Cochrane & Associates, LLC – September 3, 2013
Today, most people recognize that working, going to school or living in an indoor environment with high levels of mold can lead to health issues. Although mold growth often follows a water damaging event, most people are unaware of how mold enters a building in the first place.
Mold and mold spores occur naturally in the outdoor environment. It can enter a home or other building from the outside through open doorways and windows as well as through the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system’s outdoor air intakes. Spores can also attach themselves to people, making clothing, shoes, bags, and even pets all convenient vehicles for carrying mold into an indoor environment. Mold may even be on, or in, many building materials before they are ever used to construct a building.
“Most people know that when mold lands on places where there is moisture, such as where leaks may have occurred in roofs, pipes, walls, or where there has been flooding or excessive humidity, it can begin to grow,” reported Chris Heller with FastMoldRemoval.com, a leading supplier of mold remediation products. “What they may not realize is it can begin to grow in as short as 24 to 48 hours. That is a pretty short period of time, so people need to act quickly when they find mold or if there has been recent water damage.”
Many building materials and household belongings provide nutrients that encourage mold to grow when moisture is present. Wet cellulose materials, including paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, and wood products, are particularly conducive for the growth of some types of mold. Other materials such as dust, paint, wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery, also commonly support mold growth.
via How Mold Enters a Property & Steps to Prevent it from Becoming a Problem on Environmental Expert.