Weird, Scary, Mold Monster

[TromboneAl]

Our biggest problem in living near the ocean is high humidity and mold. I hesitate to post this, because I don't want people to think we live in a junky house, but the latest front on the mold war, is in the ceiling of the kitchen.

There's a tinyl hole where the ceiling meets the wall, and mold has developed and this weird alien thing is growing out the hole.

http://www.early-retirement.org/att...722530_1_ca0d839ab699303a085f4e751cc498f3.jpg

A month ago I broke it off, and cleaned with bleach, but now it's back. This wall is shared with the garage, and my office is above it.

My concern is that there's a leaky pipe in there. I think I will take off the sheetrock on the garage side and take a look.

Any advice?

 

[REWahoo]

I think I will take off the sheetrock on the garage side and take a look. Any advice?

Wear protection.

 

[Marquette]

Any advice?

Conveniently have your valuables out of the house. hire an arsonist or "forget" you had bacon frying and see if you can get the whole thing to go.

Worst case scenario. Move your house to Texas. Not you, just your house. REWahoo can add it to the list; ... fire ants, hurricanes, T-Al's mold monster house, etc.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Those look like some sort of eggs...

 

[crazy connie]

Those look like some sort of eggs...

Ditto

Scrape off and take to Ag Ext Svc.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Looks quite similar to these...termite eggs...

 

[Nords]

Al, is it animal, vegetable, or mineral? Can you tell if it's a larva, a fungus, or some type of wood sap? Carpenter ants nesting?

If the garage exploratory surgery doesn't immediately supply the answer then your next best bet is to carve right there on the kitchen side. With a can of spray insecticide handy.

Wear protection.

Yeah, like a face shield. Although that wouldn't have helped the guy in the "Alien" movie...

 

[TromboneAl]

It's definitely some sort of fungus. Last time it had a mushroom shape, like this.

Should I open the wall? Get advice from a plumber?

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Should I open the wall? Get advice from a plumber?

stir fry?

 

[calmloki]

nah - it's a fungi - no worries. maybe in this group:

California Fungi: Dacrymyces stillatus

i've seen those before in wet areas on wood - a firm somewhat softer than gummi-bear feel, right?

 

[calmloki]

It's definitely some sort of fungus. Last time it had a mushroom shape, like this....
quote]
Now that looks very edible!

as we used to say, "either a rare delicacy or maybe a deadly poison".

 

[Urchina]

T-Al,

If it's a fungus, you've got wet something somewhere. I'd take a box knife and open up a small section of the drywall on the garage side to see what's going on. It's up high, so unless you've got a second floor up there with plumbing, I'm guessing water infiltration from the roof into the open wall space. That means a roof leak, lucky you!

Good luck!

 

[TromboneAl]

unless you've got a second floor up there with plumbing

There is a second floor above, but no plumbing in that room. I'm trying to figure out where the pipes would go.

The wall with the most goes east-west, and the wall on the west side is an exterior wall. The ceiling joists run east-west. Here is a cross section of the house looking west:

Are the pipes likely to go straight up from where they enter the wall, then turn north and travel through the joists?

 

[gettingthere]

Not that this is much help, but in a recent episode of "Ask This Old House" they discussed a gadget that could detect metal inside a wall, like a stud finder, so it could trace pipes or electric wires. But was pricey, as I recall.

 

[travelover]

I'd use a large diameter (4") hole saw to poke some exploratory holes in the garage side of the drywall. If you have a Harbor Freight store near you, they sell these quite inexpensively. Save the plug you cut out to make patching the holes easy when you are done.

 

[Brat]

I say start digging in the area where it is growing, clean it out several inches around and beneath. If you see signs of moisture keep digging. Apply chlorine bleach and observe once you have the area dry.

It could be that you have more humidity in the room than you know. Invest in a device to measure that. Humid air raises, a remote corner collects dust.

 

[Urchina]

There is a second floor above, but no plumbing in that room. I'm trying to figure out where the pipes would go.

The wall with the most goes east-west, and the wall on the west side is an exterior wall. The ceiling joists run east-west. Here is a cross section of the house looking west:

Are the pipes likely to go straight up from where they enter the wall, then turn north and travel through the joists?

I wish I could give you some idea, but if the plumbing contractor who piped your house was anything like the one who did ours, six drunk monkeys would have done a more logical job than the one you'll find in your walls.

