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This article describes How to Use Indoor Wall or Ceiling Thermal Tracking & Other Indoor Stains to Diagnose Indoor Air Quality Problems and discusses other interior wall and ceiling stains, building air leaks, and building insulation defects. Often these stains are mistaken for toxic indoor mold. The black stains in the photo at page top are not mold, they are candle soot.

Readers should see HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS. Also see AIR SEALING STRATEGIES and AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS as well as AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION. For photos of snow melt on rooftops that also show points of building heat transfer and loss, see STAIN DIAGNOSIS on Building Exteriors.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

How to Use Indoor Stains Like Thermal Tracking to Diagnose Building Air Leaks, Insulation Defects, and Indoor Air Quality Problems

Significance of Other Indoor Stains and Marks for Building Framing Location or Defects in Heating & Cooling System Operation

The short explanation: thermal tracking and soot stains are not mold. Many building stains, thermal tracking, thermal bridging, ghosting, stains at heating or air conditioning registers, and even mineral salts left behind by evaporating water at a foundation wall are all very easily recognized as "not mold". Review the stain patterns shown in these articles before ordering a costly building mold test or investigation.

While mold growth in buildings indeed follows the location of leaks or moisture, mold growth does not usually occur on building surfaces in the same regular pattern described by thermal tracking.

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. In addition to a study of the stain patterns of Thermal Tracking (this series of articles) readers should also see both   WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE and STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD.

Mold, Safety, & Health Warning:

Your building might have a separate mold problem:

However, because indoor moisture is an important factor in the cause of thermal tracking or soot ghosting, the same building that has lots of thermal tracking stains might also have a serious mold problem due to leaks, water entry, or high indoor moisture. But where we find this to be the case, the location of the most serious building mold is often not at all the same as the location of the thermal tracking stains. See MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE for help in deciding when it is appropriate to hire a mold inspector.

Your building might have unsafe heating equipment:

both oil and gas fired equipment can produce soot when they are not working properly. Soot from a gas fired appliance is a very dangerous sign, often indicating that dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) gas is being produced - which can be fatal. Be sure your home has working smoke detectors and CO detectors. See CARBON MONOXIDE WARNING.

How "Read" Indoor Stains to Identify Indoor Air Quality Concerns

A careful examination of the location of indoor stains permits the observer to use thermal tracking or soot marks on building walls or ceilings as an indicator of possible excessive (seasonal) interior moisture or other potential indoor air quality concerns.

Dark stains on building interior walls may appear in other patterns and could be from other causes - we provide photographs, description, diagnosis, and advice for many of these indoor stains in this article.

• Location & spacing of building framing members. Indoor stains can help find the location and spacing of wall studs or ceiling joists: use thermal tracking marks on building interior surfaces to spot the location of wall studs or ceiling joists when we need to find those members (for placing a picture nail, for example). Observing the spacing between these stains can tell us how a building has been framed.
• Location of areas of missing building insulation or areas where more air is moving across a surface
• Building areas where high moisture is present - which could be the cause or contributor to a mold or other indoor air quality issue
• Identify unsafe heating equipment or poorly-functioning fireplaces: use thermal tracking marks on interior building walls and ceilings, particularly where they vary from room to room, to diagnose poorly-vented chimneys such as fireplaces that do not work well (also look for soot stains at the hearth face). Such marks may also indicate poor and even unsafe operation of central heating systems since a poorly maintained oil burner will often leak soot into a building interior, and a dangerously un-vented gas appliance may also produce both soot and potentially fatal carbon monoxide gas.
• Identify sources of irritating or harmful indoor particles and soot, such as excessive use of scented candles.

Usually soot marks, thermal bridging, or thermal tracking stains appear, if at all, in the building interior locations discussed in the other sections of this article.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

THERMAL TRACKING
  What is Thermal Tracking
  Ceiling Thermal Tracking Marks
  Wall Thermal Tracking Stains
  Floor Carpet Thermal Tracking Stains
  Air Bypass Leaks Marks on Insulation
  Thermal Tracking to Diagnose IAQ
  Stains HVAC Supply Registers
  Pet Stains on Floors
  Pet Stains on Walls
  Human Occupant Stains on Walls
  Stains from Candles, Woodstoves, Fireplaces
  Other Stains on Indoor Walls & Ceilings
  What to Do About Thermal Tracking
SIDING WOOD
STAIN DIAGNOSIS on Building Exteriors
STAIN DIAGNOSIS on Indoor Surfaces
STAINS on Indoor Surfaces: PHOTO GUIDE
STAINS on Indoor Surfaces: PHOTO GUIDE
CARPET TEST GUIDE
also see Investigation of Indoor House Dust Debris

• Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and content suggestions regarding thermal tracking.
• We welcome more thermal tracking, soot tracking, air bypass leaks, and similar photos of indoor stains as well as text suggestions to expand this detail and would be glad to credit contributors.

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Attic Condensation and Ice Dam Leaks - Detection and Correcting Venting and Condensation Problems in Buildings
• INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT: Insulation in Buildings: Identification, R-values, Heat loss, Insulation Types, Insulation Characteristics
• Asbestos pipe insulation in buildings
• Brick "Insulation" in Building Walls
• HEAT LOSS CALCULATIONS, Insulation Properties, Definitions of R, K, U values, Insulation Design
• How to Detect and Correct Attic Condensation & Prevent Ice Dam Leaks in Buildings
• Insulation Materials as Indicators of Building Age
• Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Fiberglass in Indoor Air, HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
• Insulation Identification Photographs - Fiberglass insulation photos, yellow, pink, green, white fiberglass identification in building attics, walls, ducts, other locations
• Insulation Identification Photographs - Cellulose insulation photos, Mineral wool insulation photos, rock wool insulation photos, cotton insulation photos, balsam wool insulation photos
• Insulation Identification Photographs - Vermiculite insulation photos
• Insulation Properties, Table of R-Values, density, moisture permeability, fire safety, aging effects on various insulation materials
• Mold in Fiberglass in Insulation
• Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid case history of improper placement of slab insulation and radiant heat tubing
• Thermal Tracking thermal bridging & air leak stains in buildings or on building insulation
• Un-Vented Roof Solutions - How to Prevent Attic Condensation, Ice Dam Leaks, Roof Mold, & Roof Structural Damage in Buildings with Un-vented Roof Cavities
• Vermiculite Building Insulation & Asbestos
• Ice Dam Leaks in building attics and roof cavities, how to inspect for evidence of leaks, identify causes, and correct bad attic ventilation, improper roof venting, and these causes of attic mold or roof structure damage
• 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.

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