# Effect of dryness on mold after it's established a foothold

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-dryness-on-mold-after-its-established-a-foothold/849303>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 11, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-dryness-on-mold-after-its-established-a-foothold/849303 "2020-03-11T22:22:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-dryness-on-mold-after-its-established-a-foothold/849303/1 "2020-03-11T22:22:48Z")

</div>

Mold grows and develops a foothold if one allows a room’s humidity to get too high for too long, but if you dehydrate the room environment back to a dry state, does it inhibit the mold from growing or doing anything further (emitting mycotoxins, sending out spores, etc.) or does the mold just do its thing from that point regardless of humidity %?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-dryness-on-mold-after-its-established-a-foothold/849303/2 "2020-03-13T11:43:43Z")

</div>

Once you dry it out, you’re fine. The people telling you that you need to rip everything out are the people selling you those services. Don’t fall for it

From **Skeptoid** Podcast:

> **[Black Mold: Peril or Prosaic?](https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4494)**
>
> Black mold is commonly believed to harbor many deadly diseases; but in fact removing it is often worse than leaving it.

> [@](#):
>
> …you need to make your home a less inviting habitat for mold. The way to do this is to eliminate the source of the moisture. If you have a leaking pipe, fix it. If there’s water in your walls, call a plumber. If you live in a wet climate, install a moisture barrier. Once the moisture is out of the environment, the mold will stop growing and producing spores. You truly don’t even need to remove the mold; you need to fix the source of the water.

.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-dryness-on-mold-after-its-established-a-foothold/849303/3 "2020-03-13T18:11:53Z")

</div>

> [@GMANCANADA](#):
>
> Once you dry it out, you’re fine. The people telling you that you need to rip everything out are the people selling you those services. Don’t fall for it
> 
> From **Skeptoid** Podcast:  
> [Black Mold: Peril or Prosaic?](https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4494)
> 
> .

This is all true, as long as you can keep the moisture away. But if the fungus has sporulated, those spores can remain dormant and viable for years, awaiting the next dampness event.

It’s not “dry it out, forget about it forever.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-dryness-on-mold-after-its-established-a-foothold/849303/4 "2020-03-14T02:35:08Z")

</div>

Yeah, the mold can & will return as soon as moisture or humidity levels go back up. They may not even need to get as high as originally triggered the mold growth in the first place, to allow spores to resume life.