What Mold Needs to Grow

With spring almost in the air, it’s a good time to start thinking about mold remediation in your home. Melting snow and any burst pipes from the winter can cause mold to form in your home as the temperatures outside begin to warm up. There’s no substitute for the expertise of a professional when it comes to mold inspection, but if you’re on the hunt for mold in your home, you’ll need to what makes it thrive. These are the 4 components mold needs to grow.

Heat

The first thing mold needs to grow is heat. By ‘heat,’ we really mean any temperature above freezing. This is why it’s common to find mold in your refrigerator, but not in the freezer. The warmer it is, the faster mold will grow. In your home, it will generally remain warm enough all year for mold to grow, so you should be on the look-out in the middle of winter.

An Organic Material

There’s a reason you’ll rarely find mold growing on such materials as glass, metal, or plastic. On the rare occasions that this is the case, the mold hasn’t grown on the material itself, but on the dust that’s fallen upon it.

An organic material is another factor that mold needs to grow. This is why mold tends to form so quickly on food. But other materials that you don’t think of as ‘organic’ provide the perfect location for mold to form and thrive. Here are a few:

• Wallpaper
• Books
• Fabric
• Hardwood

Moisture

Without moisture, mold cannot survive. Mold will have the easiest time forming on wet materials, but it can survive just fine off of the humidity in the air. You might think it’s a wise idea to just stock up on dehumidifiers, but the truth is that low humidity can pose a few problems of its own. Dealing with excessively dry air in your home is no fun. You should aim for an indoor humidity level of around 40%.

For this reason, mold generally forms in areas of your home that are the wettest. You might find it in your basement, the kitchen, or your bathrooms. It won’t commonly appear in dry areas like attics—unless you have a leak in your roof, that is!

Oxygen

The final component mold needs to grow is oxygen. Keep in mind that mold is a living organism, and it needs air just like you and me. You might be able to control moisture levels in your home, but there’s no getting around how much oxygen you have in the air.

Still, there is hope for homeowners in the fight against mold. Simply get in touch with a mold testing and remediation specialist. If you want to take confidence in the fact that harmful mold isn’t thriving in your home, just get in touch with us.  

Contact All Aspects Waterproofing Today for Your Mold Remediation Needs

Whether you need a new sump pump installed or want to waterproof your entire basement, contact All Aspect Waterproofing, a Better Business Bureau A+ rated company with over 30 years of experience in the Washington DC./Maryland/Virginia area. We have a great deal of experience in waterproofing, mold testing, and mold remediation, and we want to make you feel at home again. Contact us online or by calling 1-866-999-3110 or 301-766-4420. To see what we’re up to, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Houzz.