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MOLD INFORMATION CENTER
ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS
MOLD ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO
MOLD DETECTION & INSPECTION
HOW TO LOOK FOR MOLD
WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
Black Mold
Brown Mold
Green Mold
Red Mold
Yellow Mold
White Mold
Invisible Mold
Recognize Cosmetic Mold
Recognize Harmless Black Mold
ATTIC MOLD
BASEMENT MOLD
CARPET TEST GUIDE
CRAWLSPACE MOLD
HIDDEN MOLD, HOW TO FIND
INSULATION MOLD
ITCHY FABRICS
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
MOLD ON DIRT FLOORS
MOLDY CARPETS
PHOTO GUIDE TO STAINS on Indoor Surfaces
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
More Information
Allergens:
How to Look For Mold
Mold Test Kits
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Home Inspection
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Stuff that is Not Mold or Stuff that is Harmless Cosmetic Black Mold
MoldAPedia ©
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- Photos & text aid identifying indoor stains mistaken for toxic mold
- How to identify white stains in basements and crawl spaces - Mineral efflorescence
- How to identify amber material in attics as Wood sap; identify foam insulation in buildings
- How to recognize black stains as thermal tracking or soot
- How to identify stains on soiled walls/trim caused by animals
- How to recognize cosmetic or harmless black (or other color) mold & Links to photos of stuff that is bad mold
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest.
We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices,
false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at
inspect-ny.com/appointment.htm.
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. Because some clients have on occasion sent samples to my lab that really should not have been collected, much
less looked-at, I provide this library of photographs of things that are "not mold" and don't need to be tested. These are substances that you can easily learn to recognize in buildings.
Save your mold test money, and increase the accuracy
of your mold contamination inspection or test for toxic or allergenic mold in buildings: review
these items to learn recognize non-fungal materials or even possibly harmless cosmetic "black mold" often mistaken for "toxic fungal growth."
© Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website.
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES - Examples of scary-looking, usually harmless indoor stuff that is sometimes mistaken for mold
So many people have called me to look at things that are not mold that I'm offering some photo tips below. Don't hire an environmental
consultant if your only concern is the stuff you see here and if there are no health or air quality complaints. Save your money, don't bother testing
the things you see below.
Finding "not mold" material in a building does not mean that there is no mold or allergen problem. Even relatively harmless house dust collected on a surface and sent to our lab as a mold screening test can contain a surprising amount of problematic mold spores
if the building has a mold problem.
More important for mold testing, right in among an old colony of harmless
cosmetic black mold I've on often found hard-to-see Aspergillus sp. or Penicillium sp. mold that grew there much after the original black mold deposit. Judgment and common sense are needed. Nonetheless, the examples
below are unambiguous and should not be sampled for mold testing.
Review This List & These Photographs of Stains or Stuff in Buildings that Are Not Mold or Are Harmless Mold
In this article on things that are not mold, do not require mold testing, but which may still help diagnose building conditions and history, we'll discuss, describe, and provide photographs of some common items that are sometimes mistaken for mold in buildings:
- Efflorescence white, tan, crystalline, tan, or other-colored mineral salts on foundations and masonry walls
- Wood sap- clear or crystalline tan or yellow droplets found on wood framing, often in attics
- Sprayed foam insulation- that looks a little like certain fungal growths in crawl spaces or other building areas, usually yellow or white in color
- Black stains or marks on building interior walls caused by thermal tracking, not mold
- Black stains or marks on building interior walls caused by dogs, cats or other animal stains on walls, floors, doors, trim
- Black mold on building surfaces that is harmless cosmetic material, not "toxic black mold" indoors
- House dust which may or may not contain mold, allergens, or other problems
- Pollen may contaminate indoor dust
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WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Mold Inspect/Test
Contact Us
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How to Identify Efflorescence - Mineral Deposits (not mold) on Building Foundations and Masonry Walls
 Efflorescence or "mineral salts" is a whitish crystalline or powdery deposit on damp masonry walls, especially foundation walls which are located below ground level. Various descriptions of this material, often seen on concrete, brick, or concrete block walls or foundations, include:
- white fibrous substance on concrete block foundation wall
- white or tan fluffy deposit on brick, stone, or cinder block walls,
- spiky or fiber-y substance,
- white cotton-like substance on the foundation
- light white or tan crystalline substance
- white mold that looks at first glance like "dryer fluff", polyfill or fiberglass.
This white fluffy material is efflorescence, a crystalline mineral salt left
behind as moisture comes through the wall and evaporates into the building interior. Efflorescence is not mold, though it is an indicator of wet conditions that could contribute to a mold problem somewhere in the building.
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- Here's a close-up photo of efflorescence (mineral salts) on a wall.
Here's another closer look using a flash light - see those
shiny needle-like crystals?
Here's another photo of efflorescence on a painted concrete block wall, and another.
Look at these closely so that you don't waste your money collecting this stuff as a "mold sample".
