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ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS GUIDE ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY ASBESTOS in Buildings Carpet Dust Carpeting and Indoor Air Quality MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD INSPECTION, TESTING, CLEANUP & PREVENTION BASICS YOU NEED to FIND, TEST, REMOVE MOLD BOOKSTORE - ENVIRONMENTAL BUYERS GUIDE - home inspections for mold CAT DANDER in BUILDINGS CLEARANCE INSPECTIONS - MOLD CLEANUP DO IT YOURSELF MOLD CLEANUP FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD FLOODS & MOLD CLEAN/PREVENT FUNGICIDAL SPRAY & SEALANT USE GUIDE INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INSULATION MOLD ITCHY FABRICS MILDEW in BUILDINGS ? MILDEW ERRORS - MOLD PHOTOS MILDEW REMOVAL & PREVENTION MOLD ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT MOLD MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE Black Mold Brown Mold Green Mold Red Mold Yellow Mold White Mold Invisible Mold Meruliporia Mold Photographs Mildew Photographs Recognize Cosmetic Mold Recognize Harmless Black Mold Stuff that is Mistaken for Mold MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES Basketball Mold Syndrome - BBMS Black stains from soot/thermal tracking Black stains from animals Black cosmetic mold Efflorescence & brown deposits Efflorescence & white or brown deposits House dust Pollen Sprayed foam insulation White stuff that is not mold Wood sap MOLD ATLAS & PARTICLES INDEX MOLD BY MICROSCOPE MOLD CLASSES, HAZARD LEVELS MOLD CLEANERS - WHAT TO USE MOLD CLEANUP COMPANIES MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE- HOW TO GET RID OF MOLD MOLD CLEANUP - BLEACH MOLD CLEANUP - HEALTH RISKS MOLD CLEANUP - MISTAKES to AVOID MOLD CLEANUP - MEDIA BLASTING MOLD CLEANUP - WOOD FRAMING & PLYWOOD MOLD CLEARANCE - POST-REMEDIATION INSPECTION MOLD CULTURES MOLD DETECTION & INSPECTION GUIDE MOLD DOCTOR NEEDED? MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE MOLD EXPOSURE RISK LEVELS MOLD EXPOSURE STANDARDS MOLD on or in CARPETS MOLD on DIRT FLOORS MOLD FREQUENCY in BUILDINGS MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, GUIDE TO MOLD INSPECTORS & MOLD TESTERS MOLD INSPECTION SERVICE MOLD KILLING GUIDE MOLD LEVEL REPORTS MOLD LEVELS IN BUILDINGS MOLD by MICROSCOPE MOLD ODORS, MUSTY SMELLS MOLD PREVENTION GUIDE MOLD RELATED ILLNESS MOLD SPRAYS, SEALANTS, PAINTS MOLD TEST KITS MOLD TEST KITS for DIY MOLD TESTS MOLD TEST PROCEDURES MOLD TEST REASONS MOLD TESTING SERVICES ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE RENTERS & TENANTS GUIDE TO MOLD SEWAGE BACKUP TEST & CLEANUP STAIN DIAGNOSIS & GUIDE TECHNICAL & LAB PROCEDURES THERMAL TRACKING TRAPPED MOLD BETWEEN WOOD SURFACES USING LIGHT TO FIND MOLD IAQ ISSUES, OTHER More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map Air Conditioning Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
What does mold look like? Here is an online reference photo library of various kinds and colors of mold as it is found growing in buildings. These mold spores and their photographs and examples of materials sometimes mistaken for mold have been collected in the U.S., Spain, Mexico, France, as well as in other countries where I've studied bioaerosols. These photos of mold on indoor building surfaces may help you recognize mold in buildings, recognize probably-cosmetic mold, and recognize stuff that is not mold and does not need to be tested. Also see MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES for an index of what mold genera/species are frequently found on various building surfaces and materials, and see Mold Related Illness: Index of Symptoms and finally, for an atlas of building molds and for more microphotographs of building mold samples observed in our laboratory, see Mold Atlas of Indoor Clinical Mold, Pathogens, Allergens & Other Indoor Particles. And MOLD BY MICROSCOPE shows what mold looks like under the microscope. © Copyright 2010 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. Photographs to Help Identify Mold in Buildings -
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Look closely when inspecting or collecting test samples of "toxic black mold" because often there are other molds, sometimes more harmful and more easily airborne mold species on the same surface, on the hidden side of the same surface of drywall, or nearby. These include lighter colored genera/species of Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp. etc. which are too often missed when investigators or building owners focus only on "black mold" testing. |
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But if this is a "tip of iceberg" clue of a larger hidden problem in the wall, or if it might be, further investigation, at least exploring the wall cavity, would be appropriate. |
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An investigation of the source of outside leaks and extent of damage to the structure were needed at this building. |
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Replacement of a small section of drywall, wall cavity insulation, and wallpaper were appropriate at this location where the first symptom was loose peeling wallpaper which exposed black mold. |
