this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024

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108

Need help identifying some growth. (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

37 comments fedilink hide all child comments

What is it? Seems to grow out of some wooden areas in the room. I've tried peroxide and bleach. Would a steamer help? Sorry in advance for the bad picture quality.

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[–] [email protected] 121 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

From a person with a lot of years of experience fighting mold on wood in a humid climate, what you want is borax:

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/green-home/21331232/killing-mold-on-wood

Borax kills mold and also soaks into wood and stays there to prevent future growth. Bleach does not help on porous surfaces like wood:

"Note that bleach should not be used to kill mold found on wood. While bleach is very effective for killing mold on non-porous surfaces, it doesn’t work well when it comes to wood. This is because the chlorine in bleach can’t penetrate wood, so only the water portion of the bleach gets absorbed.

The mold may appear to be removed from the surface, but it’ll likely continue to grow underneath and return within a few months."

[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Now I'm interested in trying this on my shower grout. I wonder if it would work the same way. I'll have to check and make sure it's safe on stone and grout.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Same! Cleaning grout is so exhausting and inevitable. Something to stop mold from growing would really help.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Get a brush tool for your drill. Best investment to courage the bathroom.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Just use your spouse's electric toothbrush.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

My wife’s boyfriend uses my FunkoPops so it’s only fair I can use her toothbrush.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

Much thanks. I'll have to look around for some of this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

It's cable herpes. He needs to shave it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

A fungus Connoisseur

[–] [email protected] 55 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Those are the tasty bits.

disclaimer. Do not eat the tasty bits®

If the voice get louder seek medical help

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Don't worry, the voice isn't any louder, just sexier...

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You got Gilbert Gottfried too eh?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Gilbert Gottfried reading 50 Shades ruined my fantasy life for a couple weeks.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Cool, here's the new Deadpool & Wolverine trailer

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Well, it's definitely mold.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

That is super weird mold, if it is one.

There really isn't much of a nutrient source, it's growing on a clear coat and it's sporadic. If it was one big spot or a continuous line, that would make more sense to me.

The picture makes it look like a somewhat clean and dry environment as well.

My guess is some kind of chemical reaction, but that is probably wrong.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (1 children)

@JeeBaiChow that's white mold. Steamer will make it worse. It likes moisture and its spores are in the wood.

Ideally a professional mould killer would be best. Otherwise:

Put water and baking soda on it, leave for a while, then wash off
Scrub with vinegar
If possible, lightly sandpaper the wood and then re-varnish

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks. This also sounds like a doable thing. It's annoying cuz it's a living space, so it's likely the spores are getting everywhere. Don't know where it came from either.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

@JeeBaiChow it probably came in on someone's clothing.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's a chair? It shouldn't just be growing there randomly. So you live in a highly humid environment? Eesh.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Tropics. This place gets marine air so it sucks extra bad.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like it could be some mineral growth. This happens a lot in humid area. I've read magnesium is especially susceptible to this.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I had given it a thought that it may be crystallized salt from the marine air, but it doesn't dissolve. The clusters are almost hydrophobic in water at first but end up as a suspension when stirred around, i.e. not soluble.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It would more likely be from the material itself and not from the air.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Ya. That was my other thought. Dunno how to test that theory though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Lemme guess: Singapore?

I live in a similar setting (tho probably not as humid), so I know it's a thing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efflorescence

Not sure if it describe the one we're seeing, but it's something similar, at least.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

White rot fungus, use very diluted bleach (like 5%, a cup of bleach in a gallon of water.) or vinegar (either might alter the wood finish though...), wrap the arm of the chair in paper towels and keep them damp with it for like 30 minutes or so to let it soak into the substrate of the mold inside the wood, and it should just come off with a brush.

Don't let it go everywhere when brushing it off because the more you spread the spores, the more mold you get.

A steamer will likely make it grow more. It'll look like it's working but it'll grow back worse.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Thanks muchly, friend. First time dealing with it. It's worse because it's in a place I don't visit very often. So every time I come back I get a new surprise. :(((

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

When you say "wooden areas of the room," do you mean it's on different wooden objects? That's a chair in the picture, right? What else is it on?

Is the room humid? If it's any kind of mold, streaming is a bad idea.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

On some pieces of furniture. Not on others. Maybe it needs to spread, maybe the unaffected pieces are better sealed. The place gets marine air, so it's very humid, but enclosed.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Mold growth on furniture is weird. Mold needs two things: moisture and something to eat. Usually if a room has enough moisture, you're going to get mold or mildew on fabric and more porous things before you're going to get it on treated wood. Does the room smell like mold or mildew?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It smells like an unused room, but dampness is there as it's exposed to marine air. Can't detect traces of mold on the porous items like linen, cushions etc, but I'm not too familiar with what to look out for. Any tips?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's a really weird one. You can try a borax and water solution. Here's a page that seems similar to your problem that might help

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I'm starting to think it's embedded inside the wood at the factory, but have no way to verify it. Anyway, thanks for the solution, I'll give it a shot.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Yep, it's growth.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

A quick google search seems to indicate that being mold/mildew. You should really check the humidity in your room/building and correct that, offhand it seems to be high if you repeatedly see mold growing there.