Mold Removal and Property Restoration Contractor

If you recently had water damage in your home, it’s important to take care of it as soon as possible and to keep an eye on areas that were wet. It can take mold and mildew just 24 hours to start growing and releasing spores in your home. While not all molds are harmful, some have been known to negatively impact our health. In order to keep your family healthy and your home from getting more damage, look for the following signs of mold and mildew growth:

Do You Smell Something Musty?

Because mold releases spores into the air your nose is usually the first notice it. After water damage, you may smell mustiness in the air. These are areas that have been wet long enough to start releasing spores and should be cleaned and dried immediately. You might smell something sour, damp, and thick hanging in the air near baseboards, carpet, or furniture that was immersed in water. This could mean mold is beginning to grow. If you or someone in your home has asthma, allergies, or other immune system problems, it’s important they are not exposed to these airborne spores, so they should not be in charge of looking for or cleaning up mold and mildew.

Do You See Spots?

If mold and mildew has more time to grow, it will start accumulating to the point where you can actually see it. Look for small black or white dots on surfaces that were in water. These will eventually grow to bigger splotches, and you’ll notice a cloud of spores hanging in the air if the room stays humid enough. Porous surfaces are especially prone to mold and mildew, that means clothing, carpets, and even wood can make great spots for mold to grow in between all their sponge-like fibers. That’s why it’s important to remove these after water damage unless they can be professionally cleaned.