The Size of Mold Spores: Did you know the size of mold spores range from about 2 microns to about 20 microns and can be as large as 100 microns. To give you an idea how big (or small) that is it takes about 25,000 microns to equal an inch.
This is an important point. For example: Mold spores are inside the walls of your home back when it was built. They generally just stay there doing nothing until some type of moisture or water comes along.
At that point, within some 24 hours, they start to germinate or grow. The longer the moisture is present the more they grow.
This is especially important for people that are more susceptible or sensitive to various molds.
Consider this scenario: Drywall is often removed to fix a leak or to help dry an area when a leak is found. However, it is important to do this under containment so as not to let potential mold spores sitting in the walls ‘out’ to roam your home. Because at 2 to 20 microns they are microscopic and can’t be seen with the unaided eye.
Water damage technicians may often say ‘we did not find any mold’. They mean ‘visible mold’. It can take several days before mold growth becomes visible.
In the mean time your home can be flooded with a large number of mold spores which can affect people adversely depending on their health.
I’ll talk more about this on the next post. Stay tuned!