Mold Growth Vs Decay Fungi
Many homeowners may ask the questions "How do I know if it's mold or decay?" Mold growth can be differentiated easily from decay once you know what you are looking for.
Mold Growth: Mold growth appears mainly in black, green, and brown fuzzy patches.
Spores can be found in more colorful area of gray, purple, and red.
When people refer to mildew, they are referring to the discoloration on wood.
(However, the terms mildew and mold are often interchangeable.
) This discoloration is easy to remove either by brushing it off or using a cleaning mixture of water and bleach.
At this stage, the wood is still strong.
Decay Fungi: However, decay fungi occurs when colonization has taken place.
Decay fungi may also have the same colorizations visible; however, the spore colonization has reached a point to where rot has begun to occur.
The conditions where this appears are environments that often fluctuate between wet and dry.
The saturated wood will not allow decay fungi to grow but as it dries the moist environment encourages mass colonization.
Decay fungi can be divided into brown rot and white rot.
The early stages of decay produce discoloration similar to mold growth.
Brown Rot: Subtle areas of brown coloring or bleached out areas will appear.
As the later stages occur in brown rot, the wood darkens and shrinks.
As it moves to the more advanced stage, the wood will begin to crumble.
White Rot: Later stages in white rot will show large bleached areas and sometimes complete color loss.
However, the wood will not shrink, but may appear spongy to the touch.
Other Surfaces: Mold is not limited to just wood.
Other surfaces in areas of moisture and poor ventilation include fiberglass insulation, ductwork, gypsum board, windowpanes, and even pipes.
Any item that has cloth in it is extremely susceptible.
These items would include, carpet, draperies, furniture, and clothing.
Prevention: Unfortunately, you cannot prevent the growth of mold, only decrees the possibilities.
Mold cultivates in area with moisture and poor circulation which makes basements, crawlspaces, attics, and bathrooms prime area.
Areas with high temperatures will not support growth which may help with attics and some bathroom areas.
Basements and crawlspaces, however, do not usually only have the warmth to assist moisture.
The only way to avoid mold is to remove sources of moisture.
In many basements that may involve waterproofing.
Mold Growth: Mold growth appears mainly in black, green, and brown fuzzy patches.
Spores can be found in more colorful area of gray, purple, and red.
When people refer to mildew, they are referring to the discoloration on wood.
(However, the terms mildew and mold are often interchangeable.
) This discoloration is easy to remove either by brushing it off or using a cleaning mixture of water and bleach.
At this stage, the wood is still strong.
Decay Fungi: However, decay fungi occurs when colonization has taken place.
Decay fungi may also have the same colorizations visible; however, the spore colonization has reached a point to where rot has begun to occur.
The conditions where this appears are environments that often fluctuate between wet and dry.
The saturated wood will not allow decay fungi to grow but as it dries the moist environment encourages mass colonization.
Decay fungi can be divided into brown rot and white rot.
The early stages of decay produce discoloration similar to mold growth.
Brown Rot: Subtle areas of brown coloring or bleached out areas will appear.
As the later stages occur in brown rot, the wood darkens and shrinks.
As it moves to the more advanced stage, the wood will begin to crumble.
White Rot: Later stages in white rot will show large bleached areas and sometimes complete color loss.
However, the wood will not shrink, but may appear spongy to the touch.
Other Surfaces: Mold is not limited to just wood.
Other surfaces in areas of moisture and poor ventilation include fiberglass insulation, ductwork, gypsum board, windowpanes, and even pipes.
Any item that has cloth in it is extremely susceptible.
These items would include, carpet, draperies, furniture, and clothing.
Prevention: Unfortunately, you cannot prevent the growth of mold, only decrees the possibilities.
Mold cultivates in area with moisture and poor circulation which makes basements, crawlspaces, attics, and bathrooms prime area.
Areas with high temperatures will not support growth which may help with attics and some bathroom areas.
Basements and crawlspaces, however, do not usually only have the warmth to assist moisture.
The only way to avoid mold is to remove sources of moisture.
In many basements that may involve waterproofing.
