How does mold grow?
Basically four items are needed for mold growth – water, food, ideal temperature and air.
Different mold might need different quantities of these four eg. Some mold require more water to survive and grow than others.
Planet Earth readily supplies air to support living organisms, so that condition for mold to grow is always present. However, if mold spores settle on dry surface, it cannot grow due to the absence of water.
Most of the places inside our homes are dry, thus not providing ideal situations for mold to grow. Nevertheless, other parts of our homes may turn out to be ideal places for mold to flourish. These places are usually damp and wet, located in basements and toilets, probably resulting from piping leaks or floods.
If mold finds air and moisture, but no food, it can’t grow either. Mold feeds on dead organic matter. However, mold is good at getting food in our homes by having microscopic threads to absorb nutrients.
Hence, we can find mold on :
- Fabric
- Paper
- Cardboard
- Ceramic tiles (containing particles of food and dust on its surface)
- Paint
- Drywall
- Fiberglass insulation (dust-covered)
- Wood framing
- Floors
So, we don’t only hate mold for being unsightly; mold can cause structural damage to our homes. We may have to fork out tons of money to repair our homes overgrown with molds. Not only that, we also may have to pay dearly for the damage it does to our health.
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Basically four items are needed for mold growth – water, food, ideal temperature and air.
Different mold might need different quantities of these four eg. Some mold require more water to survive and grow than others.
Planet Earth readily supplies air to support living organisms, so that condition for mold to grow is always present. However, if mold spores settle on dry surface, it cannot grow due to the absence of water.
Most of the places inside our homes are dry, thus not providing ideal situations for mold to grow. Nevertheless, other parts of our homes may turn out to be ideal places for mold to flourish. These places are usually damp and wet, located in basements and toilets, probably resulting from piping leaks or floods.
If mold finds air and moisture, but no food, it can’t grow either. Mold feeds on dead organic matter. However, mold is good at getting food in our homes by having microscopic threads to absorb nutrients.
Hence, we can find mold on :
- Fabric
- Paper
- Cardboard
- Ceramic tiles (containing particles of food and dust on its surface)
- Paint
- Drywall
- Fiberglass insulation (dust-covered)
- Wood framing
- Floors
So, we don’t only hate mold for being unsightly; mold can cause structural damage to our homes. We may have to fork out tons of money to repair our homes overgrown with molds. Not only that, we also may have to pay dearly for the damage it does to our health.
[...] I mentioned earlier, mold needs 4 items to grow - water, food, ideal temperature and [...]