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InspectAPedia ® Home ACOUSTICAL SEALANT CHOICES AIR BYPASS LEAKS AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION AIR LEAK SEALING PROCEDURE AIR TEST FOR MOLD: ACCURACY AIR TEST SAMPLING CASSETTE STUDY ALLERGEN TESTS for buildings ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING ALLERGY & MOLD IAQ PRODUCTS ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY ANIMAL ALLERGENS / PET DANDER ANIMAL ENTRY POINTS in buildings ANIMAL ODORS IN buildings APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & MOLD ATTIC VENTILATION BASEMENT CEILING VAPOR BARRIER BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BASEMENT LEAKS, INSPECT FOR BASEMENT WATERPROOFING BATH & KITCHEN DESIGN GUIDE BATHROOM VENTILATION BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE Best Interior Finish Practices BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION BLOWER FAN CONTINUOUS OPERATION BOOKSTORE - INTERIORS BRICK LINED WALLS BRICK VENEER WALL AIR LEAKS BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? BUILDING NOISE DIAGNOSIS & CURE BUILDING SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE BUILDING SETTLEMENT CABINETS & COUNTERTOPS CAR MOLD CONTAMINATION CARPENTER ANTS CARPENTER BEES CARPET DUST IDENTIFICATION CARPET MOLD CONTAMINATION CARPET PADDING ASBESTOS, MOLD, ODORS CARPET STAIN DIAGNOSIS CARPET & other STAIN TESTS CARPET TEST PROCEDURE CARPETING & INDOOR AIR QUALITY CARPETING, SELECTION & INSTALLATION CASEWORK, CABINETS, SHELVING INSTALLATION CATHEDRAL CEILING INSULATION CATHEDRAL CEILING VENTILATION CEILING FINISHES INTERIOR CEILINGS, DROP or SUSPENDED PANEL CEILINGS, PLASTER TYPES CEILINGS, PLASTER, LOOSE HAZARDS CEILING TILES - Asbestos-Containing CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS COMBUSTION AIR for TIGHT buildings CONDENSATION or SWEATING PIPES, TANKS CONDENSATION on WINDOWS & SKYLIGHTS CORROSION in ELECTRICAL PANELS CORROSION & MOISTURE SOURCES in PANELS COOLING LOAD REDUCTION by ROOF VENTS CRAWL SPACES CONDENSATION or SWEATING PIPES, TANKS CONDENSATION on WINDOWS & SKYLIGHTS DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE DIRECTORY of MOLD / ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS DIRT FLOOR MOLD CONTAMINATION Disinfectants Disinfecting Buildings with Bleach DOORS, INTERIOR DRYER VENTING DRYWALL HAZARDS, CHINESE DRYWALL INSTALLATION Best Practices DRYWALL MOLD DRYWALL MOLD RESISTANT EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS EFFLORESCENCE, Salts & White / Brown Deposits ELDERLY & VETERANS HOME SAFETY ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY FIBERGLASS INSULATION FIBERGLASS HAZARDS FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD FLAT ROOF MOISTURE & CONDENSATION FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOOD DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS FLOOD VENTS & FLOOD PORTS FLOODS IN buildings-mold FLOOR DAMAGE DIAGNOSIS FORMALDEHYDE HAZARDS FOOTING & FOUNDATION DRAINS FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING FRENCH DRAINS FRAMING DAMAGE, INSPECTION, REPAIR FRAMING DETAILS for BETTER INSULATION FRAMING DETAILS for DOUBLE WALL HOUSES FRAMING METAL STUD PERFORMANCE FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING FROST HEAVES, FOUNDATION, SLAB FUNGICIDAL SPRAY & SEALANT USE GUIDE GAS EXPOSURE EFFECTS, TOXIC GAS DETECTION INSTRUMENTS GAS EXPOSURE LIMITS & STANDARDS GLARE, Sunlight/Lighting Control HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS HEAT LOSS INDICATORS HEAT LOSS PREVENTION PRIORITIES HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION HEAT TAPES & CABLES on Roofs for Ice Dams HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS HOT ROOF DESIGNS: Un-Vented Roof Solutions HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HOUSE DOCTOR, how-to be HOUSE PARTS, DEFINITIONS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET ICE DAM PREVENTION INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INDOOR HOUSE DUST & DEBRIS INSECT INFESTATION / DAMAGE INSULATION CHOICES Insulation Air & Heat Leaks INSULATION FACT SHEET- DOE INSULATION for GREENHOUSE or SOLARIUM INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INSULATION LOCATION - WHERE TO PUT IT INSULATION LOCATION for BRICK VENEER WALLS INSULATION LOCATION for CAPES, CRAWLSPACES INSULATION LOCATION for CATHEDRAL CEILINGS INSULATION LOCATION for GREENHOUSE or SOLARIUM INSULATION MOLD INSULATION R-Values & Properties KITCHEN & BATH DESIGN GUIDE KITCHEN VENTILATION LIGHTING, EXTERIOR GUIDE LIGHTING, INTERIOR GUIDE LOG HOME GUIDE METAL LATH, PLASTER & STUCCO MOBILE HOME INSPECTIONS MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD MOLD ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT MOLD MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE MVOCs & MOLDY MUSTY ODORS Nanomaterials Hazards NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE ODORS GASES SMELLS, DIAGNOSIS & CURE OIL, HEATING, EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS OIL HEAT ODORS OIL SPILL CLEANUP / PREVENTION OIL TANK LEAK ODORS OIL TANKS INSPECT LEAK TEST ABANDON REGS OUTHOUSES & LATRINES OXYGEN - O2 OZONE HAZARDS OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS PARTICLE SIZES & IAQ Particulates & Allergens Indoors Pesticide Exposure Hazards PET ALLERGENS / PET DANDER PET STAINS on FLOORS PET STAINS on WALLS PLASTIC CONTAINERS, TANKS, TYPES PLASTIC HEATER VENT PLASTIC ODORS-SCREENS, SIDING PLUMBING SYSTEM ODORS Pollen Photos PVC - VINYL BUILDING PRODUCTS RADON HAZARD TESTS & MITIGATION SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE SAFETY HAZARDS & INSPECTIONS SEPTIC SYSTEM ODORS SEWAGE CONTAMINATION in BUILDINGS SEWAGE EJECTOR / GRINDER PUMPS SEWAGE BACKUP, WHAT TO DO SEWER GAS ODORS SIDING VINYL SMELL PATCH TEST to Track Down Odors SOUND CONTROL in buildings STAIN & BIODETERIORATION AGENT CATALOG STAINS on & in BUILDINGS, CAUSES & CURES STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS STONE CLEANING METHODS STONE VENEER WALLS STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION STUCCO WAll FAILURES DUE TO WEATHER STUCCO WALL METHODS & INSTALLATION STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION STUCCO PAINT FAILURES STRUCTURAL DAMAGE PROBING STRUCTURAL WOOD ASSESSMENT SUMP PUMPS GUIDE SWEATING (CONDENSATION) on PIPES, TANKS TERMITES TEST KITS for DUST, MOLD, PARTICLE TESTS Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick THERMAL IMAGING, THERMOGRAPHY THERMAL IMAGING MOLD SCANS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS THERMAL TRACKING & THERMAL BRIDGING TRIM, INTERIOR INSTALLATION TRAPPED MOLD BETWEEN WOOD SURFACES TRUSS UPLIFT, ROOF TRUSSES, Floor & Roof VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VENTILATION in BUILDINGS VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO VINYL SIDING VINYL Siding or PLASTIC Window ODORS Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs WALL FINISHES INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION BARRIER vs CAVITY WATER ENTRY in buildings WIND WASHING INSULATION At EAVES WINDOWS & DOORS WINTERIZE A BUILDING WOOD, COAL STOVES & FIREPLACES WOOD STOVE SAFETY ZONE DAMPERS ZONE VALVES More Information |
This article describes, provides photographs, & diagnoses the causes of interior wall, ceiling, flooring or carpeting stains and explains how to recognize their probable cause and source, including soot stains, house dust stains, pet or animal stains, and thermal tracking or thermal bridging stains associated with building air leaks, and building insulation defects. Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman. A Photographic Guide to Help Diagnose the Causes of Indoor Stains on Carpet, Cabinet Doors, HVAC Registers
Often dark indoor ceiling, wall, carpet or floor stains are mistaken for toxic indoor mold when they come from other causes instead. When investigating a building for a mold problem, you can save mold test costs by learning how to recognize MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD or is only Harmless Mold but may be mistaken for more serious contamination - save your money. Because some clients have on occasion sent samples to our mold test lab that really should not have been collected, much less looked-at, we provide this library of photographs of things that are "not mold" and don't need to be tested. "black mold" often mistaken for "toxic fungal growth." Photos of HVAC and carpet stains (excluding the moldy carpet photos) were provided courtesy of Pat Belkin, Charlotte, NC. Here are some examples of troubling indoor surface stains with some preliminary opinions about what these stains may be about. We emphasize preliminary opinion because here we comment on these photos before an expert diagnostic building inspection has been performed and before any lab samples have been collected and analyzed from these surfaces. Whether or not such sampling and analysis are justified depends on the experience of the building occupants (health complaints or health vulnerability), the history of the building (exposure to leaks, damage, pets, contaminants), and other site investigative results. See When to hire a professional to investigate a building for help in deciding when to go further. How to Recognize & Diagnose Phantom Stains on Indoor Surfaces
What would support the "phantom stain" hypothesis for an item such as this cabinet door? Stain pattern: If the stain appears in a regular pattern on companion surfaces such as other cabinet doors it may be an artifact of the door's manufacture Stain location: If examination of other cabinet surfaces shows similar stains in varying locations Manufacturing artifacts: If examination of sample cabinets from the same supplier or manufacturer, new, say in a showroom, show similar markings Ability to remove surface staining material: If a tape sample cannot remove any debris from this are of darkened color Stain particulate or chemical components: If a tape sample of surface debris removed particles which are determined to be finish coatings or wood fibers without fungal or chemical modification, Presence of common causes of stains: If there are no moisture, food, air movement, or other suspect sources that have affected some of these cabinets but not others Time of occurrence of stain: If the stain is under the finish-coating of the wood cabinet surface rather than something which was deposited on top of the coating (though indeed moisture can in some circumstances affect surfaces below their coating) then this may be the case with this example photo of a yellowish stain on a birch ply cabinet door interior How to Diagnose Stains & Discoloration on Heating or Cooling Supply or Return Registers or Plenums
