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How Soon After Water Damage Does Mold Grow?
Water damage can bring forth a plethora of problems for a home or business. If your home or business has recently experienced water damage, you may be wondering how soon after water damage does mold growth begins. To put it simply, mold growth can occur in as little as 24 hours after any water damage or additional moisture is found in the home.
Mold growth can vary depending on the situation. It can take anywhere from 24-72 hours to grow as long as the circumstances are ideal. For mold growth, the conditions need to involve organic material, oxygen, and moisture. United Water Restoration Group of Port St. Lucie, a company that provides mold damage remediation services, would like to discuss how water damage can potentially lead to mold growth. While water damage and mold growth don’t always coincide, they are somewhat common together.
Mold growth can begin in as little as 24 hours. A mold colony can sprout up in 24-48 hours after water leaks in or after a water damage event occurs at your home or business.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency states that mold growth can begin in as little as 24-48 hours, certain variables can change this, though.
While a mold colony can grow and spread quickly, it may not be as easy to find or locate. If your home or business had any leaks behind walls or in the ceiling, mold colonies can grow and spread throughout your property in areas that are rarely frequented by those in the home or business. Things such as ice storms also pose a unique problem in mold growth situations as the growth does not start until the snow or ice begins melting.
A simple test for mold or mold growth comes in the form of using bleach. Dispense a few droplets of bleach on the affected areas, if the color is lost or fades after a few minutes, you are likely dealing with mold. If the affected area remains the same color, you are likely dealing with dirt or dust.
There are ways a home or business owner can test for mold growth or mold spore levels. There are DIY mold testing kits on the market as well as certain tells, such as visually seeing dark spots or physically smelling the mold colonies.
To put it simply, bleach does not kill mold. Simply pouring bleach on affected areas with no follow-up will do nothing as this chemical is not designed for this specific use. It can assist in removing mold from surfaces such as glass, metal, or tiles, but will not help with more porous surfaces, such as wood, furniture, or carpet.
Bleach can discolor items such as fabric, clothing, furniture, carpet, walls, and many other types of surfaces and items. We highly recommend that you be careful while using this chemical.
The average spore count in a room can vary anywhere from 1-1500 before it becomes a risk to one’s health. While mold spores are typically seen as harmful, they are present in virtually every room as they are microscopic in size.
10,000-25,000 mold spore count is typically where mold damage remediation is required. Once above this threshold, some form of remediation will be required to get the spore count to a lower number.
