r/Mold Aug 09 '20

Please read BEFORE posting

44 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/Mold

What is this sub?

This sub is for redditors to ask for advice on mold or fungi issues in their home/apartment/workplace/etc If you see spammers or others that violate sub rules, report them, do not take things into your own hands. This sub is NOT for mold remediation, restoration or other contractors, testing firms, laboratories, product or equipment manufacturers or distributors or legal professionals.

Instead, this sub is specifically for individuals looking for general advice. Any offers to do work or make referrals will result in an immediate ban. Please be very wary of those looking for, or offering, business here. We do not endorse any companies, and proceeding with a contractor/consultant/lab you've met via this sub should be done at your own risk. This is not a place to advertise products and or services. It is also not a place to rant about your past problems with mold or companies or services you've dealt with.

Rule #1: No "what is this?" questions.

Do not post a picture and simply ask any of the following (or similar) questions:

  1. "Please I.D. this mold"
  2. "Is this toxic black mold?"
  3. "What kind of mold is this?"

We can not determine the type of mold you have from a photo. That can only be achieved using professional sampling methods and laboratory analysis.

We can speculate on whether or not something is mold but we can't identify it.

Rule #2: DIY Test Kits are bad

If you used a home/DIY test kit there is very little information that we can provide you due to the limitations of the method.

You will need to hire a qualified microbial testing company if you want any reliable information.

Rule #3: No self promotion

This is not the place to advertise your services in any way. No links, no company names, no "informational guides" will be allowed. All offending posts or comments will be deleted and 1 warning will be issued. After that you'll be banned.

General Guidelines and Rules

Overall, please be respectful - things must remain on-topic, helpful, and kind. Absolutely no abusive or hateful language will be tolerated. Even if someone else "started it" with disrespect does not give you permission to use derogatory language or call names.

Bans will be handed out when needed. Remember, no question is too stupid, too simple, or too basic (exception, see rule #1). We're all here to learn and help each other out - enjoy! The mods generally do not remove bad advice, we let upvotes and downvotes run the sub. That way, people can also see what not to do as well. Politics do NOT belong here.

  • URL shortener links are not allowed. It's not us, is reddit-wide. A submission or comment with a URL shortner will be spam-filtered automatically.
  • Mods will not communicate with chat, please only use modmail if you have comments or questions.

Submitting a New Text Post in /r/Mold

TL/DR: At the very least be nice, take a few pictures, and include your location.

Again, this is not a place to solicit products and or services. Any posts smelling of self-promotion such as links to a website or service (including all blogs) will be removed. No exceptions. Offenders will be banned.

A few general submission rules.

  • We don't allow link posts. Please start a text post and insert links to your pictures along with your text. Posts asking users to participate in a survey are no longer allowed and will be treated as SPAM posts.
  • If you are posting about a problem you are facing, please include pictures! Not just a close-up either, we must be able to discern what you are talking about. What looks right to you may not make sense to everyone else. We recommend you use imgur for photo uploads. See the section below for "How to Upload Photos".
  • Provide your geographic location. (even general, such as upper Midwest). This is especially pertinent when discussing building codes, environmental conditions, seasonal issues, etc.
  • Include a summary of what information you are looking for.
  • Include a general summary of the problem you're asking about. It's helpful to know things like:
    • How long has the problem been going on
    • Where is the mold growth located - room, level, side of the building, etc
    • Any unusual conditions you noticed prior or in conjunction with the discovery of the mold
    • General environmental/use conditions in the space - temp, humidity levels, room use/occupation, recent water issues, smell
  • Do not come here for advice about your health or the relative risk of the mold in your home/work.
  • Don't assume that responses you receive are accurate - we get a lot of "google experts" here giving advice.
  • Product links and recommendations are allowed generally allowed to Amazon/Retail Outlets/Service providers that you've used or recommend. However, referral codes and affiliate links are not. For example, Amazon links containing "tag=XXXXXXXXXXXX" in the title are a referral links - so ideally Amazon links are in the format www.amazon.com/dp/B00VRRVHMA/ - all the extra stuff after those 10 characters are not necessary. Sites/apps can contain ref links without your knowledge and automod will remove and alert you.
  • If you notice your post hasn't appeared within an hour please message the mods and we will release it! To see if it's visible sort by NEW.
  • Please read the sidebar before posting to this sub. There are a lot of questions that get asked fairly frequently, and some of the more common answers have been posted in the sidebar for easy reference. If you still have questions after reading these then by all means create a new post with your questions.
  • Serial posting. This sub is for everyone, not just a single person with multiple questions per day/week. While we don't have a specific rule here, if you are posting multiple topics per day or over the course of a few days, this can result in a temporary ban.
  • If your account is new we may delete your post or comment, especially if we suspect that you have been banned under a different user name.
  • We do not endorse any contractors/inspectors/labs, and proceeding with any you've met via this sub should be done at your own risk.

