More Questions & answers about how to tell mold contamination from other building stains, debris, or particles.

These questions and replies help distinguish between harmful and harmless indoor stains, growths, deposits, dusts, & particles.

This article series describes indoor stains and deposits that are not building mold or in other examples, harmless cosmetic mold. When investigating a building for a mold problem, you can save mold test costs by learning how to recognize Stuff that is Not Mold or is only Harmless Mold but may be mistaken for more serious contamination - save your money.

Q&A on indoor stuff mistaken for mold - #3

These questions & answers about stains and growths in buildings that are not mold were posted originally

at MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD - be sure to check out that page.

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On 2019-03-11 by (mod) - black stuff might be mold?

Sorry but I don't see material that I can be certain is mold in your later photos.

In any case using any household cleaner is perfectly appropriate for removing mold from surfaces that can be cleaned or washed.

Remember that you need to also find the moisture source and correct that or mold will simply return.

On 2019-03-09 by Shannon

One more photo. Is this mold? Should we attempt removal with dish soap?

On 2019-03-09 by Shannon

Here is another photo - is this mold :)

On 2019-03-09 by (mod) - black stuff might be mold

I can't say Anon- the photo looks a bit dark and blurry. But it does look a bit like a black mold.

Be sure to also see BLACK MOLD, HARMLESS

On 2019-03-08 by Anonymous

Is this mold? Are all of these mold? Some are in a closet, and the others are ceiling beams.

On 2019-02-12 by (mod) -

Glad to assist; Scrub off the little offenders and keep me posted.

Or if you have access to a microscope, take a closer look at those putative insect eggs.

On 2019-02-12 by Christina

Thank you very much for taking the time to help me. I really appreciate it!

On 2019-02-12 by (mod) - insect material as white spots or white cobweb-like material under exterior porch roof

The close-up photos certainly do look like insect material and the little round spheres certainly do look like eggs

On 2019-02-12 by Christina

I will also throw in that I'm wondering if this could be moth eggs. I've seen several pictures that resemble this and we do have tons of moths. Just another thing to ponder. Once again thank you so much for any advice you can provide!

On 2019-02-12 by Christina

On 2019-02-12 by Christina

On 2019-02-12 by Christina

We bought this house in August of 2017 and no cleaner has been used by us. I have used wasp spray all along the house as we had a bad wasp problem last Summer. The only other things I've had in the surrounding area are hummingbird feeders.

I took several pictures this morning up close and zoomed in as well.

One of the spots looks as if there is webbing and the other spot almost give the appears of tiny little eggs or spores.

The spots do wipe away. I tried this morning with a dry finger and the spot partially wiped away and when I added water they were completely removed.

The spots are not fuzzy to touch. I will add several pictures. Thank you so much for your help!

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On 2019-02-11 by (mod) - steps to identify white spots on painted wood under porch roof

Christina

Photo: stains on a ceiling tile merit further investigation for leaks from above.

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Gee I'm puzzled too - clearly birds don't poop upside down blasting onto the underside of a ceiling. And I see spots on both framing and a few on the underside of wood decking above.

Has the underside been sprayed with a cleaner at some time?

Do the spots wipe away?

Are the spots fuzzy?

Can you take a very sharp closeup photo of a couple of spots for me to examine more closely?

On 2019-02-11 by Christina

We have white spots under the eaves of our house [photo above] which resemble bird droppings however, the locations are not bird accessible.

Any idea what this could be? I will add that we have full wrap around porches and the spots are only under the eaves and not on the walls of the house.

We also live in the country so we have lots of critters. Thank you for any advice you may have.

On 2019-02-11 by (mod) -

I'm unsure what's in your photo but I can suggest that f the basement is staying wet or quite damp then there is risk of mold growth on more than paint on the lower segment of the block foundation; wood, insulation, other more-mold friendly materials in the same area are worth a look too.

On 2019-02-11 by Mom of 4

Should I be concerned about this? We have a sump pump and every time it rains we have water in the basement, but the drainage at the perimeter looks concerning.

On 2019-02-07 by (mod) - white fungal growth in crawl below area of leak

Oh Ho

So, Cris it's quite apparent that there was a leak from above that sent water through the floor and into the crawl space.

The white is probably a fungal growth - less important than as an indicator of leak and possible hidden damage between layers of flooring or rot in the subflooring.

It would make sense to also remove any organic debris (paper, etc) from that crawl area.

On 2019-02-07 by Chris

Sorry. That is a zoomed in photo of the underside of the subfloor, as seen from the crawl space. I've attached another zoomed out photo to see better.

 

On 2019-02-07 19:24:27.795624 by (mod) -

Chris

Sorry but I can't tell what we're looking-at.

As this is over a crawl space the material may have been put up to allow blown -in insulation.

I'd be worried about a moisture trap.

On 2019-02-07 19:03:54.378560 by Chris

There is some sort of white material on certain parts of the wood subfloor in my crawlspace.

I've attached a photo (sorry about the poor quality), for reference. Does this look like something serious?

On 2019-02-02 by (mod) - more likely mold than mouse pee

\I don't think so, (though I don't have a good reference for scale) Perry unless it's a bigger animal than a mouse. More likely there's a leak in the wall cavity.

On 2019-01-29 by Perry

Just went through house inspection and pest expert wasn’t sure what these brownish/yellowish stains could be. [Photo above]

They appear on walls and ceilings. Best guess is mice dying or peeing behind walls?

On 2019-01-28 by (mod) - white blotches on joist do not appear on adjoining wood surfaces = not active growth

Mike

While I can't rule out some white fungus I suspect that the markings are something else, maybe concrete or lime from construction-use of the lumber.

Take note that the white blotches appear on the side but not one bit on the edge of the joist.

Mold wouldn't normally grow in such a pattern. The same conditions that would make it grow on the side of a joist would be expected to make at least some grow on the other edges.

On 2019-01-28 by Mike

Hey there - I've got white residue on some of my joists - looks the most similar to the pics that with the lyme paint or concrete residue

. Its only on some of the joists, and the ones it is on, it seems to only be one on side of them.

Any chance it could be white mold though? Would love any insight on this. Thanks!

...

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Questions & answers or comments about how to identify stuff in buildings that is not mold but may be mistaken for it. Stains, deposits, growths, etc.