Dr. Diane Mueller explains how to identify black mold on ceilings and why most black-colored molds aren't actually toxic Stachybotrys. She recommends surface sampling over air testing, finding the moisture source first, and skipping DIY spraying to avoid spreading spores.
Questions this video answers
Stachybotrys (referred to as 'stachy botries' in the transcript).
There's black mold on your ceiling. What do you do about it? I'm Dr. Diane Lyme and mold expert, and let's dive into that question. So this is a complicated question because one of the things that's important to make sure you know is that not all molds that are black are bad for the human body. The black mold that is classically talked about when we are saying black mold, we are typically meaning is a mold species class called stachy botries. Now, this particular mold species is very toxic to the human body, but there are other black molds that are non problematic. So one of the first things if you see black mold on your ceiling to do is try not to freak out. But you do want to figure out if there is a water source that is contributing to that. I've seen situations, for example, where exhaust fans from the bathroom go, instead of going outside, go into the outside attic, leading to problems in the attic that seep down into the ceiling of the floor right below. Right. So there could be something like that. So you want to figure out where is the moisture source coming from if you see it on the ceiling, there's probably a moisture source somewhere. So you want to make sure you contain that. You cut that off, you figure out the root of what's happening there. Now, typically, if it's true black mold from a bad standpoint, from the slightest stacky battery standpoint, typically that needs a continued water source of two to three weeks for that to really begin to grow. So if you do see black mold on the ceiling, I'm very, very suspicious that you've had some sort of humidity type of scenario where that can grow. But you want to figure out what type of mold it is. So if you can take a sample of it, what you want is you want a surface level sample. You want to actually use a rag on the surface of the mold and on nearby apply or nearby surfaces to wipe up dust, because dust will contain the molds. They fall out of the. They'll fall down from the ceiling. They won't suspend in air because they tend to be very heavy. They'll land on surfaces. You want to take a surface sample. The best surface sample on the market I really like is the ERMI ermi. And you want to be very careful. You don't want to just call in any inspector that has a certification, because most of them are are certified to only do a small level of testing, which is air samples inside versus air samples outside. They take samples, they compare them, and if they're the Same. They say you're good. Problem is it's not a very good analysis because most of the problematic molds are not light. They don't suspend in air, they're heavy, they fall, they land on surfaces. You're not going to find them in air samples. That's just going to not be a good methodology and you'll miss the problem. So you want to make sure if you see mold on the ceiling, you want to make sure you figure out what type of mold, why there's a water source. And whatever you do, don't just start spraying, trying to find a way of spraying bleach on there. Because if it's truly black mold, bad stuff, Sacubote stuff that I mentioned, spraying a superficial antifungal agent could actually make the problem spread when you try to spray mold. And it will release its spores and spread them around. And now you have these spores spread around the room that are just looking for a more humid day to start growing and proliferating and multiplying. And now a small project has turned into a big project. I see so many people make their problems worse and they think initially they're better, right? And then they spread these, these toxins around. The toxins get into the H Vac, they get behind the drywall, they cause a ton of problems. The all because we did not handle the problem correctly. So be very, very, very careful when you are dealing with these sorts of situations. If you need help to guide you through the health related component of this, to help you with finding people that know what they're doing as far as inspecting and making sure you're cleaning your house properly, as far as cleaning furniture and that sort of thing. Please do get a free discovery call with my clinic below in the show notes to see if we're a good fit it again. I'm Dr. Diane Mueller, Lyme and mold expert. I hope you will subscribe and I'll see you next time.
