| Key Points | Details |
|---|---|
| What is Green Mold? | Fungi with green color; includes Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium |
| Where Green Mold Grows | Damp environments, bathrooms, kitchens, basements, on furniture, wood, and walls |
| How to Identify Green Mold | Unusual green texture on organic surfaces; monitor growth over time |
| How to Get Rid of Green Mold | Use detergents or anti-fungal solutions; dry surfaces after cleaning; for large infestations, hire professionals |
| Green Mold Prevention | Control humidity, clean regularly, use synthetic materials, maintain plumbing and roofing |
| Green Mold Danger | Can cause respiratory issues, allergies, and other health problems; never consume moldy food |
Molds come in all different colors like Pink Mold, Brown Mold, and of course green mold. People assume that one specific mold color refers to the same type of fungus. That is a natural assumption because fungi do inhabit the same moist and humid environments. However, there are several species of fungi which share the same colors. For this reason, it is hard to tell them apart.
Green mold is no exception. You cannot label this mold as just one type of fungus. There are numerous fungi that have a green color to them. The three most popular ones include Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium. Some variations of these molds can be black or blue too, but green is a common color amongst them.
Perhaps the most famous green mold is penicillium because it is what doctors use to make the antibiotic medication known as penicillin. Aspergillus is the green mold which thrives on bread and other spoiled food. You might find it in the basement too. Cladosporium is more of an olive-green mold that is found on plant life. But it can also form on the carpets, walls, and cabinets in your home.
How to Identify Green Mold
If you are trying to identify a specific type of mold in your home, then you won’t be able to do so by just looking at it. Considering there are more than 100,000 possible mold spores floating around in the air, you’ll never know which species of mold it is unless you have it tested. But if you want to know if what you’re seeing is a green mold, that is simpler to figure out.
Whenever you see a strange green substance appearing and spreading on food, walls, ceilings, or anything that is made of organic matter, it is most likely green mold. You will know it is mold because its texture will look unusual and unlike thesurface it is growing on.
If you see a green substance like this and you’re unsure if it is mold, just monitor the substance over the next few days and weeks. Is there more of this green substance on the organic material? Has it spread? If so, then it can be identified as green mold.
Where Green Mold Grows
You can find green mold in an environment that has a lot of wetness or moisture in the air. Mold spores love to inhabit areas like this. That is why bathrooms and kitchens are the two most common places to find this kind of mold.
Kitchens tend to be the number one place because they frequently have food left out on the counter. If there are mold spores in the air and they land on a piece of food which contains sugars and carbohydrates, then the mold spores will feed on them and grow bigger.
Organic materials like wood are no exception either because their surface contains nutrients which the mold spores feed on. This doesn’t damage the material, but it sure makes them unhealthy for people to be around.
In the House
Houses are filled with all kinds of organic materials. You have drywall, wood, concrete, food, and water in one or more rooms of the house. On top of that, you might live in a region of the world where it is frequently hot and humid. That humidity can spread indoors if you don’t have an air conditioner or dehumidifier. If that is not the problem, check to see if you have any water leaks coming in from your plumbing or roof.
When it comes to the outdoors, you can expect to find a lot of green mold on the siding of your home. This will require you to frequently clean the siding and any visible concrete areas. There is not much else you can do about it because you cannot control the weather outside. You just need to regularly maintain these areas and always clean the green mold as soon as you spot it.
In the Basement
Basements tend to be very damp places. This makes them breeding grounds for all kinds of mold spores, including green mold. Plus, there is typically an abundance of concrete and wood found in basements. Green mold will feed off these surfaces and grow bigger in no time.
Green Mold on Furniture
The structure of most furniture pieces is usually wood. You could purchase a leather sofa and still have an interior structure made from wooden materials. Green mold can form on this furniture if the indoor temperature and humidity support it. As for outdoor furniture, your wooden patios, tables,and chairs will definitely attract mold spores. You’d be better off going with all synthetic furniture if you can.
Green Mold on Wood
Like previously mentioned, green mold spores like to feed on the surface of wood for its nutrients. As the spores consume the nutrients, they will grow bigger until you can visibly see the greenness for yourself. If you have wooden floors, walls, furniture, decorative items, or anything else, then they could be at risk of having green mold growing on them.
Yup, on the Bread!
A lot of people like to leave bread out on the counter in their kitchen. Sometimes the bread is not even wrapped in plastic either. Anytime you have bread that is exposed to the open air for too long, you can expect mold to grow on it quickly. Like any mold, green mold will feed on the carbohydrates and organic compounds of bread. It is not advisable to eat this green mold either. If you see it, then you mine as well throw away the bread.
Green Mold on Walls
The interior walls of a home are almost always made of drywall. This is basically a plasterboard which contains a mixture of organic materials, including paper and cellulose. For this reason, green mold loves to find its way onto drywall if the room temperature is warm and there is humidity in the air. You may also have leaky roofs causing this problem too.
