Worried about mould? Don't buy a single test until you've used TRACE.
The free app that tells you exactly which mould test to take, and when not to bother, in five simple questions.
Mould you can see, damp, a musty smell, symptoms you can't explain? Before you spend on a kit, a swab or a survey you might not need, TRACE turns your worry into one clear, expert-backed next step. Built on 35 years of Jeff Charlton's investigations. Free, no paywall, on any phone.
Worried about mould or damp?
Mould testing is confusing, costly, and easy to get wrong.
You know something's not right. But knowing what to actually do about it, and what it'll cost you to find out, is where most people get stuck.
Something's clearly wrong
Mould, damp, a musty smell or health worries, but no way to know which test would actually answer your question.
Money wasted on the wrong test
Kits and lab fees add up fast. A test that misses the point gives you a result nobody can act on, and you're back to square one, poorer.
Expert help is hard to reach
Real specialists are scarce and expensive, so most people are left to guess, at the exact moment the decision matters most.
The problem isn't the test. It's testing before you've asked the right question.
Most people start with a product (a kit, a swab, a survey) instead of the question. That one skipped step is where the money disappears.
Generic internet advice
Contradictory, often sales-driven, and completely blind to your building and your situation.
Off-the-shelf test kits
Bought before the question is even defined. The wrong sample proves nothing, either way.
Jumping straight to a full survey
Costly and often premature. First decide what to sample, and whether testing helps at all.
A test only helps if it answers your question. TRACE makes sure it does, before you spend a penny.
TRACE turns your worry into a clear next step.
The decision logic is written by Jeff Charlton of Building Forensics, the same expert investigation thinking behind court-ready reports, now applied before you spend a penny on testing.
Concern, sampling route, next step.
TRACE walks you through three plain-language stages. Free to use, sampling guidance only.
Concern
Tell TRACE what worries you: a symptom concern, visible mould, damp or a leak, or poor air quality.
Sampling route
TRACE helps you see what could be sampled (air, dust, surface, moisture or a specialist route) and what it can and can't tell you.
Next step
Plain-language guidance: how testing is normally carried out, when it may not help, and where to get support.
A test only helps if it answers your question.
No single test gives the whole answer. Different methods answer different questions, and sometimes inspection or drying should come first. TRACE helps you weigh whether, and what, to sample.
Air sampling is a snapshot
It captures what is airborne at one moment. Useful, but limited to the time it was taken.
Dust shows the longer-term picture
Settled-dust analysis reflects what has built up over time, not just one moment.
Surface sampling confirms growth
It can help confirm visible or suspected growth on a material or surface.
Moisture & humidity matter
They reveal the conditions that support mould, which often come before any testing.
Some routes are specialist
Mycotoxin, actinobacteria and endotoxin routes are specialist and depend on context.
Sometimes, don't test yet
TRACE flags when inspection, leak-tracing or drying should come before you spend on a test.
Guidance built on the Building Forensics assessment method, refined over three decades of real investigations.
A clear recommendation, not a pile of jargon.
Every session ends with something you can act on.
A plain-language summary
A readout of your situation and what you're actually trying to find out, in words, not jargon.
A recommended sampling route
The primary route, for example a total spore count, plus sensible alternatives for your situation.
Honest limits & escalation flags
What the testing will and won't show, plus a warning when legal, clearance or health situations need expert oversight first.
Know before you spend
The type of sample to take and the type of analysis, so you commit money to the right test, or none at all.
Three honest outcomes, never a false all-clear.
TRACE doesn't score your home 'safe' or 'unsafe'. It sorts your situation into one of three clear tiers.
Route recommended
A sampling route clearly matches your concern. TRACE names it, with alternatives.
Route with limits
Testing may help, but with caveats. TRACE tells you exactly what a result can and cannot show.
Escalate first
Legal, insurance or health situations: get professional review before any sampling.
Every tier is guidance, not a verdict. No tier ever means your home is safe or clear.
Jeff Charlton · Building Forensics
Built on 35 years of finding what others miss.
TRACE runs on the decision logic of Jeff Charlton, Building Forensics, widely recognised as the UK's leading forensic mould and building-related illness expert. Forty years spent working out which test actually answers the question, now packed into a free app.
- ✓Featured on Channel 4's "The Cleanup Man" and BBC's Panorama
- ✓Author of 12 books and dozens of technical papers on mould and building-related illness
- ✓Founding Chairman of the British Damage Management Association
- ✓Four decades of forensic investigations, laboratory analysis and expert reports
Pick the situation that fits. TRACE takes it from there.
Whatever you choose, you begin inside TRACE's free sampling guidance, built for worried homeowners and tenants.
Someone is unwell
Symptoms, brain fog, breathing trouble, or a vulnerable person at home. TRACE gives sampling guidance only and can't diagnose illness.
- Start TRACE's free sampling guidance
- See relevant routes (air, dust, surface) and when to seek review
- Learn when testing may not help, and where to get support
I can see mould or damp
Visible mould, water staining, a leak, condensation or musty odours somewhere in the home.
- Start TRACE's free sampling guidance
- Match your concern to a route (surface, air, moisture)
- Get clear, plain-language next-step guidance
I want a check, just in case
A vulnerable person at home, a property purchase, or a baseline before you decide what to do next.
- Start TRACE for screening options
- Understand what a test can and can't tell you
- Decide your next step from the guidance
TRACE gives sampling guidance only. It does not diagnose illness, prove cause, or certify a building safe or unsafe.
Guidance, not a verdict.
✓ TRACE does
- ✓Match your concern to a sampling route
- ✓Explain the methods, equipment and limits
- ✓Flag situations that need expert help first
✕ TRACE does not
- ✕Diagnose illness or health conditions
- ✕Declare a building safe or clear
- ✕Replace a survey, lab result or expert
Every recommendation is a starting point for evidence: the route most likely to answer your question, never a conclusion about your home or your health.
Stop guessing. Start with your concern.
It's free, it takes five minutes, and it could save you from spending on the wrong test. Describe what you've seen. Leave with a clear next step.
The questions running through your head
Don't spend on the wrong test. Spend five free minutes instead.
Open TRACE, describe what you've seen, and leave with a clear next step, before any money changes hands.