If your home has excessive water either due to a leaky roof, flooding or bursting of the pipeline, it can create lots of problems for you. It can damage your appliances and electronics, ruin carpets, clothing, furniture, and other items as well as the integrity of your entire building. It can also help in faster growth of mold in your home which can not only delay the restoration process but also make it costlier and harder to achieve. But, do you know how fast does mold spread? The information provided here under can be helpful for you in this regard.
How Fast Does Mold Spread
The Growth of Mold After Water Damage
Though limited intrusion of water may not cause much damage but it can increase the problem of mold growth. The growth of mold in the home becomes easier regardless of the amount of accumulation of moisture in it. The spores of mold are found anywhere in the environment so they start growing as soon as they find suitable conditions including moisture and organic food.
Most of the organic materials used in a house including insulation, drywall, paper products, and paint etc. are porous. So after getting some moisture mold can start growing. Mold can start growing in a couple of days to damage your property if the humidity level is a bit higher or only a few inches water is accumulated in the home.
However, by eliminating the moisture before the mold starts growing you can easily avoid this problematic condition. But it is difficult to know when to start drying your home to prevent the infestation of mold spores in your home as well as the speed of growth of mold.
Time Taken to Grow
Mold can start germinating and growing in 24 to 48 hours under ideal conditions, with an appropriate level of temperature and humidity. Normally, the colonization of spores starts within 3-12 days of accumulation of water in a home and in 18-21 days they are visible. However, this time can vary depending upon the conditions in a household including materials used and types of surfaces, atmospheric temperature, amount of moisture and types of mold. But, the chances of growth and spreading of mold in other areas of the home increase, with the passage of time.
The Speed of Spreading Mold
Mold needs a few hours to spread in vast areas. Mold spore rots into the porous surfaces when it lands on a wet organic material. Then it starts eating the organic material to become a harmful microorganism. Within a few hours, it will start spread into the nearby wet areas to damage the integrity of the structural materials as well as other things in the household. Mold can spread all over your home by filling its air with thousands of spores after developing once on your surface. As time will pass, its infestation will affect nearby areas also.
Final Words
Thus, the infestation of mold in your home can be prevented more efficiently if you know how fast does mold spread after an incident of water damage. You can easily control the growth of mold in your home by drying it within 48 hours of the intrusion of water in it.
