How Does Mold Grow in a Home?

If Mold Is Organic, Why Won’t It Stay Outside in Low Country?

Mold grows inside and outside of a home. In some ways, mold is seen as organic and “all natural,” but the damage that it can do inside of a building or home is anything but pleasing in nature.
How Does Mold Start to Grow In a Home?Mold will start to grow in a home if several factors line up perfectly to allow the mold to thrive and bloom to its full potential. Think of how a tree grows outside your window. The tree has only one duty, and that is to grow to its full potential. It will take whatever resources it can such as sun, air, water and food to grow as high as it can, and unless someone chops it down, it will keep growing until it dies of natural causes. Well, mold grows the same way in your home. It is an opportunist, and will grow eating or replicating using any resources that it can to continue to divide, grow, bloom and get bigger each day. It is fulfilling its destiny. Mold is “supposed” to grow.

Mold Is In Nature As WellYes, mold is seen readily in nature. Mold helps plants to decay properly and return to feed and nourish the earth. When mold is growing and proliferating in your home, it does what it is supposed to do – which is to grow using any resource possible. The mold is not making a distinction between being outside or inside, it just grows to the best of its ability. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to head mold off at the pass every time you see it trying to take up residence in your home. Sometimes you will win this battle, sometimes you will lose. When you cannot fight the mold any longer, it is time to call in the professionals who know how to eradicate mold and restore your home to a safe and mold-free environment that it once was before the mold took over your living spaces.

What Conditions Are Perfect To Support Mold Growth?Mold grows with a few conditions, such as:1. Enough moisture to germinate and maintain mold growth on an undisturbed surface in the home.2. A readily accessible food resource, such as dead organic materials that it can easily digest to live.3. A warm and toasty temperature range to keep it moist and free from cold drafts.4. Lots of humidity and oxygen to allow the spores to grow, bloom and develop without limits.
What Do Molds Feed On the Most?Well, that depends on the mold. But in general, molds will feast on cellulose based building materials that are paper, wood and natural fibers. This is the structure of your home precisely, and mold will be happy to set up shop in your home in any area that promotes its growth. As you review the list of conditions above, did any areas of the home particularly stick out to you? They should have, and we all know what those might be. Mold can grow best in moist environments, such as the bathroom, kitchen, damp basements and lower levels, darkened closets, anywhere that there is a water leak or water damage or wherever there is an opportunity for it to thrive.
Can Molds “Grow” on Plastic Too?Well yes and no. Molds can be found on plastic materials, metals, concrete and other surfaces if there is a food source affiliated with that surface area. For example, mold does not typically grow on plastic, but it can grow on a wall, and if there is a plastic picture hanging on the wall, and the picture has a layer of organic dirt or dust on it then that material may attract mold which can live on the dirt and grow using it as a possible food resource. Technically, mold can grow and live on organic materials such as grease from the kitchen, oils, food waste and table scraps left on the floor, or even insect droppings found behind a piece of furniture. Remember that mold grows as it is its job to grow, it does not care if it is inside the home or outside on a wooded trail, its only job is to replicate and grow, and that is what it will do if it is not stopped.
Call the Professionals at the First Sight of MoldDon’t wait for your mold colonies to get out of hand, to where you can’t see them, find them or identify them as growing and multiplying in the home. Call the professionals at the first sight of mold, we can stop mold growing in its tracks, and restore your home to a safe and mold-free environment.