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Posts Tagged ‘Black Mold’

I have a kentia palm growing in a pot outside, which has spots on it’s leaves?

December 30th, 2010 2 comments
MJF asked:

I live in South Australia, and the palm is in a sheltered position just outside the back door. It has what looks very much like black mold on the surface of the leaves. When I touch it, it feels oily and sticky.
Can anyone tell me what it might be, and give me some simple remedies? I’d prefer not to use anything toxic.

Black Mold

Toxic Black Molds – What Do They Eat and How Do They Look Like?

December 24th, 2010 No comments
Markus Skupeika asked:




Molds are nothing but living organism of fungi group. They obtain nutrition from dead organic substances. Molds grow on organic matters and then decompose the matter to form simpler organic materials and obtain energy for living as well.

They metabolize the food and produce excrements. Excretory products are responsible for stains found on mold infested substances. If mold is not taken care of at right time, they would not only spread allergy, but spoil your properties like furniture, carpets, walls, clothes, leather goods, curtains and fabrics.

Hence, the mold cleaning products used to kill molds should be able to de-stain the substances and remove mold spots effectively. While purchasing mold cleaning products one must check if the product can remove stains or not.

As mentioned before, molds can grow on any organic substance like wood products, clothes, leather goods, wallpaper, adhesives used on wallpapers, carpets, and surprisingly on concrete walls even. Substances with high cellulose content are preferred by molds and mildews.

The best way to save your house and household things from becoming food of black molds and mildews, you need to keep your home dry all the time. If any incident of leak, overflow or flood happens, it should be taken care of timely and the places need to be dried off fast.

Mold spores enter into houses by air and or by being carried by human beings. It is always better to leave shoes out of the house. Since shoes are made of leather they show a tendency to nurture molds. And mold spores often get stuck to the shoes when we walk along lawns, gardens or roads. So shoes must be kept in a separate place and must be cleaned periodically.

The clothes must be washed after coming back home. They are also good carriers of mold spores and reported to be responsible for substantial black mold growth in houses.

How does black mold look like?

Molds can look black, white, gray, greenish or brownish. They may appear velvety, cottony or granular. Toxic black molds appear as black specks and that is why they are called black molds.

Toxic black molds produce mycotoxins while metabolizing obtained food. Mycotoxins are not good for human health. The mold species Stachybotrys chartarum generates mycotoxins and known as toxic black molds.

All other types of molds are not harmful in that sense. However, airborne mold spores and hyphal fragments can always result in respiratory troubles for human beings.

Though toxic black molds appear as black spots, molds are microscopic organisms and not visible to unaided eye. Once molds form colonies, they become visible and the after effects begin.

Mold colonies are basically an interconnected network of multi-cellular filaments known as hyphae. Mold colonies do not contain any discrete organisms; the network of hyphae is called as mold colony, sometimes molds only.

How to remove molds? What kills mold effectively?

Take away the conditions that help molds to grow and amplify – that’s the best mold removal process. Now you cannot remove all the organic substance from your home, that’s impossible. But you can ensure that your home remains dry all the time. If some cases of dampening happen, you must put the effort required to dry it out.

If black molds and mildews have already grown in your home, try natural mold cleaning products to kill molds permanently.

Black Mold

Identifying Black Mold?

December 15th, 2010 2 comments
ExoticPetGal asked:


Hi there – in October 2007 my husband and I moved into this cozy basement suite. Two weeks after moving in, the sewage pump backed up (a tree root was blocking it) and gross water leaked into our suite and took almost 8 hours to clean out. A couple months later it happened an additional 2 more times within a week of each other (total of 3 leaks).

Since October I’ve noticed in some spots on our linoleum floor where the water reached there are black-shadow-like spots dotting areas of the floor. Could this be black mold? Is there a way I can identify this?

Any help anybody can provide me is greatly appreciated.

Black Mold

Could this be black mold in my air filter?

December 10th, 2010 2 comments
pki15 asked:


I recently changed my air conditioning unit’s air filter (it’s been probably 5 months since it was changed). It looked like this:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/pkiverson/P1000444.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/pkiverson/P1000445.jpg

I’ve never seen an air filter this bad. Is it possible this is black mold? (I have several boxes full of papers in my house that came out of a house that definitely had a mold problem & the boxes & papers don’t smell so good). We also burn a lot of candles – like we have 2-3 candles lit all evening almost every evening. What do you think? Should I be worried about mold?

Black Mold

Respiratory problems, they found black mold at work place?

December 9th, 2010 3 comments
candipoox asked:


Ok, so I started this new job at a movie theater. The first couple of days there I start to get an itchy throat and slight dry cough. The next week or so i get this uncontrollable very intense coughing that lasts so long i cant breath and get dizzy. It was very embarrassing working there around people because they assume i’m contagious.

I cough constantly. After about 2 1/2 weeks I went to a cheap clinic since I don’t have insurance. He quickly assumed I have asthma related to the work place (since this all started with a new job). He didn’t run any tests though.

So my coughing is now at home as well. I wake up in the middle of the night constantly coughing/hacking. Nothing is really coming up (as far as mucous). I do have GERD so I was thinking that this could be caused from the acid reflux. However…. today I go into work and they have part of the area closed off and have torn down a portion of the wall. A worker told me that they found mold in the sheetrock. I asked a worker what kind. He said it was black and there was quite a bit of it. Well… this place always smells musty and humid.

I’m definately thinking i’m having a reaction to the mold. Today, after they had opened up the walls to clean it… i started to get dizzy and short of breath after a few hours. I’ve been coughing for 3 1/2 weeks straight now.

What do you guys think I should do? I’m very desperate for work now (i lost my job with no warning 4 weeks ago and am behind on bills) but I also dont want to risk my health. Could it be a harmless mold that is black? Do you think this is all caused from the mold they found? I never had respiratory problems before. I really don’t know what to do. I’m going to have to figure out a way to pay for a doctors visit soon.

Black Mold