I saw a brown spot on the top of the carpet so I pulled it up. Is this mold?

Need advice about items that were left unprotected during remediation process!! (US-DMV / Mid-Atlantic)

*Happy to upload the lab report if that would be helpful

I've searched for answers about this everywhere I can think of to check but my specific sequence of events seems to be unusual and I'd really appreciate insight about how to proceed now. I don't expect anyone to read all of this, but if anyone out there sees this and has insight about how likely it is that any of the items listed at the bottom need special cleaning or should be thrown out due to mold spore exposure during remediation I'd really appreciate any guidance I can get!

TL;DR: Recently the guest bedroom/office in my rental apartment was treated for mold (air sample lab reports showed levels 26x times outdoor levels. Mold was not visible yet in the bedroom, but was visible everywhere in the unfinished (dirt floor, no sealed window type unfinished) below-ground basement below our 1st floor apartment, especially in the corner directly underneath this room (picture more cellar than basement). Some of our belongings in the room were left uncovered during the initial remediation process. I could really use some guidance about what of those items might actually need to be specially cleaned or trashed as I am putting together a list for the landlord to pay for replacement/cleaning costs. I do not want to go overboard and put things that at the end of the day are fine, but I don't want to miss things assuming they are fine now and they are not. Any guidance would be very, very appreciated!!!

Longer version of the story here:

I discovered a dripping exterior pipe coming out of the rear of our apartment building (converted 19th century row house) after a wooden fence collapsed in a big storm (the fence location made it impossible to see the pipe previously, but it must have been dripping for years because the wood posts were completely rotted and spongy). I reported this for maintenance and flagged at the same time that I was concerned about moisture intrusion based on the location of the pipe/leak, evidence of moisture decay on the exterior bricks, and a strong musty order and sloping floor in that corner of the room right above the leak. Someone came to collect air samples and sent them off to a lab, and the results showed a significant (their words) spore count in the air of the guest room (no visible mold yet that we could see), as well as the aforementioned heavily visibly infestation in the cellar area below.

We were advised to clear enough space for remediation work in the affected corner of the room, but not given any detail about what that entailed. I asked if we needed to empty the room ahead of time and was told no, and when I asked the crew that showed up to do the work if I needed to remove more items or empty anything other than what we'd already taken out for protection/safekeeping and they said no and said if they needed to cut into the wall they would seal off anything still in the room. A few hours later they told me they were cutting out some portions of the drywall (they described a smaller area than what they ended up doing) and again I asked if I should remove things and they said no they had everything sealed up in plastic. They also brought in a large hepa filter unit, which we later saw was attached to one piece of the painters plastic but blowing into the open air, so I don't think it was working as intended.

We were told not to go in the room for the rest of that evening and the next day we went in very briefly with the landlord and property manager. At this point I realized that the remediation crew had not, in fact, "sealed everything properly." There were some thin sheets of painters plastic loosely draped over the bed and some bookshelves, taped to the wall with a couple pieces of painters tape, with huge gaps and not even going all the way over the top of the bookshelves (details of exposed items below).

We were then informed over that weekend that the landlord wanted to proceed with a full remediation, so we had to empty the entire bedroom (two nightstands, bed, desk, two bookshelves, contents, etc...) and find a way to store all of those items throughout the rest of our apartment. Initial googling/ai questions led us to cautiously bag up everything (that wasn't completely sealed off) in trash bags to keep it from spreading spores elsewhere in our apartment, and we tried to wipe down non-porous items and furniture in the room before taking them out. Unfortunately when they shoved some of the furniture out of their way (that we did not know to move in advance) they knocked the closet door open, so the door was ajar. The painters plastic did not cover the entire door, so the pre-existing large gap at the top of the door was completely exposed as well (at least 3 inches).

The remediation crew return to completely remove both walls in their entirety, as well as the floor and subfloor of the room and closet, treat for mold, and replace everything along with installing new insulation. This concluded yesterday and we were able to return to the apartment. They are still continuing work in the cellar area but have now concluded work in the apartment with the exception of: 1) post-construction cleaning (they were supposed to do this before we returned yesterday but did not, the property manager is following up), 2) cleaning the HVAC system (which was unfortunately left running during the initial demolition, and the vent in that room was not covered), and 3) follow up clearance testing.