How to Get Rid of Green Mold
If you currently have green mold in your home, your first instinct will be to want to get rid of it. The big question is, how do you get rid of it? Well, the answer to that question will depend on the current size of the mold. If you have just started noticing some green mold on your walls or flooring, you can clean it away with simple household detergents.
You first need to mix a detergent with warm water and dip a towel or sponge into the liquid. Then wash the green mold away with it until you don’t see any green. Make sure you wear a surgical mask to prevent yourself from breathing in the spores.
Also, if you can find an anti-fungal detergent or shampoo, that will work even better. This cleaning solution is specifically formulated to kill fungi. Anytime you have green mold in hard to clean areas, like your carpets, then anti-fungal shampoos will work best.
When you are done washing it away, the final step will be to dry the surface area thoroughly. Remember that mold spores are attracted to wet areas, so you cannot leave any moisture or water on the surface after you clean it. Otherwise, the mold spores in the air are going to come right back onto the surface again.
As for the wooden decks on the outside of your home, you might have green mold on the surface finishing that you need to remove. The cleaning procedure will be similar to the one indoors. You need a bucket of water with about one-third cup of detergent in it for every gallon of water.
Dip the bristles of a scrub brush into the liquid and then scrub away the green mold that is on your wooden deck. If you find that the wooden surface has been stained by the mold, you can eliminate these stains with a deck cleaning liquid that has oxygen bleach in it.
The general rule is that if you have over 10 square feet of green mold anywhere in your home, then you should hire a professional mold remover. It would be too dangerous for you to try and clean this mold yourself.
Green Mold Prevention: How to Prevent Green Mold?
Whether you currently have green mold in your home or not, there is no better time than now to start practicing green mold prevention (this technique can aslo used to Yellow Mold, Orange Mold, or another) . You’ll want to create an environment in your home that will keep mold spores away. If there is fresh air outside with no humidity, then open your windows and let the air come in through the screens. Otherwise, close the windows and set the air conditioner temperature to around 70 to 72°F. Use a couple of dehumidifiers in your home too if the humidity outside is too severe.
Be sure to keep your bathrooms and kitchen as dry and clean as possible. It is very easy to splash water around in these rooms without ever cleaning it up. You need to always dry your floors and countertops after using your sink or shower. If your bathroom has an exhaust fan built into the ceiling, turn it on. That will help reduce some of the moisture and humidity in the room.
If you’re preparing food in your kitchen, cleaning up afterward is essential. Little bits of food particles may have splashed or splattered onto the cabinet doors, countertops, or flooring. If you don’t clean this up, it will be like inviting green mold spores over for dinner. Therefore, after you’re done cooking, wrap up all the leftover food and put it away in the refrigerator. Then, clean the floors and countertops until they are spotless.
Another mold prevention tip is to use as many synthetic materials as possible. Purchase synthetic carpets, furniture upholstery, and lamination for your countertops. Green mold is not attracted to synthetic materials because they are not organic.
Lastly, be sure to clean your gutters regularly and make repairs to your plumbing or roof if either of them is leaking. Again, dryness in the home is the key to mold prevention.
Green Mold Dangerous
People tend to judge molds by their color. They often think of black mold as the most dangerous because it is dark and can be harmful to humans and animals. As for green mold, people often see that and think it is no big deal. In their minds, they are associating the green color with a form of plant life that is healthy for the environment.
The truth is that green mold can still cause people to have health problems. If you have an allergy or sensitivity to green mold spores, it could cause even worse problems like asthma attacks, lung inflammation, sinus infections, and other respiratory issues.
When people see green mold on food, they will sometimes eat it. They might believe it is penicillium and assume that its antibacterial properties are okay to consume. What they don’t realize is that if it is penicillium, it can still cause respiratory problems. Molds are all similar in that respect. You never want to breathe in the airborne spores. That will only make you sick.
There is no such thing as a good or healthy mold because your respiratory system will never react kindly to the airborne mold spores. As for penicillium, it should only be consumed when it is a formulated penicillin antibiotic medication. Even then, there is still a 10% chance that you could be allergic to it.
Conclusion
You should now have a better understanding of green mold. There is really no big difference between green mold and any other color mold like White Mold, Red Mold, and Black Mold. They are all attracted to organic matter and love to inhabit environments which are humid and moist. When mold forms on a wooden surface or piece of bread, it may or may not be green mold. It all depends on which mold spores happen to make contact with this organic matter.
If you want to live a life free of green mold, just be sure to maintain a clean and cool environment in all your rooms. Use your air conditioner or dehumidifier indoors, clean the outside of your home, and wrap up all food that is not in the refrigerator. If you follow these tips, you should not have any more problems with green mold ever again.