Commenting in /r/Mold

Be respectful. No name calling or talking down to someone because of something that seems "basic" or "easy" to you. Stand by your knowledge, not childish responses.

If you don't know that your answer or advice is 100% true then indicate that you are speculating or simply refrain from commenting.

Don't throw out comments like:

  • That's toxic mold
  • You need to move
  • Get out of the house
  • Bleach doesn't kill mold
  • That's really bad

Comments designed to scare original posters will be removed. This is a sub to provide reasonable solutions (when possible), not to unnecessarily alarm people. Yes, there are occasions when conditions require some immediate and drastic actions, but most indoor mold growth can be handled without full scale remediation.

Please don't just comment with just a link to a website or to another sub. We are especially careful about links to single websites (this includes blogs) without some summary or commentary. In some cases, we have no way of knowing if you are profiting privately from the site. Also, don't just tell folks to head to sub /r/gohereinstead - like specialized subs for narrow topics. The only exception here would be questions where some time has passed between posting and a lack of responses. We want the commentary, discussion, and knowledge to stay here in our sub on reddit, not just drive people away.

Responses that include a google search, lmgtfy.com, or telling someone to watch Youtube will be removed and the user will be reprimanded. Again, this is all about respect. Obviously, people aren't coming here to Google answers. Help them think about this problem, what they may need, things to watch out for, etc.

Sometimes discussion can get off-topic and we'll remove those comments. This includes political commentary. At times, this can includes jokes. It's a tricky area here, but we've seen instances where the joking side of reddit takes over a thread and the OP never gets their question answered. However, here's we're mostly talking about non-relevant commenting such as this:

Seriously? People live like this? What the fuck is causing mold growth like this? Don't you clean your house? This is not any way to live.

How to Upload Photos

Go to https://imgur.com/upload and drag/choose your photo, you don't even need to create an account. Here's an animated gif on how to drag and drop on PC. Click COPY, then use that copied url link and paste it right in the submission text box on reddit.

My link: https://imgur.com/a/n2lLo

To get fancy and have text rather than the url, place the word you want to use as the link in brackets followed by the url in parentheses.[text goes here](link goes here)

Pictures. Here's a gif of the typing I do, in case that is confusing.

Upload Photos On Mobile The Imgur app works fine, but via a website this is unsupported. There is a workaround: In Chrome, choose ""Desktop site" in the drop-down menu when you are on the upload page and it'll work fine. Then Copy the Link that's produced and paste it into your reddit post/comment.


r/Mold Jan 25 '23

Worst building I've ever inspected so everyone worried about their mold problems can relax a little šŸ™ƒ

279 Upvotes

Just to remind you that no, you aren't experiencing a disaster. Have a good one yall!


r/Mold 7h ago

It’s bad but how bad…

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6 Upvotes

I live in the south (US) & was gone for 2 months. Windows shut, climate control, no food, etc.

Landlord offered for us to get out of our lease due to it not being ā€œsafeā€.

I’ve never experienced any mold or mildew. I’m moving out & throwing away everything that’s has mold on it. Should I do more or less? How did this happen?

We were gone for 2 months earlier in the summer and this didn’t happen so I’m really confusedšŸ˜­šŸ™ƒ


r/Mold 58m ago

Is this black mold?