Capillary action is a force of nature, so if you've got a leak anywhere in that pipe moisture could be traveling to your kitchen wall.

Of course, you won't know until you open up that drywall and see if it's wet inside the wall. Do wear a dust mask, you don't know what's been growing in that space.

If you find moisture and you suspect your pipes, you can hire a leak detection specialist to come out and listen to your pipes. They use headphones and some specialized equipment and basicall "find" leaks. Cheaper than having a plumber rip your drywall out over a huge section of your garage.

A happy note: if it is a leak, it'll be relatively easy to get to and fix. Sheetrock is cheap and comparatively easy to work with. We've had three leaks in the pipes in our slab foundation. Nothing brings home the finite lifetime of construction materials like a jackhammer ripping up the concrete floor... in your kitchen (and bathroom, and the wall between you and your neighbors....)

 

[Brat]

Do you have a wood burning stove? Burning wood releases a lot of moisture into a house.

Do you have adequate ventilation Most constriction with mold issues is the result of moisture unable to escape. The fact that it is up high hints that moist warm air is trying to escape. It is growing in an area that is hard to dust so spores are likely present. My comment about bleach stands as their little feet have probably reached into the plaster.

BTW, I live in a maritime climate, listen to the sound of seals and fog horns regularly. No mold issues at all. The salt air is hard on hardware, however.

 

[Nords]

BTW, I live in a maritime climate, ... No mold issues at all.

Which makes me wonder about your heating, Brat:

Do you have a wood burning stove?

, too?

 

[tryan]

home depot sells mold kits. you send the sample off to a lab for testing. Had to do this to pacify a tenant ... the report is very detailed. Worth the $20. Mine was common stuff; no worry.

 

[calmloki]

Our biggest problem in living near the ocean is high humidity and mold. I hesitate to post this, because I don't want people to think we live in a junky house, but the latest front on the mold war, is in the ceiling of the kitchen.

...

A month ago I broke it off, and cleaned with bleach, but now it's back. This wall is shared with the garage, and my office is above it.

My concern is that there's a leaky pipe in there. I think I will take off the sheetrock on the garage side and take a look.

Any advice?

Yep. Junky house.. That's the first thing that has come to mind when you show your clean lined home and cabinetry, or use stainless drywall screws in your bath. Those beautiful mushrooms coming out from under the baseboard puzzle me though - too much moisture. as someone else said - water coming in at roof/wall intersection? You do have plastic groundcloth under your home, right? no roof drains draining under the home or sump pumps with broken or separated exit lines?

 

[Brat]

Which makes me wonder about your heating, Brat:
, too?

We a have forced air furnace that heats with propane located in the garage. There is some fancy duct work that vents that box to the outside. There is also a copper tube that drains any water produced by that puppy outside the house. Our water heater is also propane. God intended water to stay outside or in the taps and we do all we can to assist that process.

If Trombone has a wood stove and that combustion is the source of humidity he could install a ceiling fan to bring ceiling air down and place a dehumidifier in the room BUT the water it collects needs to be disposed of almost daily. Any time there is moisture and dust fungi and mold will grow with the passage of time. A few drops of Clorox in the moisture collector might postpone the inevitable.

Our parents didn't have problems with interior wood stoves or sawdust burners because homes breathed... aka, they were drafty. Having one foot in the 1940s and another in the 2000s complicates life. I am seeing more homes with mold problems - they seem to have been build after the 'energy conservation' code changes of the 70s.

 

[TromboneAl]

Thanks for the tips. A hole saw was $22 and a jab saw was only $7.

I used a jab saw to open some observation ports (i.e. holes) on the garage side:

Here's the view in the hole on the wall:

That's a pipe in the middle with black insulation on it. The whole area seems damp, and the wood on the top is blackened. There were some very small bugs on the surface.

I suspect something's leaking somewhere. I think I'll call in the professionals (plumber) at this point, unless someone has some suggestions.
​

 

[REWahoo]

I think I'll call in the professionals (plumber) at this point, unless someone has some suggestions.
​

Al, I was going to suggest a house fire as a joke. Realized in light of your past experience it might not be very funny. Guess a plumber is your best bet.

 

[Brat]

I would also call an exterminator. Those bugs could be termites or carpenter ants.

The black on the wood could be a mold too. You should consider wiping it down with Clorox. Once there is no risk of airborne molds consideration should be given to replacing all possibly contaminated wood.