What is Mold

Mold is found both indoors and outdoors. Mold can enter your home through open doorways, windows, vents, and heating and air conditioning systems. Mold in the air outside can also attach itself to clothing, shoes, and pets can and be carried indoors. When mold spores drop on places where there is excessive moisture, such as where leakage may have occurred in roofs, pipes, walls, plant pots, or where there has been flooding, they will grow. Many building materials provide suitable nutrients that encourage mold to grow. Wet cellulose materials, including paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, and wood products, are particularly conducive for the growth of some molds. Other materials such as dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery, commonly support mold growth.

The number 1 contributor to indoor mold problems is moisture. To make things simple, if you have indoor mold growth you have a moisture problem not a mold problem. Mold is a symptom or by product of the moisture problem. So please remember even after you get rid of the excess mold, you must address the source of moisture if you do not want the problem to return. It doesn’t take long for mold to start to set in, mold growth can start forming in less than 24 hours of exposure to moisture, but it can take as long as two weeks for any signs to be clearly visible.

There are over 100,000 different types of mold. The problem with there being so many species of mold is that differentiating toxic molds from household molds is nearly impossible for an untrained professional. If you discover mold growth in your home, you should call a professional mold removal company to inspect the area and determine if your home requires treatment.