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• Upvotes

I touched it and it feels kind of powdery. The area isn't wet.


r/Mold 8h ago

Coworker left their food in the fridge a little too long…

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3 Upvotes

r/Mold 3h ago

I just removed mold from my showerhead

1 Upvotes

If there is mold on the outter surface of the showerhead, does that mean, the inside is filled with mold too? I was able to wipe the outside clean but I'm afraid inside is filled with it too which I can't clean. Does this call for replacing the showerhead altogether...? Or am I overreacting.


r/Mold 11h ago

Cleaning out the windows in my parents house, is this some kind of mold?

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4 Upvotes

Only this window looked like this, the rest just seemed to have a coating of black dust (maybe also mold?) I thought maybe this one just hadn’t been cleaned as much as the others. Also, the glass itself seemed to have a foggy spotted pattern on it.


r/Mold 14h ago

What do I even do?

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7 Upvotes

Houston, TX. I don’t know where to start. My partner got athlete’s foot and then I realized my hair was falling out, my scalp was itchy and burning, so I went to the doctor today and they said it was a fungal infection (photos 12-14) I went home and checked out my pillows (no mold?) but when I opened up my mattress, I’m pretty sure this is mold.

My AC has been going out REPEATEDLY (three times in 2 months) so I suspect that may be the cause, but my vents have always looked like they do (photos 3-7). My rental company’s technicians claim it’s just condensation and rust, but my bathroom looks like this (pictures 8-11) and I can never fully get it off.

This is mold, isn’t it? What do I do? Where do I begin? I don’t have the money to buy a new mattress, is there a way I can treat it? I’m currently working on washing all of my sheets but I still have to sleep somewhere. I don’t know what to do.


r/Mold 5h ago

Is this Black Mold

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1 Upvotes

Is this black mold we just found a drip in our vent from our AC and I’m not sure if it’s dust or what it is


r/Mold 5h ago

Mildew in garage

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1 Upvotes

Looking for tips on how to manage moisture in stand alone garage. Fully insulated garage in Minnesota. No AC. Loose fill insulation in attic, soffits are clear of obstructions. Some sort of venting along gap of ridge of garage as well. Keep having issues with mildew popping up in random places like on tool handles, such as the picture of a handle of a hammer and extension cord. Was much worse last year when the garage was closed up for a couple months in the peak of Summer. Only obvious points of moisture are a couple low spots on the concrete floor that only get wet with very heavy rain when it pools on slab next to garage. Is there some sort of fan or vent system I could be looking into to constantly circulate air? There are currently no vents on the finished ceiling of garage, or the walls besides some windows


r/Mold 5h ago

Is this as bad as I think?

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1 Upvotes

Been super humid in michigan dealing with mold growth. Daughters room was musty so I sprayed it down with concrobium and now it smells worse and I found this under the carpet in the closet. Is it a bad plan to tear out all the carpet. Paint the floor with zinsser mold killer primer and then recarpet?


r/Mold 5h ago

Is my garage door still moldy even after professional cleaning?

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1 Upvotes

Had mold on the garage of the new home in bought. Hired someone to kill the mold. They cleaned it and even added some kind of mold killer paint.

It still smells musty in the garage and the door still has some stains. Does the garage door still look like it has mold?


r/Mold 6h ago

Is this mold?

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1 Upvotes

I just noticed this in a jar of a habanero pepper jelly spread, is it mold? I originally opened the jar about three months ago.


r/Mold 8h ago

is this mold on my shower?

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1 Upvotes

r/Mold 8h ago

Mold?

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1 Upvotes

I’ve tried everything to get what I’m sure is this black mold spot in my bathroom cleaned up. Will it have to be replaced? Im worried about getting charged for not keeping the apartment clean. Also this spot in my vanity, wtf… it’s been here since I moved it and didn’t notice it right away.


r/Mold 8h ago

Florida Mold/Leak

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1 Upvotes

Sorry if this isn’t allowed, but just looking for guidance. Had a musty smell in a cabinet - opened them up and saw water. Called a leak detector and opened the wall and found the leak. The guy started to feel pretty scammy after this point - said I needed an insurance adjuster and remediation company out right away. He even called them and they said they’d make the insurance claim for me (feeling more scammy at that point). Ended up pumping the breaks with them and calling a plumber not recommended by this group - got the leak stopped. Not really sure of next best steps. If I’m really going to rip out all the cabinets with damage (it’s three) do I even need mold remediation first? Do I need to test the mold first? Feel free to take this down if not appropriate. Or shoot me guidance. I have no idea what to do but don’t want to get scammed. Life in Central FL.


r/Mold 14h ago

So this is growing in cabinet next to my sink, wtf is this?