Of note, I have severe allergies, asthma and another health condition that were significantly impacted by this process/exposure (to the mold as well as to the general dust and construction debris dust/chemical odors). At one point I went into anaphylaxis after being exposed to the room for a couple hours when the crew did not maintain the door seal without my realizing (thankfully my airway did not completely close off). Once we realized how bad it was we found friends to stay with for the remainder of the work.

(Yes, lots of areas for concern with this whole process, but my main focus at the moment is to compile a list of replacement/cleaning/damaged items that is both realistic and reasonable).

Here is my list of items that were either somewhat or totally exposed during the initial remediation (demolition & treatment of ~60-70 square feet of wall space).

I've added what I think I could do to clean for some of them. I'd appreciate any guidance about if these items are

• A) totally fine to generally vacuum/wipe off and put back where they belong;
• B) might be a legitimate concern for harboring mold and could be dangerous to keep or to keep without specialized cleaning;
• C) aren't worth saving/trying to clean and should be written off as a loss and replaced by the landlord; or
• D) any other suggestion about how to handle!

Basically: is it likely that any of these items have actually been exposed to and still carry enough mold spores from the demolition that they could feasibly reintroduce/spread mold in the room or grow mold/get damaged from mold over time? Or if the room/items are kept dry will all those lingering mold spores die and I don't have to worry about anything?

Of note: the room was hovering around 65-72% humidity prior to this situation. We thought it was due to the adjacent bathroom which doesn't have an exhaust vent, so when we run the shower humidity climbs into 90%+ in the bathroom (we run a dehumidifier, squeegee the walls, open the window, etc...everything to dry it out as fast as possible). In the last 24 hours since the work was completed the bathroom humidity has been between 40-50% (never happened before), except for a few hours after the shower ran when it was between 60-70%. However, it's been a lot drier outside as well, so it could just be weather related.

1. Books: really hoping these are fine with dusting and putting back?

• At least 100 paperback books: exposed on open floating shelves in the corner of the room opposite from the demolished walls, left uncovered.
• More books (paperback and hardback) in a wooden bookcase that was covered with painters plastic, some gaps on the sides but more blocked off, about 6 feet from the demolition work.
• All are currently stacked / some bagged on our brick hearth (had no idea what to do with all of them)

2. Curtains:

• Polyester velvet curtains from ikea (wrapped around bed posts, loosely draped/covered with plastic but partially exposed)
  • Dry clean? Cold wash in machine? Nothing?
• Silk organza sheer curtains (very fine, actually from my childhood bedroom and I really would like to preserve them if possible): left hanging on the rods and uncovered, they were blowing around from the air filter unit after the crew left.
  • Dry clean? Hand cold wash? Nothing?

3. Bedding

• 100% cotton matelasse bed coverlet: was on top of the made up bed, the sides were hanging out from underneath the plastic so it was partially exposed. It is an older neiman marcus coverlet and has always been washed on cold/delicate per the tag, concerned if I wash or dry on high heat it will shrink.
• Pillow inserts: one gel/foam neck pillow, an old pillow that didn't have a pillow case on it (could trash), a couple pillows that had pillow cases on them. All the pillows were leaning against the headboard, which is open metal slats, and about 2 feet from the demolition area.

4. Furniture

• Untreated pine Ikea IVAR shelf unit (loosely draped plastic around the sides, but huge gap down the side and the top was left uncovered). wiped down. Do I need to sand them off?
• Untreated pine Ikea IVAR cabinet (covered in loose painters plastic)
• Painted wood & composite wood combination handmade furniture (some only cheap primer painted, some professionally paint finished): 1 nightstand, 1 console/cabinet, 1 lingerie chest, 1 desk (was also turned on its side by the workers and I fear one of the very delicate legs was broken from that). We wiped off these as best we could, but the underneaths of each is plain exposed composite wood that we haven't cleaned yet. The desk already had some water damage spots.
• Unsealed stained antique wood wall shelf: only the bottom half of this was covered by the painters plastic. Is wiping it down sufficient?

