No indoor space is immune to water damage.
From residential homes and apartments to office buildings and larger industrial complexes, water damage can happen at any time from storms, structural damage, broken appliances, clogged drains, and the list goes on.
If you recently experienced a flood or a leak indoors and are worried about mold (even after you cleaned and dried the affected area), there are some things you should know first about mold growth and what causes it.
How does mold growth happen?
Mold is everywhere—outdoors and indoors.
Heck, mold can even thrive in space, where spores have been shown to survive radiation doses 200 times higher than a dose that would be fatal to humans.
All mold needs to grow is moisture, oxygen, and a food source.
The latter can be literally any organic material, including decaying food, soil, wood, fabric, and even wallpaper and drywall. That being said, it stands to reason that mold is a difficult organism to keep away.
Microscopic mold spores are always present indoors. However, under the right conditions (those three things we just talked about), those spores will come together and form visible colonies, which is when most people notice that they have a mold problem.
How fast does mold grow?
Very fast.
In fact, in as little as a day or two, your moisture problem can easily turn into a mold problem—which is why it is critical to fix the leak as quickly as possible to prevent further water damage.
Once you have identified and stopped the source of the water, it is just as important to thoroughly dry the area and discard any water-damaged items or materials that are not salvageable.
Are you safe from mold if you fix the leak and dry the area?
Not necessarily.
Mold is incredibly resilient (as the ISS astronauts will tell you). Even though mold requires moisture for growth, it will not die or go away once that moisture is gone.
When deprived of the resources it needs to flourish, mold spores will enter a hibernation state and can lay dormant for years until conditions become favorable again. During that time, dried mold spores can become airborne and travel throughout your home or commercial building, just waiting for the next opportunity to colonize.
It may be heavy rains and flooding or another unexpected leak that triggers new growth, but the bottom line is that constant vigilance is necessary when dealing with mold.
Why should you worry about indoor mold?
Is a little indoor mold growth really that bad? The answer is yes.
Mold can wreak havoc in a number of ways—beginning with damage to your belongings.
- Everything in your home or office building has value, whether it be sentimental or monetary. When contaminated with mold, those items must be discarded for safety. Some are replaceable (for an added expense) but others, unfortunately, are not.
- Mold also impacts the structural integrity of your property, feeding on materials such as wood and drywall and potentially compromising the safety of your family or your staff and patrons.
- Finally, mold infestation can be harmful to both human and pet health. Some of the most common symptoms of indoor mold exposure include allergy symptoms (coughing, sneezing, watery eyes), trouble breathing, headaches, and fatigue.
Even if you think the leak is contained and everything is returned to its normal dry state, you should always call a professional to ensure there are no underlying issues.
Call an expert for peace of mind.
After you tackle the immediate problem of fixing the leak, the next step is to call an expert.
If you do not have a heavy-duty fan or dehumidifier, a mold removal specialist can bring in the right equipment to help dry out the area and let you know what may or may not be salvageable.
More importantly, a trained specialist will help to identify any potential problem areas where hidden mold may be an issue. And if mold is detected, they can get to work quickly to contain and treat the area as well as dispose of any contaminated materials.
Call CT Mold Pros today at (203) 920-0265 for a free estimate or fill out this short form with your message to schedule an appointment.
