December 15th, 2012 10:38 PM by Dan Howard
The first thing to understand about mold is that there is a little mold everywhere - indoors and outdoors. It's in the air and can be found on plants, foods, dry leaves, and other organic materials. We have been testing and inspecting homes in the Pittsburgh Area and Western PA for 30 years.
It's very common to find molds in homes and buildings. After all, molds grow naturally indoors. And mold spores enter the home through doorways, windows, and heating and air conditioning systems. Spores also enter the home on animals, clothing, shoes, bags and people. King Tut's Tomb was closed for 4,000 years and 3 days after it was open, there was mold growing on the walls that had been closed for those thousands of years.
When mold spores drop where there is excessive moisture in your home, they will grow. Picture a handful of seeds dropped on wet soil. They will begin to grow. Mold is the same way. Anyplace on earth where there is food and water, something will grow.
If the area is very wet, such as a leak behind a wall, toxic mold or black molds such as Stachybotrys or Chaetomium will grow.
Common mold problem sites include humidifiers, leaky roofs and pipes, overflowing sinks, bath tubs and plant pots, steam from cooking, wet clothes drying indoors, dryers exhausting indoors, or where there has been flooding.