How long does black mold live?

[JackOfDiamonds]

As I was relocating my washer out of the garage into a new laundry space, I was preparing to put down vinyl plank flooring but the corner of the room was really humped.

I pulled up the existing vinyl sheet and saw some water signs in that corner. Probably swelling the MDF underlayment. There was no moisture I could see bit a little bit of black speckly mold on top the underlayment.

After chiseling up the underlayment I found a small area of thick puffy mold between underlayment and subfloor. It doesn't go very far and doesn't go up the walls.

When I cut the drywall away I noticed two big copper pipes running through the sill here on the right side. There's no sign of water. So I wonder if this is past water damage from something, or if it has something to do with the pipes running right here. I don't know... condensation or something. It's a dry climate so there's usually no condensation...

What I'm trying to figure out is: could this mold be from something like years ago, or does the presence of the mold mean there's definitely a current moisture problem that I have to track down?

The pipes being right there just seems suspicious, but I don't see any leaks.

 

[captaindiode]

You can get a pin type moisture meter at Lowes or Home Depot, even Harbor Freight has one, and see if there is an ongoing moisture problem. You can also get Concrobium Mold Control at the home improvement store which will kill the mold and help prevent it from coming back.

 

[FredWanaker]

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/c6e37cc2-8bd3-496c-bf20-a35ef4a51540_1.b442de7294e15a553ebad7ca29f5376b.jpeg

 

[CombatNinja]

You have a current moisture problem.

 

[rburke65]

iIs that a particle board floor? That stuff will **** up the water

 

[mikedodge]

If there's no signs of anything being fixed its safe to guess its still a problem. Since its dry and not a big area it looks more like something has leaked from higher up down the pipes or they sweat from time to time or something.

 

[PoorUB]

Is it an outside corner of the building?

I has a cabinet in the corner of m garage. It had been there for a few years and I decided to move some stuff around. I pulled out the cabinet and the walls were covered in mold. The lower corner was just thick with it. I went after it with a bucket of water with bleach and washed down the wall and it has not returned. It is possible it is condensation if it is an outside corner and gets cold in the winter.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

It's an outside corner of the room, but the other side of one of the walls is garage, and the other side of the other wall outside. So it's an inside corner of the building envelope. I guess water could be sleeping in from outside somehow.

 

[PoorUB]

Tha laundry equipmant shoved back to the corner stops air from curculating. The cold wall plus the humidity in the room is just great for condensation. My bet is if you clean it up and don't place anything in that corner it will be fine.

 

[nadogail]

Black Mold will lives long as it's needs are met. When an effective mildew killer is applied, the mold will stop being a problem.

 

[walta]

How long does black mold live?

Forever!

Mold will actively grow if you give it 3 things food moisture and temperature if you take one or more away it goes dormant in the form of spores that are almost indestructible.

Food is almost anything organic.
Moisture is anything is over 40% humidity.
Temperature is anything over 40°F

Walta

 

[81CJ-7]

The presence of mold period is a problem, regardless of it being dormant or not. As was previously stated, the spores are there, and can be reactivated at any time. What did the back of the drywall look like when you took it off? Was there mold on it? Water marks? Any indication of moisture? Not sure where you live, but where I live in NY State, the plastic vapor barrier you have wood definitely cause condensation. We have drastic temperature extremes here. We use vapor retarders, not vapor barriers, so that WHEN vapor forms, it can escape.

 

[81CJ-7]

Also, what’s under the OSB sub floor?

 

[Hobby_Man22]

It lives?

 

[duneslider]

That looks like mildew to me and not mold. The cause is still basically the same, moisture. You can't get rid of the food source and you likely can't live at a temperature that will kill it but you can figure out where moisture is coming from and fix that. It might just be a lack of air movement in that area.

That mildew won't just disappear if things dry out. Does the osb underneath still feel structurally sound? With the two water lines running up the wall are they going to the washer valve above, is it possible that connection was leaking/dripping at one point? It is also possible that the pipes sweat enough to drip down and collect in that corner. I would maybe consider insulating those pipes to help prevent sweating. There is probably a high temp difference between the inside of that wall and the outside of that wall.

You are in Idaho so I doubt you experience high humidity in the home unless you run a humidifier a lot, so I doubt interior humidity is a big issue.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

The pipes go up to the second floor. There was no washing machine or anything else in this spot. There's no laundry room now, I'm making one. This corner was more or less just an unused corner behind the garage door.

The subfloor looks sound and there is not any rot. The steel protection plates over the pipes are a little rusty. The very bottom of the drywall was a little mushy but I probably could have left it in and the baseboard would have covered it.

Diagonal from this corner, on the other side, is the hot water heater. It's dry and sitting in a drain pan, but it's relatively new. Maybe in the past, the hot water heater had a leak that transferred through to this corner. But it would have to be 3+ years ago. That's why I was asking if the mold could be from that long ago.

I crawled under the crawlspace and don't see any mold down there or sign of a moisture problem.

 

[racecougar]

It lives?

Yes, Fungi are living organisms.

Diagonal from this corner, on the other side, is the hot water heater. It's dry and sitting in a drain pan, but it's relatively new. Maybe in the past, the hot water heater had a leak that transferred through to this corner. But it would have to be 3+ years ago. That's why I was asking if the mold could be from that long ago.

Judging by the second photo in the original post above, it has to have received moisture recently.

 

[duneslider]

I know it is not fun but I would seriously consider insulating the pipes. In a house I rented for a bit the hot water line from the water heater to the kitchen would sweat enough for drips to form and drop onto the unfinished concrete basement floor. The first time I noticed it I was sure there was a leak but it turned out it was just sweat on the pipe. I had a tv and computer near the area for a workout room so I put some pipe insulation on it and the problem seemed to disappear. I was only in that rental for a year but haven't noticed this in other houses.

 

[81CJ-7]

In your second photo, the wall without the pipes has mold going up the drywall. In your first photo, in that same spot, the plastic looks stuck to the insulation. I might investigate there. When insulation gets saturated, it tends to turn black. If you see black insulation, try to follow it back to the source

 

[glentre]

If you determine the presence of water was an old problem and is no longer present, you should kill the mold that is now there. Concrobium Mold Control is a good product that the manufacturer states crushes the mold spores as it dries and encapsulates it. I have used it with good success. Note, however, if you use it, the black mold will still appear to be there since the product is clear when dry. From reviews on the product, there are many complaints that it doesn't work from folks who think that because the black does not go away, the application was ineffectual.

Glen

 

[mikedodge]

You can see it's all leading back to the pipe area so its something related to that.

 

[nadogail]

X-14 from the WD-40 company has been my Go Too for Mold and Mildew issues.