Warning about moisture: efflorescence is an indicator of wet conditions, so where you find this in a building indoors, you should look for problem mold, allergens, bacteria. Look on organic surfaces - wood, paper, painted surfaces, insulation, fabrics, carpets, carpet padding, or in settled dust and debris.
Shown just above are two high-magnification microscopic photographs of efflorescence (mineral salts) which we took at 720x in our lab. This efflorescence sample was collected as "white powdery or cottony stuff on the foundation" by our client. |
WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Mold Inspect/Test
Contact Us
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How to Identify Wood Sap Crystals on Building Framing
What about those clear or opaque spherical brown blobs we see on rafters in attics? Is that toxic brown mold? Probably not. Take a look at this photograph.
Wood sap on rafters in a hot attic forms hard shiny brown or tan spheres that some people
think is mold. It's not. Here's a closer look
at sap.
This is not mold, it's sap crystals that have been extruded from the wood due to high attic temperatures. We see more of this sap staining when the wood used for framing was not kiln dried before construction.
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Mistaking sprayed foam for mold growth in buildings
Some mold-suspect material in buildings is easily determined to be spray foam insulation.
Sprayed icynene foam insulation is not mold either. Though we sometimes find fungal growth in buildings that looks a lot like this substance, it would be very odd for it to appear so extensively and so uniformly as the foam insulation shown in this photo.
To compare actual mold growth with crawlspace foam insulation see this photograph of yellow mold growth taken from a rotting wood truss in a wet crawl space. You'll see it looks a bit like the sprayed foam insulation shown on this page. But actual yellow mold growth on wood won't be found in a continuous blanket such as shown in our photograph of icynene foam on this page. |
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WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Mold Inspect/Test
Contact Us
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How to recognize black stains that are thermal tracking or soot marks, not mold in buildings
Thermal tracking or soot tracking may be found where moisture condenses on cool building surfaces. Warm moisture-laden air
touches the cooler surface of a building wall or ceiling, giving up some of its moisture to the surface as condensation.
As air moves
through the building, typically up walls and across ceilings, debris in the air, particularly soot such as that left by burning
scented candles, adheres more to the damp surfaces than to others, leaving black marks or "tracks."
In a conventionally-framed
wood structure, wall and ceiling framing is typically on 16" or 24" centers. The wall or ceiling will be cooler where the
framing is located than will be the spaces which are not touched by framing and which, perhaps, are insulated. So if you see
black streaks up the building wall in a regular 16" or 24" pattern, particularly on cooler exterior walls but potentially anywhere,
it may be thermal tracking.
If you have frequent fireplace fires, cooking, or if you burn scented candles, if people smoke in your home, or if your oil-fired or gas-fired
heating system is not working properly, the added soot particle load in the building air is not only a health concern (soot and potentially lead), it also will mark the building surfaces in this characteristic
pattern.
See our complete article on Thermal tracking or soot tracking .
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Basketball print mold: A client was certain that a large collection of round black speckled marks on his garage ceiling were toxic mold, that the marks were growing in size, and that they had not been there when he purchased the home a few years before.
To an experienced eye it was immediately obvious that the marks had been made by a basketball which someone had bounced against walls and ceilings.
At client demand, we analyzed these stains in our laboratory, confirming that the black marks were comprised of dirt and soot from the garage floor and basketball surface. |
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 It is important to realize that a stain or mark may have been in place but un-noticed for a long time on a building surface.
In its form of black on white on the garage ceiling the stain pattern was a bit hard to see. We used this trick of reversing black and white in the computer, making the basketball characteristic surface pattern quite obvious.
Anxiety about a building environment or simply new discovery of an existing mark or substance can convince even the most hard thinker that the substance is "brand new" when sometimes it is not.
Once we become concerned about health or mold or if some other event makes us look anew at the building surface, seeing such marks for the first time we may form the mistaken belief that they are new. Careful investigation can usually resolve this question without ambiguity. This home did have a substantial mold reservoir, but in another location and on different materials than those found in the garage.
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See THERMAL TRACKING STAINS for
a more detailed discussion of recognizing and diagnosing indoor stains on walls and ceilings, and for tips for using indoor stains
to diagnose a variety of building problems and safety concerns.
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WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Mold Inspect/Test
Contact Us
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How to recognize black stains on indoor walls and trim caused by pets, not mold
With a little thought we can easily distinguish pet stains on drywall from thermal tracking by the stain pattern and location as well as other details such as the absence of a heat source, or the identification of a location where we'd expect a pet to rest. Similarly we can identify black stains on walls where people's heads rested while sitting on furniture or in bed (see photo link just below).
Black marks on interior walls such as the black "mold suspect stains" shown on the white painted drywall in this photo might be just be where the dog lay on the floor against the wall (stain at floor level in this picture) or in this photograph of black stains higher on a wall where people rested their heads in bed.
