Photographs of mold growth in buildings:

Here is an extensive photo guide to fungi, mushrooms & mold Mold growth on or in cars, RVs, boats, aircraft, trucks, mold on carpets & carpet padding, mold on CDs, mold on cedar, mold on ceiling fans, mold on ceiling tiles, mold on ceilings, mold on chalkboards, mold in closets & pantries, moldy bedding.

What does mold look like growing on various building & other material surfaces?

These photos of mold on indoor various materials or "mold growth substrates" may help you recognize mold in buildings, recognize probably-cosmetic mold, and recognize stuff that is not mold and does not need to be tested.

Pictures of Mold on Various Building Surfaces and Materials

Here we illustrate what mold looks like on various building surfaces & materials as well as on items often found in buildings, including foods, fruits, vegetables, even water.

Mold growth on or in cars, RVs, boats, aircraft, trucks, mold on carpets & carpet padding, mold on CDs, mold on cedar, mold on ceiling fans, mold on ceiling tiles, mold on ceilings, mold on chalkboards, mold in closets & pantries, moldy bedding.

For page loading speed we have divided this article into several sections.

Use the link

MOLD APPEARANCE on VARIOUS SURFACES - INDEX

to return to the index / list of photographs of the appearance of mold on various building materials & contents.

--- MOLD GROWTH on MATERIAL SURFACES PHOTOS GROUP 3 ---

22. MOLD on/in CARPETS / Carpeting & Carpet Padding
23. MOLD on /in CARS, BOATS, RVs, TRUCKS, & aircraft, moldy or mold-smelling vehicles
24. MOLD on CDs &amkp; DVD's
25. MOLD on CEDAR WOOD surfaces
26. MOLD on CEILING FANS - try sampling the leading edge of fan blades
27. MOLD on CEILING TILES - different molds on upper & lower surfaces
28. MOLD on CEILINGS
29. MOLD on CERAMIC SURFACES - gas fireplace ceramic surface
30. MOLD on CHAULKBOARDS - surprise
31. MOLD on /in CLOSETS & PANTRIES - hidden under shelving
32. MOLD on CLOTHING, CLOTH, BEDDING - varies by material type, cotton, wool, etc.

Photographs of mould found on the surface of items, materials, & surfaces found indoors

Mold on Carpeting, Carpets, Rugs & on Carpet Tack Strips

The first stained carpet above has markings that do not appear in typical mold-growth patterns but if the carpet has been wet mold contamination might also be present.

At the second carpet stain photograph above you'll see where I found two spots of round black and dark green mold growth on a light-coloured carpet. I suspect that something was spilled or an animal peed here. [Click to enlarge any image]

Below: Where a wall-to-wall carpeted building floor has been wet we'll probably find rust and mold-stained carpet tack strips as well. My first photo shows stains on carpet padding after the carpeting has been removed. There are also slight water / rust stains around the tacks in the capet tack strip and the tacks are rusty. I would treat these materials as presumed-mold-contaminated.

The second photo above shows darker, wetter carpet tack strips - it's likely that this area has been wet and the carpeting is likely to be mold-contaminated.

We find quite a range of mold and actual mushrooms growing on, in or through carpeting, either due to water leaks or sometimes due to the spillage of food or drinks that provide an attractive spot for mold growth. Some readers have also had trouble distinguishing between mold growth on carpeting and thermal tracking, dust, or other dirt stains, so we include references to help sort that out.

Watch out: be sure to investigate below areas of carpet mold as there may be wet, moldy carpet padding and perhaps wet, moldy, or damaged subflooring.

More photos of moldy carpeting are also seen at MOLD on /in CARS, BOATS, RVs, TRUCKS, & aircraft, moldy or mold-smelling vehicles

See CARPET MOLD / ODOR TESTS for details about the cause, cure & prevention of mold on rugs, wall to wall carpeting, and carpet padding.

See CARPET STAIN DIAGNOSIS to help sort out stains on carpeting from air bypass leaks, dust and debris, mold, pets, spills or other causes.

Also see CARPET CONTAMINATION TEST PROCEDURE for advice on how to collect carpet mold or debris for lab analysis and/or mold detection

Mold on Cars Boats RVs Trucks Vans - also Lichens on Cars

[Click to enlarge any image]

This photograph illustrates severe mold contamination on vinyl surfaces of an automobile.

For details about the case study represented by the moldy car photograph at left, see CAR MOLD CONTAMINATION a case study of a ver t moldy car.

For a car, boat, RV, truck that smells moldy but may be salvageable - or not, depending on the extent of mold damage.

see BOAT & CAR SMELLS & ODORS

See CAR SMELL - Mold DEODORIZING for our complete diagnostic list of odors in cars

See SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE if you are not sure which components in the vehicle are the source of moldy smells.

The photo above, provided by an InspectApedia.com reader, shows a car that has an extensive lichens and mold growth on its hood.

Also see MOLD on LUGGAGE (mold on NYLON or other synthetic fabric)

Mold on CDs and DVD's

This photograph illustrates mold growth on music CDs. Our reader who contributed the photograph noted that for contrast he had wiped mold off of half of the CD shown at left.

Mold on Cedar Wood surfaces

This photograph illustrates a cedar closet where mold growth was found on both the floor carpeting and on the cedar planks lining the closet wall.

We were surprised to find both Stachybotrys chartarum and Aspergillus sp. mold growing on the cedar wall surfaces.

At MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, TABLE OF we list the mold genera species often found on specific materials in or on buildings including the cedar closet lining shown above.

