How to Avoid Spring Mold Growth in Your Facility

Spring is here and that means spring rains, ponding, and water showing up in places where it wasn’t before. And with water comes the possibility of mold. Spring is peak mold season, and water is the main indicator of where you’ll find mold growing.

If you have a building or property that has had water infiltration, then it’s not a question of if but when mold will set up colonies. When the rains come, here are some things that building maintenance should be doing:

• Increase patrols of areas looking for water damage. Some areas, rooms, and buildings may be infrequently visited. This is especially true in vacant properties that are managed by third parties. Water infiltration can turn a small maintenance issue into tens of thousands of dollars of restoration efforts.
• Check roof drains for proper flow. Blocked or leaking roof drains can send rainwater where it isn’t wanted.
• Check pump operations. Many buildings in our region have sumps installed below grade, many of which don’t run that often in the winter, if at all. The big rains of spring and early summer aren’t the time to find out your sump pump system has seized or the float switch is stuck.
• Look for ponding water on properties near buildings. It’s going to drain somewhere; you don’t want that to be through a crack in the foundation of a building.
• Look out for condensation on pipes. As the weather warms up, pipes that were condensation-free may find themselves in a new situation.

Routine inspections are key to discovering mold early on, but even if you can see mold growing, you might still need testing services. If mold is growing on the walls, it may also have set up colonies inside the air vents and returns and other areas that are less obvious. Finding and removing all mold colonies and sources quickly will help you avoid more serious, long-term mold problems.

If you have questions about mold, or if you suspect mold growth on your property or facility, please contact Jason Van Dyke, CIH at (513)792-6943 or jmvandyke@psara.com.