What does yellow mold look like on building surfaces?

These mold spores and their photographs and examples of materials sometimes mistaken for mold have been collected in the U.S., Spain, Mexico, France, as well as in other countries where I've studied bioaerosols. We provide Photos of yellow mold in buildings - how to find & recognize mold on building surfaces,

Photographs of yellow mold & other molds of various colors and textures in buildings, Photos of yellow house eating fungus mold Meruliporia incrassata

These photos of yellow mold and mushrooms on indoor building surfaces 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.

Photographs to Help Identify Mold in Buildings -
What yellow mold looks like in a home or other buildings

Among the 1.5 million mold species, there are quite a few that may be found in buildings and that are yellow in color. Some of these are toxic members of the Aspergillus family or wood-destroying Meruliporia sp.; others are common basidiomycetes.

Yellow mold can be easily seen on building surfaces but it cannot be reliably identified to genera/species without analysis by a qualified aerobiologist/microscopist in a test lab.

See Mold Atlas & Particles List for an atlas of building molds and for more microphotographs of building mold samples observed in our laboratory.

See our Atlas of Mold Related Illness Symptoms & Complaints for details about specific mold genera/species and their health effects.

Also see Mold spores in the Home - a Photo ID Library for detection and identification of mold allergens on indoor building surfaces.

Identification Photographs of Yellow Mold in Buildings

The photograph of thick yellow and pale yellow mold growth shown above was taken of a mature mold colony in the basement of a home where rotting wooden stair supports had been subjected to recurrent flooding.

If you see "mushrooms" or thick fruting-body mold growth like the material shown in this photograph, you can safely assume that the wood on which the mold was growing is badly decayed and structural damage may be present.

This photograph of thick yellow mold growth was taken of a bulk sample we collected from the surface of a rotting wooden 2x4 floor truss in a crawl space which had been subjected to recurrent flooding.

Yellow mold subfloor and floor joists in a basement exposed to prolonged wet conditions.

This floor structure was later cleaned using media blasting.

This was a surface mold infection and we did not see structural damage from this fungus.

Yellow mushrooms were growing out of this concrete masonry basement foundation in a wet area.

The spores and mushroom were not a hazard in the building but clues like this indicate a history of prolonged and severely wet conditions which mean that careful inspection of other areas was in order.

Yellow and tan "mushrooms" were growing out of the carpeting and floor trim in this home which had been left unoccupied and unattended while a sewage line had been dripping into the living space.

Clues like this indicate a history of prolonged and severely wet conditions which mean that careful inspection of other areas was in order, but we were also concerned with bacterial hazards in this case.

Yellow mold: Meruliporia incrassata Web Page Serpula lacrymans -or "poria, the house eating fungus," field and lab photos. Where this mold is present, careful removal of infected wood and a 24-inch margin past infected wood as well as corrections to moisture sources are needed.

Photos at this link show Meruliporia incrassata wood damage, rhizomorphs, and yellow surface mold in buildings. This article also discusses Serpula lacrymans and some other confusing names for house-rotting fungi.

Severe structural damage is likely to be found where these molds are present.

This intense yellow mold on building wall paneling was easy to spot, and was symptomatic of chronic and severe wet conditions leading to extensive structural damage from rot.

The fungus was identified in our lab as Meruliporia incrassata, or "the house eating fungus" which we discuss in more detail at

the Meruliporia incrassata Web Page

More photographs of mushrooms growing on indoor building surfaces including dirt, wood, and even PVC piping are

at MOLD & MUSHROOMS INDOORS on DIRT FLOORS

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2015-07-17 - by (mod) -

David

If you're confident the damp/leak problem is repaired simply clean the wall with any household cleaner. If you want to paint the wall with a masonry sealer paint afterwards (latex recommended) that's fine but be sure the wall is clean of soap or cleanser, loose debris, etc. before painting.

On 2015-07-15 by David

Yellow mushrooms are growing out of masonry in our basement it was damp but now have sorted that but what do we put on or do to the wall thankyou

On 2013-03-20 by Anonymous

is it poision

On 2012-05-29 - by (mod) -

Chloe, some mushrooms are harmless, others are poisonous. Color alone is not enough information to identify the genera/species and thus its safety.

If your mushrooms are growing indoors, they indicate a water problem and of course then a risk of larger hidden problems with rot or mold.

On 2012-05-25 by chloe

is the yellow and tan mushrooms dangerous?

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Continue reading at WHITE MOLD PHOTOS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
• MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
• MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, PHOTOS
• YELLOW MOLD: MERULIPORIA Incrassata

Suggested citation for this web page

YELLOW MOLD PHOTOS 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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