Mold on Ceiling Fans

This photograph illustrates mold growth on a ceiling above a ceiling fan; ceiling fans make an interesting long-term air sampling device - we will sometimes collect particles from the upper surface and leading edge of the fan blades.

Mold may also be occasionally found growing on (as opposed to deposited on) the fan surfaces.

Mold on Ceiling Tiles

These photographs illustrates mold growth on suspended ceiling tiles.

Below in our first photo yousee an extensive Aspergillus sp. mold contamination and in the second photo below you see leak stains and several genera/species of mold on the upper, hidden side of the ceiling tile.

Below: mold spots and greenish as well as red mold-stains on suspended ceiling tiles

Below: extensive white fungal growth on the ceiling tiles in a mobile home.

The mobile home ceiling mold shown above is discussed further in a Q&A on distinguishing mold from stuff that is not mold, found at MOLD APPEARANCE, STUFF THAT'S NOT MOLD - FAQs

Below are photographs of mold and leak stains on acoustic ceiling tiles. These older ceiling materials happened to also be an asbestos-containing product.

Details are at ASBESTOS CEILING TILES

Also see CEILING FINISHES INTERIOR.

Mold on Ceilings

You would expect that the same fungi that like to grow on drywall used on building walls will appear on building ceilings coverd with drywall too, and that's approximately correct.

But here are some variables that mean we may expect to find different mold genea/species on a ceiling than on the walls of a residential building even when both were covered with the same brand and type of drywall:

• The ceiling may have been at a much lower moisture level, inviting colonization by mold species that prefer more dry surfaces.
  
  I tend to find Stachybotrys chartarum low on drywall-covered walls that were flooded, while I tend to find species of Aspergillus and yeasts high on more dry sections of walls and ceilings.
• The ceiling may have different paint or other covering material

Watch out: this mold high-low species preferences rule will be reversed if the ceiling was soaked by leaks from above. Follow the moisture gradient. Indeed the dominant molds on this ceiling was quite different from the dominant funguses found on the wood paneled walls.

Watch out: leaks into building ceilings or walls can produce hidden mold even if the ceiling surface looks unblemished.

See HIDDEN MOLD in CEILINGS / WALLS

Below: thick black mold contamination on a bathroom ceiling, courtesy of InspectApedia.com reader Matt.

Watch out: If you see mold of this extent inside a building the area is not safe, and professional remediationis in order.

 

Mold on Chalkboards

Our photos of the chalkboard in a church basement illustrate use of oblique lighting to show up light colored mold growth that can be difficult to spot.

Modern painted surfaces used as chalk boards may support mold growth on both the exposed front and the hidden hardboard back of the unit.

Watch out: A lesson from these photos is to remember, when looking for mold contamination, to look on the back of things hanging on building walls.

Also remember to look on the under-side of tables and bureau drawers - surfaces that are often friendly to mold growth even when the painted or sealed visible surfaces are not.

Mold on/in Closets & Pantries

Mold growth in closets and pantries is determined by their materials of construction and of course exposure to leaks (below left) or high moisture or floods (below right).

Watch out: As with cabinets and furniture, remember to look on the under-side of shelving - where mold growth may be singificant but not immediately visible from above. At above right our photo shows a jungle of several mold genera / species on the under-side of a pantry shelf.

Mold on Clothing, Cloth, Bedding

We find mold growth on fabric clothing, both natural fibers and synthetics, depending on the exposure conditions. In the photo above mold was growing on a variety of clothing materials in the closet of an InspectApedia.com reader.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Below: a very moldy dish cloth from a home in the U.K.

Organic (food) residue on the dish cloth probably helped support fungal growth thereon.

In damp or wet conditions mold will grow on:

• Most fabrics, both natural (cotton, wool, on occasion silk) and synthetics (nylon, dacron, orlon), even plastic components of clothing
• Leather clothing or other leather materials
• Vinyl clothing and furnishings

This leather jacket photograph (below left) illustrates mold growth on articles of clothing - in this case a leather jacket left in a damp area.

Mold on Cloth: pillowcases, bedding, mattesses

Our second mold growth photo (above) illustrates an extremely moldy home that suffered mold growth on the bed headboard, pillow cases, sheets, quilt, all bed coverings.

Even though it is usually possible to wash or clean linens exposed to moldy conditions, just as in the case of upholstered furniture, actual mold growth on pillows, mattresses, quilting at this level justifies their disposal.

A mattress or pillow that has been soaked by flooding are simply replaced.

CONTACT us to submit photographs of mold growth on other man-made or building-related materials.

Also see MOLD on LUGGAGE (mold on NYLON or other synthetic fabric)

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Continue reading at MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, PHOTOS_GROUP_4 or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Mold Identification Articles

• BLACK MOLD, HARMLESS
• MOLD APPEARANCE on VARIOUS SURFACES index to photos of mold on all kinds of surfaces and materials
• MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE - home
• MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
• MOLD ATLAS & PARTICLES INDEX
• MOLD FREQUENCY in BUILDINGS
• MOLD in BUILDINGS
• MOLD CONTAMINATION IN BUILDINGS - home
• MOLD by MICROSCOPE - mold under the microscope
• MOLD in the PETRI DISH, PHOTOS - mold on culture plates or in culture-type mold test kits
• MOLD RELATED ILLNESS SYMPTOMS

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Suggested citation for this web page

MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, PHOTOS_GROUP_3 at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to MOLD CONTAMINATION & REMEDIATION

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