About to call plumber. Just discovered mold on the ceiling in the garage. Plan on calling BDP Plumbing in Succasanna, NJ unless I can direct business to a forum member that does good work and services Randolph, NJ. DeerSlayer I don't know if this is your area of expertise. 

 

 

Um.  If I was a plumber I would not touch that.  You need to have the mold remediated first.  Could be toxic, could not be, but the plumber should not be the guy making that decision. 

The guy on the radio says to spray it with "Wet and Forget" available at Home Depot and Tractor Supply. He says don't use bleach because the mold will release spores when it senses the halogen.

 

Get rid of the water (plumber) and the mold will be gone. I almost diversified into the mold business but it doesn't pay enough and there is a lot of quackery.

Do you know where that pipe is coming from (shower drain maybe?) They will have to cut a hunk of the sheetrock out to address it, so you can get a keyhole saw and at least cut a little hole and see if you see anything.

 

People will jump all over me, but "toxic mold" is for the most part a legend conjured up to create a toxic mold remediation industry. Sure, some people are allergic to a specific mold or another and may react badly. It would probably be a bad idea to go into a heavily affected confined space and breathe spores for a length of time. But "toxic" is relative if you have a functioning immune system - water and oxygen can technically be toxic.

 

I would spray it with whatever and wipe it up.

 

I would put on a mask and just cut it out. Then call the plumber

 

Since its an unfinished wall part your not loosing much here, plus you might want to know whats on the other side of the sheet rock.

OMG!!!! 

 

Get everyone out of the house NOW. You'll get sick and die a horrible death.

As JackD points out, get a mask and open it up.

 

I say this as a homeowner and plumber.

 

Get rid of the moldy sheetrock and take some more pictures and post them. One us might be able to make further suggestions.

 

If you were in my area, it would cost less if the wall was open already.

Wet it down. Wear a mask. Cut affected area out. Find leak. Stop leak. Repair drywall. Lots of fear mongering with mold

Cut out Sheetrock, repair leak, replace Sheetrock. If your that worried about it repaint after with a product called permawhite by zinnser

Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

The world's filled with mold.  If you've ever been to the woods, you've been exposed to far more mold than you have here.

 

I'd cut out the moldy drywall and investigate.   Once you can see inside, you'll know if you need a plumber.

 

either way, once you stop the leak, the mold problem will go away.

 

Mold needs two things:  food and moisture.  And even old, toothless mold can eat the ground cellulose in drywall.  But get rid of the moisture and you'll have no more mold.

If you want to have it tested before you go cutting it up and spreading it through your house, I can recommend a great home inspector with a background as a biochemist and really knows his stuff when it comes to mold. PM me.

Cut it out, don't call a remediation company.  The way laws are in the People's Republic of New Jermany if you call a remediation company at some point in the future they may likely have to enter it in a database and you may never be able to sell your house because of it.

Best guess is that there is a leak at the roof where the vent pipe penetrates. Rain water is running down along the pipe and wetting the wall resulting in mildew. Repair that leak first. If the drywall is not frangible, let it dry out, wipe it down, prime with an oil or alcohol based stain killing primer then repaint. If it is frangible then replace as needed.

I would have just sprayed it with Bleach.  But what Mipafox posted is interesting.