How Does Mold Affect Different Building Materials in Your Home?
Most homeowners are aware of the effects of mold growth in their homes, such as infrastructure damage or mold-related illnesses. Some homeowners may have even experienced these effects first-hand. Often, mold-related damages are the result of high levels of humidity. According to the EPA, “Indoor relative humidity (RH) should be kept below 60 percent—ideally between 30 percent and 50 percent, if possible.” If humidity levels exceed 60 percent, mold is plausible.
How Can Mold Form In My Home?
Mold forms when tiny mold spores enter your home through windows, vents, HVAC units, and even doorways. Mold spores can also attach themselves to clothing, shoes, and pets. When they enter your home, they will latch onto damp surfaces and reproduce.
Mold can form on a variety of surfaces when there are high levels of humidity. Most homeowners find mold around roofs, windows, basements, bathrooms, or anywhere that experienced flood damage. Because mold can form in a variety of places, it’s important to understand how it can impact different materials in your home. In this blog post, we rounded up common materials mold can form on and how it affects those materials, so you know what to look out for and how to prevent it on these surfaces.
Brick
Black mold, green mold, white mold, and other types of mold can form on bricks when exposed to damp conditions. Mold can grow on the brick itself or in between mortar joints. Mold is often found on brick because it traps moisture after it rains or there is flooding. Some places to check for mold include the physical structure of your home or patio if they are brick.
Brick patios are more susceptible to mold than other brick surfaces because they could have a layer of dirt that traps in moisture. Additionally, mold could only grow on the layer of dirt but not the brick itself. That’s why it’s necessary to maintain your brick patio and remove dirt on it.
Carpet
One of the most common places homeowners find mold is underneath carpeting. This is because moisture, flooding, or spills can be absorbed into the carpet and get trapped underneath. Carpets also trap dirt, dust, or other particles that can feed mold spores.
Once mold forms and grows under your carpet, it becomes incredibly difficult to remove, which is why it’s best to hire a professional mold removal company. If mold growth becomes severe in your carpeting, it could affect the construction of your property or lead to mold-related allergies or symptoms.
Another factor to consider is that the carpeting may be free from moisture, but the padding underneath may meet the conditions for mold to grow. To prevent this from occurring, make sure you immediately clean up a spill or hire a professional to clean up water damage from flooding.
Drywall
Drywall is a very porous surface, which means that if mold grows on the surface, it can be difficult to remove. We often see white mold on drywall, which is a white, powdery fungus that can be hard to detect. The fungus appears white in color because the spores are not pigmented; however, when the spores reproduce, the mold becomes black. If you find mold on your drywall, it is best to hire aprofessional mold removal service. If mold isn’t removed from the drywall, you could have to remove or replace the drywall completely.
Insulation
Similar to drywall, insulation is porous, which means it can absorb moisture and trap dirt and dust. The only exception is closed-cell spray foam insulation, which is impermeable. If mold forms in your insulation, it is best to hire a professional to remove and replace the insulation completely. You not only want the insulation to be free from mold, but you also don’t want mold to impact or grow in surrounding areas.
Tile
Another material where mold growth is plausible is in tile, particularly in bathrooms due to humidity. When the tile is not sealed properly, moisture is more likely to get trapped inside of the tile, in between the tile, or in the caulking. Since bathrooms typically experience the most moisture and dampness in your home, it’s important to make sure your tile is sealed properly, there’s ventilation, and you remove excess water from the shower tile with a shower squeegee.
Wood
With wood being the structural material for homes and a lot of furniture, it’s important to address mold if you suspect it. Wood has the ability to absorb water, which means it can be a food and moisture source for mold spores. If a mold problem progresses on wood and it’s not taken care of, it can lead to structural damage and destroy wood surfaces. In order to remove mold from wood, you could use a mold removal solution, but it’s best to hire a professional to ensure the area stays dry and mold doesn’t come back.
Contact Mold Medics
If you suspect you have mold growing in your home, you can count on Mold Medics to make your home mold-free. We offer mold removal and mold testing services, as well as a variety of other services, including air duct cleaning, home and office disinfection, and radon testing.
Just contact Mold Medics, and one of our team members will conduct an in-home assessment to determine the mold varieties, levels in your home, and the moisture source. From there, we’ll come up with a custom removal plan to remove the mold and fix the moisture source. This prevents mold from forming in the future. For more information and a step-by-step guide on our mold removal process, click here.
If you’d like to schedule a mold assessment or if you have any questions about mold, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team is readily available to make your home healthy again and answer any questions.