Mold growth after a small water leak?

5/18/2018 (Permalink)

Sometimes a slow leak occurs inside your home causing damage that goes unnoticed. Many times people do not know that water damage occurred until they notice a foul mildew smell or see the presence of black mold. Once mold exists, spores created by the fungus can travel to other rooms inside your own home.

The spores easily become air-bound and travel to other areas of your home, possibly creating an issue with fungi in other areas besides the source. SERVPRO's technicians know how to mitigate mold issues. We always follow a strict set of procedures when mitigating fungal issues so that the fungus does not spread into other areas of the home.

Water damage scenarios create increased moisture that makes a good environment for mold development. Mold needs water, food and the ideal temperature to form and become a problem. Mold feeds off of any organic materials including paper and wood.

Various strains of mold grow in different temperatures. Some rare mold strains develop in extremely cold or hot temperatures. However, most types of fungi develop between 68 and 86 degrees.

Most types of fungus need incredibly high levels of moisture to survive. Although, some mold strains exist in rooms that have a relative humidity of 65%. When trying to prevent mold growth after a water damage situation, we attempt to drop the relative humidity below 65%.

The time it takes for mold to develop depends on the conditions. Some forms of fungus grow within twelve hours of a water damage problem taking place. Other molds grow into colonies but take between 24 and 48 hours to develop.

Most houses offer many food sources for a fungus. Outside dirt, drywall, carpet, and paper all offer mold growth opportunities if the moisture levels and the temperature inside are ideal. The more time that passes, the worse a mold problem can get.

If water sits inside your home for a long time, then it spreads to areas where microbes already exist and cause mold to develop. For help preventing fungus growth, call SERVPRO of Centreville, Marion, and Selma at (205) 926-6010 for 24 hour service.