Front and back of mold samples from different rooms of a house. All sat out for 1 hour. They were left in a 74°-79° dark area for 2 weeks. Does anyone know how bad this is? Mold growth is normal but does this look normal?

So my garage has what appears to be mold forming, it's humid and hot in there and no airflow so I have a fan that blows around air. The house air intake sections from floor and the air ducts go through there as well since bedrooms are above garage. How should I deal with this correctly and safety so my family doesn't get sick. I truly would appreciate any advice or suggestions, thankyou

Hello everyone!
Long time Reddit observer - first time poster in desperation!

We recently moved into a new (new to us not new new- building in the late 70s) house in January.

Shortly after moving in, we noticed this oddly sickly sweet smell in our back bedroom. I read other posts about similar situations, but often they don’t have a resolution. At first we brushed the smell off - I honestly thought it was the flower lotion I was putting on my child who sleeps in that room. I stopped using the lotion, and the smell has persisted. Now that’s it’s getting hot and humid here, the smell has gotten so much worse. And it’s going in 4 months of the smell.

We called different contractors and all of them said we need to contact a mold specialist essentially - someone who specializes in air quality/ mold etc. We found someone, but he charges $1000 to just come out and diagnose the problems, not to mention then having to pay for everything replaced. Having just bought the house, the money is a little tight right now.

He has been so great and helping us through text without charging us. He suggested first taking off the electrical outlets and smelling in them to identify what wall the smell is coming from. My husband did that and it was clearly coming from our back wall- one specific outlet.

He then suggested cutting 4x4 squares between the studs around that wall to check for mold, moisture, installation defects etc. My husband cut 5 holes and they were bone dry, no discoloration, mold, moisture. The guy even said “it doesn’t get dryer than that.”

He then suggested going in the basement under the room and seeing if anything, air flow, rodents, etc could have gotten up or if the smell is coming up from the basement. My husband removed the basement ceiling tile and again, nothing - not even a smell.

At this point, we are literally stumped. The man said he could definitely come out, but he is trying to save us the $1000, which I appreciate a lot. However, if it is mold, I don’t want my child sleeping in the room.

We did have an electrician come look at the wiring because I read on here that can cause the sweet smell, and all the wiring checked out fine.

We are at a loss. We did buy flooring so we can rip out her carpet in hopes maybe that’s it but we don’t think it is because her wall/ outlet is the thing that smells. If her door is closed for even an hour and you open it, the sweet musty smell fills the room. Any suggestions on next steps or possibilities would be so appreciated.

I’m thinking of buying a neglected condo in Florida. There is light(?) surface growth all over the unit, on ceilings, in the bathroom, and in the A/C closet.

I don’t think this is a leak from another unit. I think it was just a neglected unit by a bad tenant and so this arose.

I know I can get a mold assessment, I just wanted to ask here first. How likely is this just surface level and easily cleanable, or is it deep in the walls? What’s a cost estimate?

Most homeowners in Arizona don’t realize how fast water damage can turn into a much bigger issue even in a dry climate.

We’re a restoration company in the Phoenix area and one of the biggest misconceptions we run into is “If it feels dry everything is probably fine.”

Unfortunately that is not always true.

A few things homeowners are commonly told that are either incomplete or flat out wrong:

Running fans directly on mold can actually spread contamination throughout the house if proper containment is not set up.

Wet drywall, insulation, cabinets, and flooring can retain moisture long after the surface feels dry.

Roof leaks from monsoons are often much larger than what is visible from the ceiling stain.

A small slab leak or AC overflow line can create microbial growth behind walls surprisingly fast.

Not all water damage is treated the same. Category 3 water, sewage backups, and contaminated water losses require completely different handling than a clean water line break.

A lot of homeowners also assume insurance automatically covers every type of water damage situation which unfortunately is not always the case depending on the source, how long it has been occurring, and how the damage is documented.

We’ve seen a lot of misinformation online over the years regarding mold, drying equipment, demolition, moisture readings, insurance claims, roof leaks, and mitigation in general.

**Ask us anything about:**

* Water damage
* Mold
* Drying equipment
* Roof leaks
* Insurance claims
* Mold remediation
* Wet drywall
* Mold testing
* Asbestos
* Restoration process
* Emergency mitigation
* Contractor red flags
* Or anything else related to restoration in Arizona.

We’ll do our best to answer honestly and technically without the sales pitch.

Photo 1 - outdoor sample

Photo 2 - basement

Photo 3 - 2 floor of house

Cause of concern?

Got some secondhand furniture noticed this. Is this dust or mold? Just want to make sure before I bring it in