## 3 Results and Discussion
On the other hand, evaporation results in higher ambient RH next to the surface. According to the psychometric chart, the increase in RH, which corresponds to detected decrease in temperature, may be up to 6% for the tested air humidity levels. Increased RH next to the surface due to evaporation is as long as the EMC is reached. As it can be seen from the Figure 3, considerably less time is needed to reach the EMC (filled circles) at temperatures 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C compared to temperature 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Consequently, for these specimens, higher RH next to the surface was for less time. The relatively faster reaching of the EMC could be the reason why no difference in mould development was observed between 'Dry' and 'Wet' specimens at temperatures of 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C.  
Figure 3: Changes in moisture content (MC) of ‘Dry’ and ‘Wet’ specimens exposed to constant conditions: temperature (10, 20 and 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C) and humidity (**a**) RH 91% and (**b**) RH 97%. Effect of Accidental Wetting of Wood on the Mould Growth Development at 'Clean' Conditions (Experiment II)  
In the Section 3.1, the mould growth in the case of 'clean' conditions was analysed and compared with the VTT model, which is based on the experiments using mould spore contaminated wood specimens (sprayed with a spore mixture of mould monocultures). The main differences between these methods are that for the 'clean' conditions, the initial spore concentration is relatively low, and the test is more realistic compared to the VTT model. Introduction of mould-infected objects into the 'clean' conditions before the test is a method that ensures higher mould spore concentration in the test environment. Due to poor reproducibility, such approach has similar restrictions as for the 'clean' conditions. However, it is a more realistic simulation of mould spore contamination indoors compared to the test involving spraying of mould spore suspension. The use of mould-infected wood specimen has been analysed by [PERSON] et al. (2013) with the objective of obtaining a more rapid mould testing method [36]. The results of their study showed that the method was very reliable for modelling mould infestation at natural conditions, suggesting that the results are even more precise than in the case of other standard test methods. A scenario of a mould-infected object introduced into a 'clean' room is quite realistic because mould can be present on some object without being noticed, and only detailed inspection would identify it [56]. The results showing the effect of different initial mould contamination conditions on the mould development are presented in Figure 5.  
Regarding the mould germination (Figure 5a), the presence of the spore contaminator in most cases has a significant effect on this process except for the most favourable conditions for mould growth (RH 97% and temperature 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C) where no significant difference is observed. The 'Dry (with contaminator)' specimens, which were exposed to mould-infected object, show similar results to the ones predicted by the VTT model. The least favourable conditions (RH 91% and temperature 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C) are the only exception when a slightly longer period is necessary to reach the mould germination stage for 'Dry (with contaminator)' specimens. These results indicate that the VTT model can relatively accurately predict the mould germination of a scenario when the wood is exposed to conditions with mould-infected objects. This indicates that the amount of spores are sufficient and can germinate as efficiently regardless of the contamination source (mould-infected object or mixed spore suspension) in the tested environmental conditions. Concerning visible mould growth (Figure 5b) the prediction by the VTT model and the results of the 'Dry (with contaminator)' specimens are also relatively similar, especially in the case of RH 97%. For RH 91%, visible mould growth appears few days sooner on the 'Dry (with contaminator)' specimens.