Identifying Black Mold On Basement Flooring

First there is color.

Identifying black mold on basement flooring. There are several similar looking substances that can fool you. Black mold can also take over the basement floor. Mold can even be blue green orange red or pink on occasion. How to identify black mold.

The centers for disease control and prevention cdc has an informational booklet as well as information on their website about black mold. Mildew may begin as white then turn brown or gray. Basement mold can be identified by a number of traits. Black mold growth on furniture is obvious in these two photographs above of a mold on a leatherette surface left and on an upholstered chair second photo.

After removing any mold covered debris such as dry wall insulation carpet or sub flooring hard surfaces can be treated with commercial products containing ammonia and bleach. Mold tends to have a higher profile and can even become fuzzy while mildew is always flat. For nontoxic species of mold and less severe mold growth there are many diy solutions for the prevention and control of mold in the basement. If it s black mold growth it is easy to identify.

Mold on basement floor. Flooring and walls near basement windows are also highly likely to have black mold problems. Because all mold should be treated the same it is not as important to identify what. If the mold is closer to black it is either the stachybotrys or cladosporium molds.

Mold exhibits darker colors such as deep green and black. While mold and mildew are both fungi that need water oxygen and food in order to live and survive they differ in a number of ways. They may have green blue or brown tinges. For black mold on concrete in a basement start by ventilating the area well.

But if it s white mold growth things can get confusing. First is it really mold growth. There are more than 300 different strains of mold sometimes found in homes in the united states and they span the rainbow. Efflorescence can look very similar to white mold growth.

Create a cleaning solution that s one part bleach to four parts water and apply it to the concrete. Black mold on concrete in basement. While black gray and various shades of brown are probably most common mold can also be white or yellow as you can see below. Because you ll be using bleach indoors open a window and escape the fumes when possible.

Identifying mold growth on concrete can be a bit tricky. The black mold photo above shows how dense black mold may be hidden from view behind wall baseboard trim removed for this picture in a building that has suffered wet floors.