Thread: What do you think this black substance is ?

What do you guys think this black substance along the caulking at the top of the baseboard is. I'm leaning more towards construction debris caught in the caulking than fungi. This is from an older house which was recently totally remodeled and this is located in a closet with no water sources in the immediate vicinity.

Thanks

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Sure looks like mildew/mold to me.

Originally Posted by Robert Foster

What do you guys think this black substance along the caulking at the top of the baseboard is. I'm leaning more towards construction debris caught in the caulking than fungi. This is from an older house which was recently totally remodeled and this is located in a closet with no water sources in the immediate vicinity.

Thanks

Without seeing it in person it is hard to say, but my SWAG is mould.

You have an older home that I assume is on a crawlspace or a basement. You have a closed closet with no ventilation. The framing on older homes allow the cool air from below to mix with the warmer air inside the walls of the home in what is called a "stack effect", it works like a chimney. The warm air rises pulling the cool air from below up in to the wall and then you have condensation and mold is commonly found in this type of situation.

You do not need to have a plumbing source for water, condensation is the source.

Lets see, peeling paint, mold / mildew.
Is this an exterior wall?
Looks like there is a moisture problem.
I think there is a faint water stain on the wall

I haven't seen this in person. I inspected this house last Fall and the house remained vacant till this week when the buyers moved in and called me. I asked them to take the pictures.

The house had a Clean Space Crawlspace done as part of the remodeling.

There are only two bedroom closets in this small house and I'm a shutter bug of anything that looks remotely interesting as this would have. I did note the unfinished condition of the closets during the inspection i.e. no door trim, no painting etc.

I believe the walls shown are not exterior walls.

Ken Carpenter here with Reliable Home Inspection in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Greetings to my fellow Home Inspectors.

It looks like the floor may have gotten water soaked at one time, wicking moisture up behind the original baseboard. New (shorter) baseboard was then installed during the remodel, leaving a very "revealing" reveal. The caulker/painter must have missed this closet. It looks like a dark stain was chosen for the floor refinish. That would be a great choice to help hide those deep blackening stains that usually result when oak gets water soaked! That's what I'm seeing.

Have actually seen this condition along the entire baseboards of a residence; it had plenty of elevation above the surrounding grade so a water problem from flooding was ruled out. Could have been an interior water leak from a plumbing problem but here was no evidence of that ether. Because there was a tile floor we had to surmise that the over exuberant home owner used a very wet mop during floor cleaning. At any rate it was recommended that the client do further investigation and correction as required to correct the problem; sometime it is difficult to detect the cause of a problem which can be out of the scope of our inspection process, don't be afraid to admit you don't know the answer it is better than making something up, thats when we get in trouble.

Mildew.

Looks like mould,especially in a closet,were there is no air circulation,older home? basement leakage.Hm

Looks like mold however I see a streak pattern that indicates that is behind the baseboard as the quarter round is new and from the looks of it they slid the baseboard down from an inch up..

Originally Posted by Mold Tester

You cant say definitively without doing a mold inspection. I would hire professionaly trained scientist come and do a mold test.

Now why would anyone waste their money as testing that for mold?

It needs to be cleaned off.

And the cause found out and corrected.

But what kind of mold it is? Who cares. That does not matter.

Perhaps the Obama administration can provide the needed scientist; or socialist or marxist or communist? I am sure they can find mold or something resembling it there. Must need some new regulations to correct this eminent danger.

Originally Posted by Thomas McKay

Perhaps the Obama administration can provide the needed scientist; or socialist or marxist or communist? I am sure they can find mold or something resembling it there. Must need some new regulations to correct this eminent danger.

Nah, they are too busy trying to scrub the stinkin' mold residue off which 'W' let get all over everything, actin' like the king he thought he was.

Okay, enough politics for now ... ... need to keep this board civil.

Jerry!

A Bud for you.

Originally Posted by Robert Foster

What do you guys think this black substance along the caulking at the top of the baseboard is. I'm leaning more towards construction debris caught in the caulking than fungi. This is from an older house which was recently totally remodeled and this is located in a closet with no water sources in the immediate vicinity.

Thanks

This looks like a mold to me . . . !!!
Dont go with the color there are different types of it in the market .