Fungus, mold or something else?

Terryl

Terryl

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Fungus, mold or something else?

I have a problem with this stuff, I opened the storage garage for the vet the other day and find all this fuzzy white stuff all over the floor.


So I cleaned it all up and used pure swimming pool chlorine to keep it from coming back, this morning I went in and crap!!!! it's back. (see photo below)

Junk on floor 003a.webp
Junk on floor 002a.webp Junk on floor 004a.webp

Now what is this stuff?
 
Its not salts coming out of the concrete floor is it?
 
No I checked for that, it's defiantly a fungus or mold of some sort, if it was the salts leaching through it would take much longer then a few days to come back, this came back in two days, and it has not rained for several days.

This stuff is growing up out of the concrete.

It's also not damp in there.
 
Before I cleaned it up it was about a inch tall in some places, I wish I took photos then.
 
I wouldn't be too surprised - fungus spores are all around in the air, more or less constantly.
I mean, leave food out for a day, and it starts growing (unless it's a Twinkie-bar, which may last for years!).
Some household have constant problems with mold in corners, but it's usually because they're damp and not very well ventilated, rather than being specifically subjected to a local outbreak of fungus.
It's probably something in the surrounding air that finds your floor specifically attractive.

I would guess the Chlorine should work well, we have something here called "Rodalon" which is not as harsh, but works really well.
So I would suggest cleaning the floor with that, or similar, and make sure then room is well ventilated.
And probably heated too - the warmer ambient air, the more moisture it will hold, and the less water the fungal spores will have to grow with.
 
OK...I tried a test, one section (about a foot square) I used some hydrogen peroxide to see if it's a fungus or mold, on another section I used a 4:1 mix of muratic acid, I will wait this test out to see what happens.

I think the acid wash may be the fix, but I will have to apply a coat of good floor epoxy paint to make it look good.

The bad thing is if I have to acid wash it and paint it I will have to move a ton of junk to do the whole floor, I will have to go dig up my rubber boots, gas mask and tyvek suit.
 
st1 said:
I wouldn't be too surprised - fungus spores are all around in the air, more or less constantly.
I mean, leave food out for a day, and it starts growing (unless it's a Twinkie-bar, which may last for years!).
Some household have constant problems with mold in corners, but it's usually because they're damp and not very well ventilated, rather than being specifically subjected to a local outbreak of fungus.
It's probably something in the surrounding air that finds your floor specifically attractive.

I would guess the Chlorine should work well, we have something here called "Rodalon" which is not as harsh, but works really well.
So I would suggest cleaning the floor with that, or similar, and make sure then room is well ventilated.
And probably heated too - the warmer ambient air, the more moisture it will hold, and the less water the fungal spores will have to grow with.
Click to expand...

It did nothing, the stuff came back in 48 hours, on some spots it was a 1/4 inch tall.

I may have to acid wash and epoxy seal it.
 
Terryl said:
It did nothing, the stuff came back in 48 hours, on some spots it was a 1/4 inch tall.

I may have to acid wash and epoxy seal it.
Click to expand...
Crickey that's fast...
Maybe put on the lateral hat here - perhpas it's edible? You know, Quorn or similar?
Or maybe your garage is ideal for wine and beer fermentation??
 
st1 said:
Crickey that's fast...
Maybe put on the lateral hat here - perhpas it's edible? You know, Quorn or similar?
Or maybe your garage is ideal for wine and beer fermentation??
Click to expand...
The only thing fermenting out there is me....I have a ton of junk to move to do the acid wash, I may do one side the the other later, the corvette doesn't mind the stuff so it can just sit there until I get to that side.
 
If I have to paint it I may do the black white checkerboard approach, it would look cool.

But a 28 foot by 26 foot garage floor may be a bit of a job.
 
I think this would look cool, then I can leave the vet uncovered.
e2eb9b7d60769656e11c525c893f0c31.webp
 
Those tiles are not going to be happy with your stilettos.
 
Good job I normally wear kitten heels.
 
Not tiles, I was thinking of painting it that way, there is some good epoxy based paints for garage floors, but I wonder how they get it to come out of the can like that.

And all my girls ware cow girl boots, they would get stuck in the mud if they wore anything else.
 
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