Picture a beautiful sunny day, temperatures in the mid 90s, relative humidity at 50%, and a weather front moving through. Tornadoes spawn and destroy the power lines in a ten mile radius.
Luckily, your office and home are spared with no damage at all. But you’ll have no power for two weeks.
Will mold grow in your home of office simply because you lose power?
Mold doesn’t spontaneously grow on its own.
A story on NPR titled: “As Number Of Foreclosed Homes Grows, So Does Mold” by Kabir Bhatia prompted an internal rant now turned blog post.
The article is informative and will help generate attention about mold but comes up short on the cause of mold. The article indicates half or more of foreclosed homes have mold and mildew issues and intimates the lack of no one going in or out and the lack of utilities causes the mold or mildew.
These buildings grow mold because they are poorly built, not because there is no A/C. A well constructed building doesn’t need people or utilities to avoid mold.
Homes in hot, humid climates with unconditioned (no heat or air conditioning) finished garages do not grow mold unless there is a water problem. The same is true for garages in other climates.
Moisture causes mold growth. Where does the moisture come from?
Moisture comes from air, the sky (we call it rain, sleet, hail, and snow), the ground (ground water, surface drainage, or flooding), or plumbing leaks.
Abandoned homes and buildings without utilities will not grow mold unless there was a moisture problem to begin with or it has a leak. Having said that, if the home has a finished basement and no gravity drainage to daylight, water may enter the basement and cause mold. Also, if the water lines are not winterized-the lines will leak after the water freezes and the line breaks.
Here are some tips for dealing with mold.
Have a question or comment? Leave it below, and I’ll get right back to you.
Stay fungal, my friends.