These particles adhere to the register surface due to either moisture from condensation or in this location, more likely due to static electricity as particles are moving across a normally dry surface. See Stains HVAC Supply Registers for more examples. What to do about supply register debris: House dust, normally composed primarily of human skin cells and fabric fibers, is not usually an environmental or air quality issue, though at high levels on surfaces it can be diagnostic of building conditions such as high moisture or poor HVAC system maintenance. We can reduce this debris deposition by duct and air handler cleaning and by better and constant maintenance of filters at the return air registers. If other information disclosed by the building investigation warrants, one have this debris screened for mold, allergens or other problematic particles by using a forensic laboratory whose technicians are expert in house dust analysis. Return register & return air plenum debris: The right hand photo shows a combination of paint overspray (white particles on the black return plenum insulation liner), and house dust (brown debris on the metal frame intended to hold a return air filter). What to do about return plenum debris: The brown dust and debris indicates that the air filter used at this location has been leaky. See An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Air Filters on HVAC Systems for further advice on air filters that do not leak in this location. How to Diagnose Stains & Discoloration on Heating or Air Conditioning Filters
How to Diagnose Mold Stains & Mold Growth on Floor Carpeting
These photographs show two common patterns of mold growth on the upper surface of a carpet that was left wet in a building. In the left photograph a brown mold is growing in a rather uniform pattern without definite edges on carpet in a closet. The black mold visible in the upper left and right portions of the photograph will probably be a different mold genera and species - this is an example of the dangers of careless sampling of mold in buildings since a lot of what people think is present in a building depends on exactly how mold samples are collected. The right hand photo above shows two rather round black patterns of mold growth on floor carpeting in the same building. Even if no mold was visible on other carpet surfaces in this building it is likely that the carpeting, if it was wet, has become mold contaminated - a condition that might be confirmed by inspection of the carpet backing, padding, or other building surfaces. Carpets or furniture that have been wet or had mold growth: Wall-to-wall carpets and upholstered furniture that have been soaked and/or have had mold growth on their surfaces, most likely cannot be adequately cleaned and should be replaced. See CARPET MOLD CONTAMINATION. Also see CARPET & other STAIN TESTS and CARPET TEST PROCEDURE. Carpet padding and subfloor: And where carpeting has been wet, don't forget that the padding below the carpeting and even the floor and subfloor below may be damaged or moldy. See CARPET PADDING ASBESTOS, MOLD, ODORS. Even carpeting which has not been wet may be a significant problem mold reservoir in a building if the carpeting has been exposed to a high level of airborne mold or other allergens. This condition occurs, for example, when a water-damaged moldy building has been remediated without proper dust and debris control. The difference is that carpeting or upholstered furniture that has never been wet and that has not had mold growth on its surface, that is, it has been subjected to settled dust only, may often be adequately cleaned using HEPA vacuuming methods. See CARPET DUST IDENTIFICATION Screening samples of carpeting and other building surfaces taken outside of the remediation work area both before and after a mold remediation project can protect both the remediation company and the building owner from unanticipated additional mold cleanup work after the initial mold remediation project has been completed. A Another case of severe carpet staining due to furniture left on wet carpeting, accompanied by mold growth, is shown in this photograph. How to Diagnose Stains & Discoloration on Rugs or Wall to Wall Carpeting
Possible thermal tracking stains are shown by the darkened debris on the floor carpet in the left photo above, where a grayish line appears to follow the point where the wall to wall carpeting abuts the building wall or wall baseboard trim. See Thermal Tracking for detailed discussion of this phenomenon and how to diagnose it. Possible furniture footprint stains on carpeting are suggested by the right hand photo above. Sometimes a stain like this, particularly where it follows the same shape as an object which has been placed on the carpet, suggests that the stain was deposited from the object itself, or dirt on its surface, or bleed-out if the object was placed on a carpet left damp after carpet shampooing. A Severe carpet staining due to furniture left on wet carpeting, accompanied by mold growth, is shown in this photograph. How to Diagnose "Clean" Areas of Carpet Surrounded by Stains or DiscolorationUsually soot marks, thermal bridging, or thermal tracking stains appear, if at all, in the building interior locations listed just below discussed in the remaining sections of this article. Photos & Diagnosing Stains on Building Walls and CeilingsCommon stains on painted inteior walls and ceilings include
Photos & Diagnosing Stains on Building Floors other than Carpets
... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaQuestions & answers or comments about identifying the cause and finding the cure for indoor stains on ceilings, walls, floors, carpeting, furniture, and other indoor surfaces and materials Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesRelated Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
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