Water damage · 1 min read
After a water event: what happens next in a commercial building
The timeline from leak to mould, what drying does and does not fix, and the window in which airborne treatment makes the biggest difference.
A burst pipe, a roof leak, a storm surge. The water is extracted, fans run for a few days, the building dries out and everyone moves on. Then, a few weeks later, the smell starts.
The timeline
Mould can begin to colonise wet material within 24 to 48 hours. Drying stops further growth on the surfaces it reaches, but it does not kill what has already established, and it does not reach the cavities, insulation and underside of linings where water sat longest.
What drying fixes, and what it doesn’t
Drying addresses the moisture. It does not address the biological load already released into the air and settled onto every surface in the building. That load re-seeds the building as soon as conditions allow.
The window
The days immediately after drying are the most valuable moment for airborne and surface treatment. The building is accessible, the source is known, and the mould population has not yet spread into a whole-of-building problem. Treatment at this point, documented with readings, is also exactly what an insurer wants to see.