat overnight unused. Everything you need is included, and it is suprisingly really simple to use.

One aspect of the Yogi testing process I really appreciate is mold allergen testing includes an outside sampling as well as indoors. This is important to truly distinguish the contamination source. When our local school hired an expensive company to conduct mold testing, they failed to take an outdoor sample. It was impossible then to compare the indoor air with the outdoor air at the time of testing.

Another aspect of this product I appreciate is it comes with a reusable sampling machine that you can share with friends and family, as well as reuse for follow up testing should it be warranted for your home. This is not a disposable product designed for single use.

Results from the Yogi® Indoor Air and Drinking Water Assessment Kit come quickly within 10 days. You will be sent a link to a google doc that provides a dashboard overview of the results, as well as a separate doc that includes the data of each test. Live Pure even provides free consultation should you need it.

Fortunately, our home did not test positive for mold spores of concern. Unfortunately, the lead content in the air was high. I was shocked! Our home is relatively new, and lead paint has never been used only eco-friendly pigments.

The complete lab report is very detailed and useful for researching contaminants.

Overall, I am generally pleased with the results but now have a new concern regarding my home’s indoor air quality. I am grateful Live Pure offers a free 15-minute consultation to discuss the results.

The Yogi® Indoor Air and Drinking Water Assessment Kit is super simple to use. After procrastinating completing the testing for weeks, I was very pleased with the ease in which it was finished. The results came quickly and are thorough.

Everybody should test their homes. You may think you know what contaminants are presents like I assumed my mold exposure was occurring at home. You may be surprised by the results! I am!