Mushroom testing is testing many products that will work in hot and humid environments to withstand fungal attacks. Because mushrooms can cause numerous operational difficulties. Fungus infestation, which affects various system components, from affecting sensitive system components to premature wear or corrosion, can affect the life of your product, as well as cause many problems.
To varying degrees, live mushrooms will use wood, paper, leather, hydrocarbons, PVC, polyurethanes, some plastics, dyes and other materials to grow. Understanding how these materials will react to mushroom growth in favorable conditions is an important part of testing more durable products and engineering. As EUROLAB, we can develop a test program that helps you comply with all relevant standards while providing you with the information necessary to create smarter and more effective products in general.
Mushroom growth can cause changes in the optical, mechanical and electrical properties of a material. In other cases, mushrooms can cause serious aesthetic changes in products designed to be aesthetically pleasing. Finally, for products designed for home use, fungal infections can even pose a health hazard.
While some products are more susceptible to fungal growth than others, no product is completely fungicidal. Any product designed using carbon-rich organic materials will typically provide a food source to support mushroom growth. On the other hand, synthetic polymer materials generally do not contain a sufficient amount of nutrients and therefore do not support fungal growth. However, the carbon-rich ingredients and pollutants in and on these synthetic materials can provide the necessary food for mushrooms. Paints, lubricants and adhesives commonly used in cork-resistant polymers can often provide a basis for fungi.
The primary objectives of any Fungal Resistance Test program (sometimes called the Non-Nutrient Growth Test) are:
In addition, the Mushroom Test can determine:
The resulting report will provide invaluable data and guidance for further product development that allows you to increase consumer satisfaction and safety in your product design.
While there are many ways that fungal attacks can penetrate your product, a number of common problems and sensitivities can be found among the products.
However, this list is far from exhaustive. Therefore, effective, rigorous and comprehensive fungal tests are essential for product development. Unpredictable sensitivities may not be noticed until the products on the market start to deteriorate.
OLUROLAB offers a wide range of testing services that evaluate equipment and materials to help comply with the following standards:
These tests involve inoculating the tested material with naturally occurring fungal spores such as Aspergillus niger, Penicillium pinophilum, Chaetomium globosum, Gliocladium virens and Aureobasidium pullulance. The material contaminated with the fungus is then placed in a warm and humid environment for at least 28 days. This will stimulate mushroom growth. If the material contains enough food sources, the mushroom grows on the material.
EUROLAB has decades of expertise that allows us to provide precise controls to successfully simulate conditions for the fungal test.
All products or system components that are regularly exposed to humid conditions should be tested for fungal resistance. These types of tests are more than just regulatory compliance - it's about providing your customers with the convenience of knowing that they can withstand all the conditions they are exposed to.
Mushroom testing is required for some military and aviation components, but can also be useful for consumer goods. With growing concerns about allergies, certified fungal resistance is an important selling point for many products. In a crowded market, everything you can do to stand out from the competition is useful. The mushroom resistance test is a way to show customers that your product is designed with your needs in mind.
In addition, challenging mushroom tests will save you money in the long run as it is effective in reducing costly recalls or bad presses due to regular product failures, although perhaps more expensive for development. It can also be a useful tool for branding and promoting your product in warmer and humid climates. While some consumers are not aware of the need for fungal resistance, the percentage of those who think of these things is much higher in mushroom sensitive climates.
Various ASTM test standards have been developed to provide targeted testing practices for specific materials. Therefore, the materials used in your product will determine which ASTM standard is used.
This test approach is specially designed for polymer materials. Specifically, since the polymers are typically non-carbon and therefore automatically resistant to fungi, this test standard is used to determine the fungal resistance of secondary products most commonly associated with polymers. Such binder products include lubricants, plasticizers, colorants, cellulosics and stabilizers.
However, although the polymers used in the products in question are not affected by fungi, the affected secondary materials can still cause significant product damage and failure. It is therefore very important to test polymer products using a standard that preferably focuses on unique fungal sensitivities.
This test standard has been developed to address the prevalence of fungal growth in coating materials used in insulation. Due to the health risks associated with fungal growth and the nature of insulation that is effectively concealed after installation, this test standard is of great importance for builders and product developers offering insulation.
Since this test standard does not include heating systems, historically uninsulated warm climate houses have become increasingly important as they begin to install air conditioning units. With the rise of the air conditioner, houses in a warm and humid climate began to find use areas for insulation. Unfortunately, these climates are also the most sensitive to mushroom growth, meaning fungal resistant insulating materials need to be developed.
ASTM has developed a number of other targeted standards to provide material-specific fungal resistance tests for product developers. While there are too many to elaborate here, our laboratories are familiar with them and are well prepared to help you find the appropriate standard for product testing.
This test method was developed especially with the aviation industry in mind. In fact, shock and collision safety is part of a more complete test battery that includes the effects of magnetism, salt and fog, sand and dust. However, fungal resistance standards are a central concern.
While this approach is part of a larger test standard, it is also very useful for mushroom testing. It has been developed with strict standards in mind, as equipment failures from fungal infestations can result in disaster. Knowing that our laboratory has the ability to meet these rigorous standards in its own tests is proof of our ability to exceed your expectations when testing your product for fungal resistance.
This method of mushroom testing is based on standards developed by the United States army. Essentially, this approach tries to simulate potential product use conditions to determine whether the product can effectively resist fungi. Testing using this method creates a climate-controlled environment in a detached room, as warm, humid environments are most favorable for mushroom growth.
The test begins when an aerosol fungal spores suspension is sprayed into the product under examination. The product is then kept in a climate-controlled room for the duration of the test. Trained professionals will then regularly check the surface of the product and observe any changes in the cork environment.
Many people trust this method due to the wide range of sports being tested. Although the testing of aspergillus, penicillium and chaetomium is the standard procedure, this test can be easily adapted to test the rarer mushrooms required by the product designer. However, most importantly, it has been proven to provide consistent and accurate test results.
However, it has potential disadvantages. According to the standard test procedure, the test environment does not change. Therefore, there are potential environmental conditions that cannot be tested by a static environment. Also, while this test does not simulate regular human intervention (such as product cleaning), there is a reasonable expectation that people will interfere with sports growth in real life conditions.
Therefore, although this test method is a highly effective standard and is more than enough for most product testing, there are some products that can benefit from alternative test standards. That's why we offer a wide variety of test standards to ensure that your product's fungal resistance is verified under the correct simulation conditions.
EUROLAB has a highly experienced staff in cork testing and other quality control services. It has many years of experience in developing accurate test methods for various environmental, mechanical and dynamic factors. Our engineers can evaluate the needs of your project and suggest a set of tests that deal with both quality control and related legal issues early in the product development life cycle.
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