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Larger wall cuts to look for hidden mold and final demolition exposed a very extensive toxic mold colony in this building. Lab processing of a tape sample of this mold was necessary to identify it. Notice the funny black mold growth pattern on the cavity side of the opposing drywall. This pattern maps the points of contact of the wall insulation kraft paper with the drywall surface, and the movement of moisture and spreading mold growth on the wall surface. It is characteristic of wall cavity mold and is different from the growth pattern of mold growing on a freely exposed-to-air drywall surface. |
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The wall cut exposed a surprise point of water entry. Black mold was visible on the insulation kraft paper. The problematic mold in this case was not visible but was found by a special sampling technique we used to examine the building insulation for Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. (problem molds) in the fiberglass - it was found to be highly contaminated and was determined to be an active reservoir releasing high levels of airborne mold into the basement. |
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Our mold photo at above left shows black mold colonies growing among green mold colonies on a laundry room ceiling, covering both plastic ceiling tile material (around the plumbing pipes) and drywall. It is often the case that multiple mold genera/species may be growing in the same area, often on the same surface, and at times, on top of one another.
As we advised earlier, look closely when inspecting or collecting test samples of "toxic black mold" because often there are other molds, sometimes more harmful and more easily airborne mold species on the same surface, on the hidden side of the same surface of drywall, or nearby. In this building that was still wet at the time we took this photograph, the airborne level of Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. (the green, gray, and light colored molds in the photo) was very high while the level of airborne Stachybotrys chartarum, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and Nigrospora sp. (black molds found on these surfaces) was very low.
Our photo at above right shows black mold colonies as smaller "spots" growing on the painted surface of cloth covering asbestos pipe insulation.
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Our black mold photos above show dense black fungal growth on drywall (black mold on Sheetrock™ type wall surfaces) in areas that have been very wet. The distinct top edge of mold growth may mark a flood water level or a discontinuity in the wall material, such as a tape joint in drywall that affected the moisture gradient in the wall and thus the mold growth pattern.
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Here we begin to "zoom in for a closer look at dense black mold growth on indoor building surfaces in a wet basement. Notice that the mold growth on drywall and often on other surfaces includes a family of circular growth patterns (upper area of photo at above right) until the mold growth has expanded to form a solid black covering (left wall of photo at left and lower wall of black mold in photo at right).
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Our photo at above left shows black mold colonies as individual rounded "rings" on the cavity side of drywall on a building crawl area wall. The black mold photo at right 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.
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Black mold growth on furniture is obvious in these two photographs, of a mold on a leatherette surface (left) and on an upholstered chair (right).
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In our photo at above left we see black mold and other mold growths on the kraft paper facing of fiberglass building insulation. Our black mold photo at above right shows that mold colonies do not always grow in the neat round ring-like colonies shown in some our earlier photographs.
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Here we start to zoom in our photographs of black mold on building surfaces to show what mold colonies look like on close inspection in-situ. At left is mold on water stained drywall in a basement utility area. At right are small mold colonies that have appeared on a kitchen ceiling in just a few days after a heating system leak led to high indoor moisture and humidity levels.
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Much more closely we can examine an individual black mold colony on a painted drywall ceiling (above left). In the microscope at 1000x we can see individual spores of Stachybotrys chartarum - a well known black mold that is often found on indoor building surfaces.
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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.
MOLD INFORMATION CENTER
MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE
Black Mold Brown Mold
Green Mold Red Mold
Yellow Mold White Mold
Invisible Mold
Meruliporia Mold Photographs
Mildew Photographs
Recognize Cosmetic Mold
Recognize Harmless Black Mold
Stuff that is Mistaken for Mold
MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD
HARMLESS INDOOR PARTICLES
Basketball Mold Syndrome - BBMS
Black stains from soot/thermal tracking
Black stains from animals
Black cosmetic mold
Efflorescence & brown deposits
Efflorescence & white or brown deposits
House dust
Pollen
Sprayed foam insulation
White stuff that is not mold
Wood sap
InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map 
Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
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