5. Bed

• Bed frame/posts: all painted metal frame. completely wiped down
• 3 pine bed slats: exposed underneath the bed (18" clearance underneath, very close to demolition area).
• Mattress: We wrapped the mattress in a thick plastic sheet but left the sides open because we had to store it in the foyer of our building without HVAC and temps/rain have been all over the place the last couple of weeks. I've gotten very mixed responses trying to figure this one out--some sources say to trash it, others say to keep it and if it has mold spores just put inside a zipper protecter (so I guess just let it grow mold but keep the mold from getting out?). It's a nice & super comfy mattress and I'd really prefer not to have to throw it away, but I'm concerned about the possibility of continued dampness in the room.
• Boxspring: This did have a fitted sheet on it which kept the sides a bit more protected I hope. I've vacuumed it but that's all.

6. Other

• Sisal rug (***major item I think could be reasonable to ask to replace): left totally exposed, as was the open area underneath the bed (it is raised up 18" for storage so this was quite a large area), so most of the surface area of the rug was exposed. This was rolled up and removed without cleaning. I carefully unrolled it in small sections to do an initial vacuum and discovered there were several large areas with water mark type spots on the back of the rug that were damp to the touch a few days after being rolled up. Also a lot of the backing of the rug had deteriorated off the sisal itself, which seems like it could be due to moisture damage.
• Printer: was on bottom shelf of ikea ivar unit. the shelf was loosely covered with plastic draped from the top down, but it was blowing open very easily. I'm going to test it and see if it seems to be affected by dust.
• Bulletin board: was partially covered on wall next to demolition. I removed all the photos on the board but some research suggests cork is so porous that any bulletin boards exposed to mold should be thrown out? is this true?
• Antique wicker baskets: partially loosely covered in plastic. Is detailed vacuuming sufficient?
• Trinkets/items on antique wall mounted shelf: silk flowers (completely uncovered), decorative objects, seashells/sand dollars, souvenir matchboxes, old photos & small important papers in a decorative italian paper-covered letter organizer.
• Lamp & shade: Wiped down the lamp and all pieces. The lamp shade is made of paper and I'm not sure if dusting it was sufficient. It was loosely covered.
• Needlepoint canvas: I had two needlepoint canvases stored rolled on the open wall mounted shelves that had a lot of paperback books. Fully exposed but maybe far enough away?
• Ironing board & cover: ironing board was hanging on the back of the door. I read that the cover/pad should be tossed, is that accurate?
• Foam putting mat: My husband had a foam putting mat rolled up in the corner, no idea if this is risky or totally fine.

7. Papers

• Watercolor pads/sketchbooks/canvases: I am an artist and unfortunately some of my supplies were on top of the ivar shelf, therefore not covered at all. This includes expensive pads of watercolor paper and canvases I had stretched and primed already. Are those items likely to harbor mold and then grow mold again once they are damp during painting?
• Paintbrushes: a lot of paintbrushes were in a wicker basket on the ivar shelves. I'm hoping a good wash and dry is sufficient for these.
• Papers/photos: I had a lot of loose papers out all over the place, some on bookshelves or in open boxes in the room...not sure what to do about those. Also some magazines and a lot of loose photos, photos on bulletin board, etc...

8. Closet

• In the closet most of the clothes were in garment bags. There was a hanging purse organizer with a lot of small purses. Some clothes were not in garment bags, are these in need of cleaning? Was the gap around the door big enough to be concerned that items in the closet got a lot of mold on them?

All over the outside. Opened up my package today to see this on the bag and it’s kind of freaking me out. I can’t tell if it’s just coloring from the bag being compostable and I don’t see anything on the tags or clothing item itself but… if it’s mold I will be returning. What do we think?

it's been on for a month. guess i gotta toss the whole thing now?

