Photographs of mold growth in buildings:

Here is a photo guide to mold on fruit around the house such as oranges, mold on OSB board, mold on painted drywall, mold growth on painted masonry surfaces, mold on painted wood, mold growth on wood paneling, mold contamination and growth on paper such as file folders, mold on pine wall or ceiling paneling, moldy wood trim boards, mold on pipes (possibly), mold on houseplants, mildew on houseplants.

What does mold look like growing on various building & other material surfaces? Here is an online reference photo library of various kinds of mold as it is found growing on a wide range of surfaces and materials found on or in buildings. 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

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 7 ---

69. MOLD on ORANGES
70. MOLD on OSB SHEATHING BOARD
71. MOLD on PAINTED DRYWALL
72. MOLD on PAINTED MASONRY
73. MOLD on PAINTED WOOD
74. MOLD on PANELING, WOOD
75. MOLD on PAPERS, FILES
76. MOLD on PHOTOGRAPHS, CLEAN-UP
77. MOLD on PINE PANELING, TRIM, BOARDS
78. MOLD on PIPES
79. MOLD on PLANTS = MILDEW

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

[Click to enlarge any image]

Mold on Oranges

More photos of moldy food and information about Mycotoxicosis are at MOLD EXPOSURE, FOOD HAZARDS.

Mold on OSB Sheathing Board used as subflooring, roof sheathing, wall sheathing

The brown mold on OSB subflooring (below left) is most likely a very different genera/species than the green OSB mold at below right.

At below left is brown mold on OSB sheathing used in a roof structure. At below right our moldy OSB subfloor photo illustrates one of our favorite molds, Stemonitis sp. - often found growing in a fairy ring pattern on OSB subfloor that has been soaked. Se observed this mold growth in partly-repaired condominium that had suffered burst pipe flooding in upstate New York.

Additional simlar photos of mold on these materials are at MOLD on SUBFLOORING

Below: severe green & gray mold contamination on wet OSB Oriented Strand Board (green mold, white mold, gray mold, most-likely multiple mold genera/species) in a crawl space that was not adequately vented and that also suffered leaks and frost.

Below: extensive dark brown mold contamiantion on OSB and on wood framing.

Mold on Painted Drywall

The severely-contaminated home shown above had been left unattended in winter in upstate New York. A baseboard heating system leak created high indoor moisture as well as warmth.

The drywall surfaces of walls and ceilings had been painted with several coats of paint but those coatings could not prevent this mold growth given the building conditions.

Many of the mold-in-situ photographs shown in this article were collected in this home where we (at our expense not that of the insurance company) sampled and tested more than 100 indoor surfaces to determine the preferences of different mold genera/species for different building contents and building materials.

See DRYWALL MOLD TESTING for a guide to testing and repairing moldy drywall or plasterboard.

See additional photos at MOLD on DRYWALL & SHEETROCK®

Mold on Painted Masonry

This photograph illustrates mold growth on a painted masonry block wall. We believe that the mold is growing on and feeding on the paint itself.

Mold on Painted Wood

These photographs illustrate mold growth on painted wood framing and subfloor over a wet basement. The colors suggest that more than one mold genera/species is present.

Mold on Paneling, Wood

Our photograph of mold on wall paneling (below left) illustrate how mold growth may appear on these materials.

Above our photo shows the dominance of mold at a building corner combined with the water stains on the block wall at the right side of the photo argue for a water problem that may be traced to a downspout spilling at the building corner outside.

The second mold photo (below) shows black mold on light colored wall paneling. Actually a closer look showed at least three different colors of mold [click to enlarge any of our images] and thus probably multiple species of mold present on this surface.

The pictures just below illustrate more subtle mold growth on wall paneling as well as how careful use of light can show up much more mold on a surface than may at first be apparent.

Mold growth variation on different components of wood paneling

As our photos below illustrate, moldy wood paneling in buildings can be tricky to spot because the mold may be hidden on the wall-side of the paneling and be not present or at least not visible on the room side (photo at below left). This problem is discussed at HIDDEN MOLD in PANELING.

We also find different mold growth in quantity and sometimes genera/species in the grooves on wood paneling than on the surface of wood paneling (photo, below right). The explanation may be that the groove cut in laminated wood paneling exposes a different texture and wood species as well as exposing a different coating (black paint or stain).

The different texture of a milled groove in some wood panels grabs more moisture or more airborne spores than the harder smoother finished segments. This is another example of the trip-ups in indoor mold tests.

Even eschewing an air "test", a surface sample will be entirely different depending on whether or not you stick the collecting tape on those black-painted wood grooves.

Extreme Mold Contamination on Wood Paneling

Below: white mold on wall paneling and on the ceiling of a mobile home, photos contributed by reader M.M.

Watch out: Never assume that the mold you see on a wall or ceiling surface is the extent of the mold concern. Particularly where the surface mold growth has appeared beacause of leaks into the wall or ceiling cavity an additional, perhaps larger mold contamination reservoir may be hidden from view.

Be sure to also see HIDDEN MOLD in PANELING

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

Mold on Papers, Files

Several mold species grow readily and quickly on papers exposed to water or even high humidity, as we illustrate with our photos of file cabinet flooding below left and right.

When papers and paper file folders remain in a wet area heavy mold growth, including Aspergillus sp. are likely to be found. At below right we appreciated the irony of finding this moldy magazine in a flooded home - Fungi Perfecti.

See BOOK / DOCUMENT MOLD & WATER DAMAGE RESTORATION for details about dealing with and restoring moldy books and papers.

See FOXING STAINS on books & papers for details about these stains and marks on books and papers.

Mold on Pine Paneling or Pine Trim Boards

Our photographs below illustrate how mold growth appears on solid pine wood paneling. At below left the rough-sawn pine boards were installed over drywall in a home where basement flooding had gone unattended.

At below right the bevel-edged traditional pine paneling installed on stairwell walls and in the home's basement was severely mold damaged.

Watch out: we sometimes find extensive mold growth on the wall-cavity side of pine paneling in damp or wet homes even if the room side looks clean. The un-coated surfaces of wood products take up moisture and thus can support mold growth more quickly than a coated and moisture-resistant surface.

Mold on Metal Pipes?

This photograph illustrates how difficult it might be to distinguish between corrosion (expected to be found on copper piping exposed to moisture or corrosive conditions), and fungal growth.

If a lab test found growing mold on this surface we suspect it would be due to the presence of organic dust and debris.

Mold on Plants, Mildew

This photograph illustrates mildew growth on plants. There are two mildew groups, both Ustilaginales, a family that also contains plant rusts and smuts. The two mildew groups are Oidium-Erysiphe or Powdery Mildew and Peronosporaceae or Downy Mildew.

Mildew is an obligate parasite that grows only on living plants.

So when you read a product label or an article about indoor mold that uses the term "mildew", if the writer is referring to mold on other materials and surfaces than living plants, s/he is probably mistaken.

See

• MILDEW in BUILDINGS ?
  • MILDEW ERRORS, IT's MOLD
  • MILDEW REMOVAL & PREVENTION

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

...

Continue reading at MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, PHOTOS_GROUP_8 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

Suggested citation for this web page

MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, PHOTOS_GROUP_7 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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Citations & References

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