Mold?

[Splinter]

Not exactly garage, (could be if you have finished areas), but you guys are so darn smart I had to ask.
Paint chipped off the wall so of course I picked on it a little. Is this mold?

 

[Shiftless]

Looks like mold to me.
Here is a quick test. Dab some bleach on that area. If it stays black it’s dirt. If it mostly disappears, it’s mold.

 

[The Cobbler]

yup. mold. beneath a window? you've got a leak somewhere

 

[nadogail]

Time for the X-14 from WD-40

 

[58Yeoman]

A few years ago, a small house a couple miles south of us came up for sale, with the bank only asking $25,000. We stopped to see it, and the doors were open, so we went inside. Holy ****, the walls were covered in black mold, very deep in many of the rooms and garage. We left. Later the house was sold, and someone 'rehabbed' it, and put it up for rent. The renters seemed to never stay very long and would leave, then someone else would rent it, and so on. It finally came up for sale again, and someone has bought it. I wonder how long they will keep it before selling?

I don't know if they did a good job of getting rid of the mold, or they just covered it up and people are getting sick?

 

[mepstein]

A few years ago, a small house a couple miles south of us came up for sale, with the bank only asking $25,000. We stopped to see it, and the doors were open, so we went inside. Holy ****, the walls were covered in black mold, very deep in many of the rooms and garage. We left. Later the house was sold, and someone 'rehabbed' it, and put it up for rent. The renters seemed to never stay very long and would leave, then someone else would rent it, and so on. It finally came up for sale again, and someone has bought it. I wonder how long they will keep it before selling?

I don't know if they did a good job of getting rid of the mold, or they just covered it up and people are getting sick?

The only way to fix it is to remove everything down to the studs, treat the studs and then build it back. My friends house was flooded to the top of the fridge last year and pulling everything out is the only way to handle it.

 

[cpttuna]

if you have a concrete wall, do not paint it. I was told the mold will stick to paint but not bare concrete.

 

[CraigStu]

Yep it is mold. Now you are in for a no fun project. First get a good face mask and peel away paint until you get to no mold area. Hopefully you will then be able to find the leak and fix it. Then you need to clean the mold as well as possible. There are many products to choose from so research is needed. You probably won't be able to completely get rid of it so next step is paint w/ a specialized mold encapsulating paint. I don't know how long you intend to live here but getting this fixed correctly is very important. If mold is discovered during a buyer's home inspection you will be forced to fix it. Even if that buyer backs out, the realtor now knows about it, and will be required to make it known to any other potential buyers. You will be under a time pressure, and the work has to be done by a certified company, so it won't be cheap. Best wishes to you.

 

[larry4406]

In our new construction homes, if mold is suspected/found, our health physics consultant most often specifies aggressive brush cleaning with Fiberlock Shockwave. Wood members we then encapsulate with Fiberlock Aftershock. We get the white tinted version of Aftershock as it’s obvious it was applied. I’ve not had to deal with mold on foundation walls.

I do agree on finding and curing the source of moisture.

Shockwave - Fiberlock

Conc. Disinfectant/Sanitizer

www.fiberlock.com

AfterShock - Fiberlock

EPA Registered Fungicidal Coating - White

www.fiberlock.com

 

[rayra]

Yep, black mold. Mask up when you do the remediation. Once it is in the drywall it is easier to tear it down to the studs and replace, than get it eradicated.
Killing it directly with a bleach solution is 'easy', but the spores you release and spread during demo make it much tougher to be rid of it. Use methods that create as little dust as possible. And try to limit the spread of that dust.

 

[dogdog]

use mold armor or concrobium is what I used, and knocked down the wall to the studs spray treat the surface and the air using ULV fogger not ryobi toys (I have them also)... real ULV fogger... with concrobium broadcasting it suspending in the air killing the mold spores when you knock down walls..... Don't think bleach or Mold Armor is boardcast-able... without harming you.

 

[dogdog]

OP, if you decided to remediate your self,

roybi have a toy sprayer on sale right now... might work for small area. but not room size. if you have the ryobi platform... I got two just for the heck of it. The Room size ones are the ULV ones you find that look like these, can also be a back pack one... I have the Ten Green Finger ones from Ebay, can't say it's good or bad, I have to fix the motor once. it's a vacuum motor. brushes and communitator gets gunked up , the sock filter is important... I guess lol

RYOBI ONE+ 18V Cordless Handheld Electrostatic Sprayer (Tool Only) PSP02B - The Home Depot

The RYOBI 18V ONE+ Cordless Handheld Electrostatic Sprayer allows you to spray disinfectants, cleaning solutions, and deodorizers with cordless convenience. RYOBI Electrostatic Sprayers utilize electrostatic

www.homedepot.com

Concrobium Mold Control Fogger Machine 11" x 8" x 16" - 200620810

Concrobium Mold Control Fogger Machine 11" x 8" x 16" - 200620810. Ships in One Business Day. Buy it and Save at GlobalIndustrial.com

www.globalindustrial.com

 

[Splinter]

Awesome, thanks guys

 

[Professor Fate]

That is fungal growth. You CANNOT identify mold by sight. It takes a laboratory test to determine if it is mold or not.

 

[Paco Pena]

Mold needs moisture, food and typically poor ventilation to grow. Cleaning or pickling vinegar contains a higher percentage of acetic acid which does well at killing it. It will soak into wood and help prevent the return. Bleach will remove surface mold and is okay for cleaning but it doesnt last like vinegar. You need to fix the moisture problem first.

Paco