Dear George, We have a lot of black spots that seem to grow bigger

Dear George,
We have a lot of black spots that seem to grow bigger through out the year on our walls and certain parts of the ceiling in or bathroom. If I spray beach on them it seems to make them go away for a while and then it comes back. Would this be mold?

Dear Big Spots,
There are thousands of species. It sounds as if this is a species of mold, possibly a subspecies of Aspergillus. Testing can identify if it is mold, and possibly even the particular variant. You can take a look here at a few sample pictures– https://byebyemold.com/links-other-websites/ –in the Scientific section there is at least one link that includes petri-dish-mold-growth images.

If your mold is a reoccurring problem, then you have one thing for certain going on. The conditions are still optimum for mold or fungus to thrive, either high humidity or a water leak. Even if you completely remove all mold, if you leave behind conditions that it likes, at some future point spores will find that area and a colony can establish. Even if an area is perfectly cleaned, there is always a percentage of mold spores in the atmosphere which can take root in a hospitable area.

Control the water and humidity, and you go a long way toward preventing re-infestation. Assessment can determine the extent of the problem and help determine the best solution.