The Ugly Truth: Why Water Damage Can Turn to Mold
The Ugly Truth: Why Water Damage Can Turn to Mold
The urgency surrounding cleaning up water damage isn't due to water damage remediation companies that are hungry for business; it's due to an ugly truth: water damage often turns into mold damage. Despite your desire to shop around for the best company (and the best price) for the job, you don't have the luxury of time on your side. The longer that water remains, the more likely you'll have a moldy mess to contend with.
Why does water damage turn into mold? The answer lies in the natural kingdom. Our world is a diverse one with life forms of all shapes and sizes including microscopic life forms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and mold. Mold is a microorganism that is found virtually everywhere. It reproduces by releasing spores that float through the air. These spores eventually land. If conditions are right, they begin to grow, eat, and reproduce. If not, they may lie dormant until conditions improve in their favor.
In order to thrive, mold needs water. In fact, mold thrives in humid and wet environments. Whether it's a load of laundry that was forgotten in the washer for a few days, a damp sponge in the kitchen, or a flooded basement, if it's wet, it's a breeding ground for mold.
Not only does mold breed in moist environment, in order to survive, mold must also eat. Guess what mold eats? It eats whatever it has landed upon. This could be your couch's upholstery, woodwork, carpeting, insulation, ceiling tiles, wallpaper, paint you name it, mold will likely eat it.
In addition to being unsightly and damaging to the surfaces that it inhabits, mold is also hazardous to your health. Some molds are toxic while others trigger allergies, respiratory infections, and other adverse health effects. To make matters worse, mold is difficult and costly to remove.
If you're not concerned about mold growth, mold damage, adverse health effects, and mold cleanup costs, there's no rush to clean up water damage. If you are (and you should be), then you need to act quickly.
EPA.gov's Mold Resources page recommends cleaning and drying any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours in order to prevent mold growth. This doesn't give you much time, and if the extent of the flooding is wide, you have a lot of work on your hands! Cleaning up and drying a flooded home involves:
Extracting standing water.
Removing, drying, cleaning, and disinfecting all water-damaged furnishings including couches, drapes, beds, chairs, area rugs, and wood furniture.
Drying, cleaning, and disinfecting walls, baseboards, floors, carpeting, appliances, and cabinets.
Drying, cleaning, and disinfecting any surface or item contaminated by floodwaters.
Airing out the home.
This is but a small sample of the tasks ahead. If the water damage is limited to a small area, such as a toilet overflow, you should be able to dry out the area and any water damaged materials and items on your own. On the other hand, if you have a major water catastrophe on your hands, call a water damage professional and don't let mold have a chance.
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