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Mold growth can creep up on you without you noticing it until the infestation grows beyond the hidden confines of the many nooks and crannies around your home. So, the first hint you will have of an impending mold problem will likely arrive via your olfactory senses.
Mold has a distinctive odor, but it's most often compared to the smell of dirty wet socks. Unless your home is completely disorganized, the smell of damp, dirty socks coming from your kitchen cupboard is most likely a developing mold problem, rather than from oddly misplaced feet attire.
How Mold Grows on Walls
Mold needs optimal conditions to grow, which includes:
Moisture delivered by flooding, leaks, or humidity
A food source such as organic materials that provide nutrients
An optimal temperature range of between 64-82 degrees
When these conditions prevail in an area, mold can quickly colonize and start spreading, and it will only take about 24-48 hours.
Cracks in your external walls can let in moisture, which makes your internal walls damp. You mustn't just cover the external cracks, because a building needs to breathe so that evaporation can take place.
If your mold is growing just above your skirting boards, then you may have a rising damp problem. Older properties are more susceptible to rising damp because many did not have what is called a damp-proof course (DPC) installed.
A DPC is a waterproof layer of slate, felt, or plastic that prevents moisture from rising up the wall. As with most construction materials, DPCs will not last forever and can break and crack and allow moisture to build up in your internal walls.
Using a humidifier inside your home may also increase the risk of mold growing on your walls. If there is any damp already present, a humidifier will slow down the drying process. To prevent your humidifier from contributing to ideal conditions for mold, always keep its setting below 55%.
Other conditions that can create an environment for mold to grow include leaky internal plumbing, a leaking roof, poor ventilation (especially in kitchens and bathrooms), and even drying wet clothes inside because of a few days of rain.
Mold build-up and moisture can be damaging to both property and pose a severe health hazard. ATP Environmental Solutions are specialists who don't just focus on removing the mold; they also take extensive measures to ensure it cannot return. All ATP personnel are fully trained, licensed, and experienced to deal with your mold problem. Each call receives our highest priority so you can be free of mold as soon as possible.