Mould is fungi that belongs to the same family of organisms as mushrooms and yeast. For mould to grow and thrive it requires moisture and a source of food such as organic matter, dirt, or dust. There is an extremely wide variety of moulds which thrive in both indoor and outdoor environments and on a wide variety of surfaces throughout the home such as wood, fabric, leather, concrete, drywall, paper, and more.

Mould can come in a variety of colours including white, green, grey, or black. It can appear as a smudge or a stain, to full blown fuzz and produce a musty odour indicative of active mould growth.

Mould infestations can be classed into 3 conditions:

  1. Condition 1 (Normal Fungal Ecology) – Invisible to the naked eye, this is the normal amount of mould within any outdoor environmental area. Indoor environment should be the same or lower than outdoors and presents no increased risk to occupants.
  2. Condition 2 (Settled Spores) – Invisible to the naked eye but consist of more than 500 spores/cm2. Although invisible, this is a mould infestation with the potential to affect human health.
  3. Condition 3 (Actual Growth) – Visible mould with active growth consisting of more than 50 millions spores/cm2. Any visible mould is of significant concern and may affect health. This should be addressed as a matter of urgency.

While mould can be found anywhere, it typically starts to grow in hidden or hard to reach areas which can grow and spread rapidly. Every square centimeter of mould produces millions of mould spores and can quickly become a full-blown infestation. Mould not only affects the aesthetics of your property, it also damages and destroys the material it is growing on which may lead to expensive repairs or dangerous structural damage. Since mould is a living organism, it will continue to grow with the right living conditions. Even if you repair the damage, the mould can regrow from leftover spores.