More Places to Look for Hidden Mold in Buildings - Looking for Mold
     

• OTHER PLACES to LOOK FOR HIDDEN MOLD - where else should you check for hidden mold reservoirs? Description and photos of oft-forgotten places to look for hidden mold - how to use building construction, general context, and identification of high risk areas to decide where hidden building mold contamination is most-likely to be found., Guide to finding hidden mold in buildings, under carpets, at ceiling penetrations and air or water leak points, Guide to finding mold hidden on or in furniture ,Finding mold in air conditioning systems
• HIDDEN MOLD, HOW TO FIND where & how to look for hidden mold contamination in buildings
  • FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD
  • Hidden Mold Behind Paneling
  • Hidden Mold Between Framing & Sheathing
  • Hidden Mold in Flooring & Subflooring
  • Hidden Mold in Wall Cavities
  • LIGHT AIM FINDS MOLD
  • Light colored toxic molds
  • LIGHT, flashlight to find mold
  • Moisture Gradients and Mold
  • Other Places to Look for Hidden Mold
  • Recognizing Cosmetic Mold
  • Spotting Hard-to-See Mold
  • Wall test cuts to spot hidden mold
• Questions & Answers about finding hidden building mold by checking often forgotten locations at extra risk for mold contamination
• References

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Photo of mold inside of a Florida Air Conditioning air handler unit - Mark Cramer, Tampa, FL.

Mold may be found growing on insulation or even on metal surfaces inside of an air handler unit, such as on the blades of the squirrel cage fan in the blower compartment.

Anywhere that house dust and debris are deposited on the surfaces of an HVAC system we may find mold growth - that's because house dust contains lots of skin cells and often other organic debris that can support fungal growth.

But mold growth in an air handler or air duct is more likely where moisture is present at problematic levels, such as where condensate is blowing onto the fan assembly or duct interior when it should be captured and drained away by the condensate drain system.

So also look for mold inside of ductwork or air handler sections that are downstream in the air pathway from the blower assembly itself.

And pay particular attention to air handler equipment or ductwork that has been wet from leaks, condensate leaks, or other moisture sources such as building flooding.

The previously-hidden toxic black mold (Aspergillus niger) shown in this photograph was found beneath a built-in bathroom storage drawer - shower water leaked across the bath floor, under the built-in, and into the wall cavity. I found this incompletely cleaned area during a post-remediation mold clearance inspection and test.

This was a small mold cleanup area, less than 10 sq .ft. and suitable for handling by a homeowner or handyman had there not already been a costly mold remediation project at this property. In this case the remediator returned to complete the work.

Failing to simply pull out a drawer to look into the built-in cavity is an indication of superficial workmanship on a mold cleanup job. Here is a mold test lab photo of Pen/Asp spore chains that we had found in our mold clearance inspection sample of settled dust taken near this bathroom.

Here is a mold test lab photo of the actual Aspergillus niger colony sample I collected from the pine tongue and groove subflooring in the moldy area shown above - this is a probable source of the spore chain found in our screening sample.

Hidden mold in and under wall to wall carpeting is notorious and widespread in areas which have been subject to wet conditions such as basements or floors on leaky slabs.

The first photo at left shows moldy carpet tack strips which confirms a history of water entry and makes the carpeting highly suspect of serving as a problem mold reservoir. (We tested the carpeting further using a special vacuum mold test method.) The second photo shows clean carpet tack strips, indicating that at least since this wall to wall carpeting has been installed there has been no water below the carpet in this area, and suggesting that the risk of mold in this carpeting is low.

Of course mold may be visible on the surface of carpeting too, such as in this closet.

In this case we suspected that the visible carpet mold was the "tip of an iceberg" of hidden mold below.

Paper files and documents and file folders, even stored in metal file cabinets, can become quite moldy when left in a damp basement. In these photos the file cabinet was never itself wet, but the floor beneath it had been wet several times leading to extensive mold growth on these law office files.

There are procedures for cleaning and salvaging moldy books and paper files, but the cost is high, making it appropriate only in special circumstances such as the preservation of works of art or valuable books or historic papers.

Upholstered furniture can be quite moldy if it has been exposed to flooding (photos above).

Only in unusually severe circumstances will upholstered furniture be visibly moldy. Don't forget to look on the underside of couches, tables, and chairs, especially since the un-finished but hidden surfaces such as raw wood under a table or cabinet more easily take up moisture and support mold growth.

The condition of the moldy green chair in the photo (left), from a lakefront cottage in Elk Lake Michigan, was pretty obvious after it had spent a decade in the damp cottage. Moldy furniture like this must either be discarded or stripped to its bare frame for cleaning before reupholstering.

Remember to use your light (as we describe here and in other articles) to look along finished wood surfaces as often light colored problem mold is hard to see but may be quite extensive.

Building wallpaper may include problematic molds such as Aspergillus sp. and Stachybotrys in areas subject to leaks such as below the window in the condominium in New Jersey, or in bathrooms where wallpaper was applied.

We suspected mold and convinced our daughter to peel down the wallpaper below this window because she had told us that there had been a history of wind-blown rain leaks at this particular opening.

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