For mold growth to occur, there must be a source of water (which could be invisible humidity), and a source of food (any protein or cellos material). After a single incident of water damage occurs in a building, molds grow inside walls and then become dormant until the next incident of high humidity or another water leak. This may cause it may look like you have a sudden mold problem long after a previous flood or water damage incident that did not produce a visible mold-related problem. The right conditions re-activate mold.
There is always a small amount of mold indoors and out. There is no such thing as a mold free environment Spores need three things to grow into mold:
- Nutrients: Food for spores in an indoor environment is organic matter.
- Moisture: Moisture is required to begin the decaying process caused by the mold.
- Time: Mold growth begins between 24 hours and 10 days from the provision of the growing conditions. There is no way to tell how old mold is.
Food sources for molds in buildings include cellulose-based materials, such as wood, cardboard, and the paper facing on both sides of drywall, and all other kinds of organic matter, such as soap, dust, fabrics and yes food. Carpet contains dust made of organic matter like skin cells, hair and food. If a house has mold, the moisture may be from the basement, crawl space, a leak in the roof, leaky pipes behind the walls, or even and over abundance of steam from a shower. Insufficient ventilation can further enable moisture build-up. The more people in a space, the more humidity builds up. This is from normal breathing and perspiring. Mold can begin form where ventilation is poorest, and on a perimeter wall, because they are coolest.
When there are mold problems in a house during certain times of the year and not others, then it may be too air-tight, or too drafty. Mold problems occur in airtight homes more frequently in the warmer months because humidity reaches high levels inside the house, and moisture is trapped. In drafty homes it will occur more often in the colder months because warm air escapes from the living area into unconditioned space, and condenses on a wall or roof. If a house is humidified artificially during the winter, this can create conditions favorable to mold. There are many ways to prevent mold growth; Tobin Cleaning & Restoration is a mold contractor capable of repairing mold damage – usually by removing the affected areas and eliminating the cause of the excess moisture.