Facts About Mold: What Is It & How Does It Grow?

When it comes to the facts about how mold can affect you and your family’s health, especially after suffering a water leak or damage, it is best to learn every mold fact that you can.

According to Webster’s dictionary, mold is a minute fungi often found in moist, damp, and decaying space. More commonly, we think of it as the soft, fuzzy growth found on decaying vegetables and in damp forests.

The same growth can occur in your home after a water leak or damage and can cause illness and respiratory issues.  

Left unmitigated, mold can even spread to the point that a property can be declared uninhabitable due to the dangers it poses to the health of those living with it.

Mold can grow in any area of your home or space where moisture occurs. This means that after a water emergency, conditions are ripe for mold growth. 

Our IICRC certified mold remediation specialists understand this and work to mitigate mold damage and restore your property to its pre-mold healthy state. 

As an experienced mold remediation service provider in Denver, HRS knows that the health of those who live on your property is your top priority, and it is ours too.

That’s why we use the latest technology for mold remediation to ensure that we find the source of moisture in your space, clean the growing mold, and repair or replace any damaged items that were affected. 

When you find mold on your property, reaching out to a trusted remediation provider like HRS is the best way to limit the chance that the health of you or those you love will be affected by the growing fungi.

What Is Mold?

When you discover mold growing on your property’s surfaces, one of the first things you might consider asking is what is mold and what does it need to thrive?

The short answer is it needs damp conditions, lack of direct sunlight, and time. But there is more than just the short answer to the story of mold and how it can affect your space.

Mold is a naturally occurring fungus that thrives in moist or damp conditions. It produces spores that come into a space via air or another transfer. The spores attach to moist or wet items and begin to grow.

It can occur indoors and outdoors and enter your home through open doors and heating and air conditioning vents. It can even be carried into your space by pets, on clothes and shoes.

Mold thrives in wet or damp conditions, making a property that has a leak, recent water damage, or flooding, especially at risk for mold growth.

In your home, mold can grow on paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, and wood products. Mold can also grow in dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery.

What Does Mold Look Like?

Mold can come in various textures and colors, making it hard for some homeowners to identify. 

There are as many as 300,000 different types of mold. It can appear white, black, blue, yellow, and green and can even look less fuzzy than a stain or discoloration on a surface.

It can also have a velvety, fuzzy, or rough appearance, depending on the mold type and where it is growing.

According to the CDC, “Color is not an indication of how dangerous a mold may be. Any mold should be removed, and the moisture source that helped it grow should be removed.”

The good news is that mold growth is usually visible and often produces a musty odor. 

This makes the discovery of a mold issue easier for property owners and gives you a chance to begin the remediation process sooner, limiting health risks for those exposed to mold-infected conditions.

What Causes Mold To Grow?

To grow, mold requires water, food, and oxygen, which can be provided by animals, vegetables, wood, paper, and other surfaces that have become damp due to leaks or another water intrusion. 

It thrives in damp, moist, dark, and warm conditions, making a property that has suffered a leak or water damage the ideal candidate for a mold issue.

What Does Mold Grow On?

Spores can grow in any area but are often found in carpets, behind doors, in paper products, including wallpaper, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood products, insulation materials, and upholstery, and other fabrics.

Where Can Mold Be Found?

Mold can hide in all areas of your home. It thrives incredibly well in carpet and other porous objects in your space. 

Mold grows in any area where it finds the dampness and warmth it needs to thrive. 

A property owner might find mold in many areas of their space if those areas have not been adequately cleaned, disinfected, and dried or continue to experience moisture.

Is Mold Dangerous?

Mold can be dangerous to some people and more than an irritant for others. 

For certain people, exposure to toxigenic molds can lead to health problems such as asthma, respiratory issues, headaches, and infection. 

Black mold, or Stachybotrys chartarum, is one type of mold that is dangerous in certain conditions. However, color is not an indication of how dangerous a mold might be to you or those who live in your space.

Exposure to some molds can be harmful in the long term, particularly in people with respiratory conditions and other risk factors. This is why government and medical agencies, such as the CDC, recommend that you remediate any mold found in your home or space.

Symptoms Of Mold Exposure

• Stuffy nose
• Wheezing
• Red or itchy eyes
• Irritated skin
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Asthma
• Headache
• Cough

What About Black Mold?

According to the CDC, black mold, or Stachybotrys chartarum, is one type of mold that can be toxigenic and can cause health issues in some people.

Black mold can be either green or black and is common in situations where there has been a sustained leak or water damage. Constant water or moisture is needed for it to grow.

Though it hasn’t been fully studied to date, black mold has been linked to some health-related issues in some patients who have been exposed to mold for a long period.

Like all mold types, black mold should be identified and removed as soon as possible. This limits any chance that health can be affected by exposure.

How Does Mold Remediation Work? 

Due to the possible toxicity of the mold in your home or business, it’s important to have mold removal handled by professionals. Our Denver mold remediation specialists are IICRC certified in Applied Microbial Remediation, ensuring all aspects of the mold abatement are handled safely.

Our proven mold remediation process is a step-by-step system aimed at removing any trace of mold and returning your property to its pre-mold condition.

It begins with determining the source of the moisture causing the mold growth and the damage caused. Then, we remove or disinfect items affected before ensuring that the source of the water is repaired. 

Our professional team then repairs or replaces any items, returning your space to its pre-mold condition. 

Mold Inspection

When water comes into your home or property, your first thought is often around how to remove it and return your space to its pre-leak condition. 

You might not initially consider the possibility that mold can grow if you are unable to dry every part of your space or if remediation is done improperly. 

That is why our certified specialists begin assessing your property to determine exactly where the mold is growing and, most importantly, where moisture hides.

This allows them to identify precisely the cause of the problem and begin to solve it without you worrying about the potential for health issues stemming from mold growth.

Mold Remediation

Mold remediation begins once the mold and the moisture causing it has been identified. 

Our HRS certified mold remediation specialists remove unsalvageable items that have been infected by mold. Then, they disinfect anything that remains, ensuring that the mold growth has stopped. 

Stopping the source of moisture is the most important element to a continued mold-free space. This means that we repair any source, allowing your property to be ready for the restoration process.

Mold Restoration

Getting the dampness source that allows mold to thrive repaired is the first and most immediate need when you discover mold growth in your space.

Once that issue has been mitigated by thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the area, restoration can begin.

Our licensed contractors can return your property to its pre-mold condition, both on the interior and exterior.

After all, mold grows not only inside of your home but in the outdoors as well. It can cause damage to both areas.

Our team works to bring your space back to its healthy condition in a short time, giving you the peace of mind you need to return happily to your property. 

Why Choose HRS Mold Remediation

When you are left wondering “how does mold grow” or “what is a mold allergy” after a water leak or a discovery of moisture in your space, you may not be sure of the answers to your questions, but you know for sure that getting help fast is what you need.

As leading experts in mold remediation in Denver, we understand that you have questions and are here to help. As soon as mold is found, our team of certified specialists and licensed contractors can begin the remediation and restoration process.

This means that your property will return to its pre-mold, healthy state in as little time as possible and with little stress. 

Contact HRS Restoration Services Today!

In Denver, HRS offers you the best in mold remediation when your property is affected. Your health is our highest priority, and our certified specialists can help.

Mold is not the only emergency that our technicians can help you recover from. Whether it is water, fire, mold, or trauma, our team of certified and licensed professionals are here to help. Contact us when you need to start the process of bringing your affected property back to its pre-damaged state.