Rain lashes the coast, winds howl and severe weather warnings stretch across states. Australia may be spared hurricanes, but flash flooding and rising damp are all too familiar, and so are the silent consequences left in their wake: microbial growth, weakened structures, poor indoor air quality and expensive remediation. The danger isn’t always what you see. It’s what you miss.

Spot the signs before they spread

“Moisture doesn’t always show up as a major leak,” says ISSA senior director Gavin Macgregor-Skinner. “It often presents as slight discolouration on the ceiling or baseboards, condensation on windows or pipes, warped floor tiles, bubbling wall paint, repeated carpet dampness in the same area or musty odours that come and go.”

According to Macgregor-Skinner, one of the most common oversights in commercial facilities is assuming damage will be obvious. But moisture rarely works that way. It creeps in slowly, builds behind walls, seeps into floor cavities and lingers in air systems, and by the time mould is visible, the problem is often well advanced.

Your frontline team is your first alert system

Another blind spot is failing to involve cleaning staff in early detection. “Cleaning professionals are in the building every day and are best positioned to spot changes,” says. Macgregor-Skinner. “But if they’re not trained or encouraged to report issues like damp spots, odours, colour changes or unusual dust, which indicate microbial growth, those early warnings are missed.”

Macgregor-Skinner advocates for a simple system: a shared moisture logbook, a walk-through checklist and a culture where “anything that smells musty, looks wet or feels damp” is reported. “The most successful facilities and cleaning companies I’ve seen make early detection a shared responsibility,” he says. “It’s not just the job of one maintenance supervisor.”

Tech tools are no longer out of reach

Technology is also catching up. Moisture meters, hygrometers, thermal imaging cameras and indoor air quality monitors are no longer niche. They’re affordable, user-friendly and increasingly essential. “I’d like moisture detection kits to be promoted as a must-have for everyone working in the cleaning industry,” says Macgregor-Skinner. “And everyone should be trained on how to use them.”

Moisture equals risk beyond structural

Beyond the damage to walls and floors, moisture poses a significant health risk. ISSA recently surveyed over 900 cleaning professionals and facility managers and found the health risks of microbial growth were both underestimated and misunderstood. “Damp indoor conditions can lead to mould and fungal growth, bacterial spread, dust mites and particulate release, all of which can trigger asthma, allergies, chronic sinus issues and fatigue,” says Macgregor-Skinner. “We’ve seen buildings where staff report headaches, eye irritation and long-term respiratory problems directly linked to moisture.”

In one case, a school reported a spike in asthma-related nurse visits during a wet and humid spring. “Everyone blamed the weather,” he recalls. “But students, as part of a STEM project, used moisture meters to assess indoor air quality and found a wall with high moisture levels. A roof leak was discovered and remediated, all because someone thought to look.”

Budget-friendly solutions that actually work

For facilities operating under tight budgets, the message is clear: train frontline staff, empower them with simple reporting tools and invest in one good detection kit. “At a school we supported, staff had been wiping mould off the same windowsill for six months,” he says. “They assumed it was just condensation. Once we trained them to investigate and use thermal imaging, they found a saturated wall cavity from a flashing failure. That training could’ve saved them months of exposure and thousands in damage.”

In another case, a hotel implemented a moisture management checklist linked to its work order system. For a modest $1200 outlay on training and a detection kit, they achieved a 40 percent drop in water damage work orders over 12 months and saved thousands in ongoing repairs.