I’m fairly sure this is mold and not color transfer from the hat. I’ve trashed the hat - what is my path forward to clean the area up and make sure this doesn’t come back?

It’s the second day as it’s been raining recently just started leaking yesterday the bulge has grown noticeably was small yesterday now almost like a small shallow bowl. I have an air purifier for the mould.

We bought this specific stainless steel kettle just for travelling because it’s compact and portable. We only use it to heat water for our toddler’s water bottle, nothing else. We boil tap water in the kettle and then transfer it to our toddler’s bottle or glass.

The last time we used it was in March, and we cleaned it thoroughly before storing it. We even used vinegar and baking soda to clean it.

I read that mold can potentially grow on surfaces or coatings, even on stainless steel, so now I’m a bit concerned. We’ve been using this kettle for the past 4 days, and the water from it has been our toddler’s main source of drinking water. Just wondering if it’s possible for mold todevelop under these circumstances and whether there’s anything we should be worried about.

hi! i work at a supermarket in australia (it’s been raining very heavily recently, we’re in late spring over here!) found this carton and i’m not sure what the decay(?) is?

the carton was full which meant it was likely restocked recently, i’m not sure how no one has noticed as it was at the front.

there were a few seperate products with this on the tins, the paper wasn’t as bad but it looked gross. didn’t have a smell that i noticed, not that i put my face near it lol

thank you!

Hi! I just went through my storage and in my box of christmas stuff my snow globe had broken, it was in the top of the box so all of the liquid has gone over almost everything and it was as time ago bc it was completely moldy. I threw away most stuff that was too moldy and a lost cause but some stuff looks fine but smells black mold. It is mostly decorations, ceramics decorations. What is the best way to clean them? I just hand washed them with dish soap but is it enough? Also have a tiny glass lamp christmas tree with tiny ornaments that looks fine but smells so idk if it is fine but just needs to air out or if there is mold that can come later that the eye can't see now

We just signed the lease on the apartment went through walk though noticed later at night the paint under the window bubbling under that paint we saw alot of this

I started poking at a spot on the wall that obviously had moisture damage from a previous owner of the house. Underneath was mold! I’ve cut away all the drywall and baseboards that had mold but now I’m wondering if it’s on the stud too? I can’t tell if it’s mold or just dark staining. Should I keep cutting my hole higher until the stud looks normal again?

Located in Colorado.

AC unit has been dripping for a few months, AC unit was in the process of being entirely replaced by maintenance and this was uncovered. They didn’t mention anything but it looks concerning.

Had a suspicion there was water getting in around this window. What should I do?

My mom insists the bath stopper doesn’t have mold and it’s just mildew that stained it. I’m fine with being wrong but it’s really been bothering me

I’m 17 and I HIGHLY suspect there is a significant amount of mold underneath the carpet in one room in my house

The other day I got a small amount of moisture on a book the next day I came back to find mold spots on it.

I’m thinking of pulling up the carpet and trying to eliminate the problem myself, but I know you whether do it right or make more problems for yourself.

What should I do before starting? How strict do I have to be with ppe? Do I have to wrap the whole room in plastic before I start? I live in upper Midwest and the moisture problem was about around a year or more ago and short lived.

Also professional help is pretty much off the table. My goal is just to contain and remove the mold as much as possible. Money is not much of an issue but definitely not spending 900 bucks on some air filter

for the past few weeks ive been getting sick and have been very disoriented. This morning i see this on the side of my bathtub and now its red?? what is this?

Moved into a duplex and the air flow is horrible. This is after a day or two of dusting the surface. Solid wood dresser. Don’t notice humidity however, the air flow is bad. Do smell a musky smell sometimes in house. Vents haven’t been dusted. Asked the landlord where the HVAC is, I think it’s in the other unit, haven’t had them look at it yet to change filter. Looks like white mold to me.

I live in northeast Ohio. I live in an old house and was redoing the walls in the bedroom. When I peeled off the wallpaper I found this. It’s under the window. Is it mold? If so how do I treat it?