What comes first, the water intrusion or the mold?
There is a baseline of mold in the air at all times and therefore mold technically comes first. However, mold growth cannot occur unless it has a source of water. There are two things you can take away from this. If you have spotted a leak and you don’t know how long it has been there, it is very good idea to get a mold inspection. Any porous material that remains wet for more than 24 hours has the potential for mold growth. Mold growth tends to begin 48-72 hours following moisture intrusion but this estimate is flexible. When a property has had a slow leak for a long period of time it is almost certain that you can find mold growing.
Another thing to think about is that if you see mold or smell an odor that you suspect to be mold, it is very possible you might have a leak somewhere. Most of the inspections I do are at properties that had visible mold as some point, but then the owner wiped it away and cleaned the area with bleach. This really doesn’t solve the problem and in fact it ignores both that there is still active mold growth as well as that there must be a leak somewhere.
In either scenario, whether you see/smell mold, or you see water stains/moisture, do yourself a favor and get a mold inspection and have a leak detection company come and see if they can locate a leak. In both scenarios you will have to address the leak first, and then have the mold professionally removed. Don’t let the problem get worse, mold can be expensive!
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