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WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Mold Inspect/Test
Contact Us
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Indoor House Dust Analysis Distinguishes Common from Problematic Mold and Other Particles
Killer House Dust from an HVAC system which turned out to be cotton and other
carpet fibers having nothing to do with the Heating or Cooling equipment was discussed at our Fear of Mold WebLog or "Blog" where we periodically post results of interesting forensic investigations.
House dust might be a contributor to building air quality complaints IF the dust has high levels of problem particles such as mold, dust mite fecals, pollen, sub-micron particulate debris, bacterial contaminants, pet hair, mouse dander or fecal dust, and similar particles.
The most common ingredients in house-dust in a healthy home are:
- fabric fibers
- human skin cells
- starch granules, often from cooking and from bath products
- pet dander and pet hair, especially if pets live in the home
- non-fungal granular debris such as road dirt or soil particles
- at lower levels: common outdoor biological particles such as pollen and mold spores are present but generally at a lower level than outdoors (except when the windows are open), and the mix of these particles will be more heterogeneous than when mold spores appear indoors from an indoor mold reservoir; we also may find certain outdoor mold spores only as individuals (such as Penicillium sp.) while if that same mold were growing indoors we may find it ocurring as spore chains.
Pollen may be present in indoor dust reservoirs
Pollen Allergens:
identification, advice including a pollen
identification photo library - pollen may be allergenic, but it's not mold and requires a different approach to detection and cleaning indoor spaces. |
WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Mold Inspect/Test
Contact Us |
Harmless Black Mold?
Some black mold in buildings arrived on the framing lumber and is harmless both to humans and to the building materials on which it is found. Often a visual inspection for certain clues (discussed below) can make you very confident of when mold appeared on lumber and what sort it probably is. We discuss how to recognize and what to do about harmless mold, harmless black mold, and cosmetic molds in our article: HARMLESS COSMETIC MOLD
Make sure that the obvious harmless "black mold" you see (such as shown in the photograph at left) is the only mold growth found. |
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WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Mold Inspect/Test
Contact Us
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So what does mold look like on or in a building?
Our article: WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
has photographs and descriptions of what real mold looks like inside a building.
But
be careful, some of the most problematic common indoor molds, the Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium group can be very light in color and hard to see
on building surfaces.
We offer tips on how to look for mold for these hard-to-see molds too.
If you need to see what other indoor allergens look like in a building contact us (our contact information is below and at page left).
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WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
MOLD IN HOMES
USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Efflorescence & white stuff
Wood sap
Sprayed foam insulation
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
House dust
Pollen
What Mold Looks Like
HARMLESS BLACK MOLD
THERMAL TRACKING STAINS
More Information
InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Air Conditioning
InspectAPedia Bookstore
Electrical
Environment
Exteriors
Heating
Home Inspection
Insulate Ventilate
Interiors
Mold Inspect/Test
Plumbing
Water
Septic
Roofing
Structure
Accuracy & Bias Pledge
Contact Us
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More Information on Finding and Identifying Mold in Buildings and Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs
- How to Look For Mold, Hiring a Mold or IAQ Consultant, Getting a Remediation Plan Looking for Mold what mold is often found where in buildings - simple technical presentation Mold spores in the Home - a Photo ID Library for detection and identification of mold allergens Recognizing Allergens: What various indoor allergens look like - identification photos to help identify pollen, dust mites, animal dander, toxic or allergenic mold - Common Mold and other Allergens, Irritants, Remedies & Advice Stuff that is not mold but is often mistaken for it - things you may not want to test. Also, not all "black mold" is toxic - here are examples of harmless black mold .Animal Allergens: Dog, Cat, and Other Animal Dander - Cleanup & Prevention Information for Asthmatics and regarding Indoor Air Quality.Mold in Fiberglass Insulation© 2005 comments about a field study in process, & more about health hazards from fiberglass insulation - DJF Mold Investigation Tips for Home Inspectors how to find mold, where to look, what is likely to be important. Advice to building inspectors intending to inspect or test for toxic or problematic mold indoors, mold inspection methods, and mold test methods which are valid or invalid: the house eating fungus or "poria" Mold Central: indoor air quality investigation case histories, key links what to do about mold and indoor allergens - our Fear of Mold "Mycophobia" WebLog-Blog.
 Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.Rot concerns in buildings-some building mold such as Meruliporia incrassata "Poria" risks serious rot and hidden structural damage
- Frequently Asked Questions About Mold -- check this FAQ list & IAQ Site Map to see if you can find a quick answer to your mold concern
 The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How
to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems
 Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following
our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab
 Environmental
Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis,
Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing
removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.
 InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map - Building Inspection, Diagnosis, & Repair, Environmental Inspection & Testing - Research Website
 Home Inspection Construction Consulting Services & advice for home buyers
 Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting
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05/13/2008 - 11/17/2005 - Web page design & content © Copyright 2008-2005 Daniel Friedman all rights reserved
Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice 
Efflorescence