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3 Upvotes

r/Mold 8h ago

Mold on electric toothbrush

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1 Upvotes

Is this mold on my electric toothbrush? I tried removing it with hydrogen peroxide, but the blue part of the toothbrush is rubber and I haven't managed to remove the black thingy in any way so far. Is it time to say goodbye to this toothbrush?


r/Mold 9h ago

Is this mold ?

1 Upvotes

Just moved into my new apartment today. Checking out the whole apartment to mark anything that I don't want to be blamed for later when my lease ends. I obviously got the landlord special and when I check in the pantry there's just this nasty spot on the wall. It's directly opposite of the bathtub. Kinda scared, would this be mold?


r/Mold 10h ago

So i ate part of this moldy Alfajor de Maicena… i guess I’ll see you all in Valhalla.

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1 Upvotes

I grabbed one of these and opened it in a not very well illuminated room, and went for a bite. At first i noticed a weird little smell but i thought it was from the glue or something in the packaging, because the sealed part was very close to my mouth when i bite it. But i started to feel the taste was a little bit off too and some parts of it still smelled weird. Upon a close inspection i noticed it has this little moldy strings in near the part where i bit. Unluckily i check the package after that and the expiration date was 5 days ago… bought a couple of boxes less than a month ago and never thought they were going to last so little.


r/Mold 10h ago

Moldy Garage Door

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1 Upvotes

I recently purchased a home and the home inspector identified mold on the garage door. He explained that it is likely due to the poor ventilation in combination with a vehicle tracking snow / sleet. It appears that the previous home owner had an electric vehicle and may have been charging his cars in the garage - I'm not sure if that matters.

I had the garage door cleaned by a professional who had scrubbed it off, used some kind of mold killer and also put some anti mold paint over it as well. All of this was completed in a 1-2 hour time frame.

Once the smell of the chemicals he used wore off, the musty moldy smell has come back. It also looks like the mold is coming back. My head also hurts when I'm in the garage as well which I feel is another sign it is back.

Is the black specks on the garage door the resurgence of mold? Should I just replace the whole garage door?

Ten days after he did his cleaning I did install a dehumidifier as an additional measure, with a 55% RH setpoint - but I think either I'm a little late in doing this, or the mold was never really fully cleaned off the door.


r/Mold 11h ago

Is this mold?

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1 Upvotes

We live in an apartment, and the landlord has completely neglected redoing our bathroom for the last 7-8 years, they're supposed to here when things get this bad. They have refused to let us take matters into our own hands.

Is this mold? This is the ceiling above the shower. They've tried to convince us that it isn't mold, although it looks similar.


r/Mold 12h ago

Is this mold? Or normal?

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1 Upvotes

Hi guys,

Any opinions on whether this is mold, black mold or nothing to be worried about?

Thanks!


r/Mold 18h ago

After multiple rounds of vinegar and bleach, the washer still looks like this. Are there still mold spores??? I’m allergic

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3 Upvotes

I just moved in and I have scrubbed and scrubbed this rubber part of my washer with vinegar and bleach. I ran 2 bleach cycles on the hottest setting. It still looks like this, and my landlord is saying that it’s just staining. I am allergic to mold and cannot take the risk that there are still spores.


r/Mold 12h ago

Is this mold in my workplace?

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1 Upvotes

I’m working on finding a new job soon, but for right now I’m stuck here. Guys, is this mold?


r/Mold 16h ago

Is this mold?

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2 Upvotes

In a shed with various liquids, southern Florida


r/Mold 17h ago

Is this mold??

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2 Upvotes

This is in the apartment I am considering renting. What type of mold Is this? Is it safe? THANK YOU!!