It has been known to extend itself through wood and other building materials in order to find the moisture source that it needs to survive.



In the news it is generally called the house eating fungus and is a serious problem for homeowners. Timber decay is usually a problem in buildings that are fairly old and it generally appears in some of the wettest areas of your home.

It tends to show itself as looking somewhat like a yellowish dust on the affected wood. Preventing mold growth in general in these areas after you remove the affected materials should help keep it from coming back. This will include keeping any water leaks repaired promptly and water leaks cleaned up as soon as possible after they occur.

One bit of advice to help completely get rid of this mold is to remove at least two feet or more of the material beyond the visible mold. If you do not get rid of at least this much more material, you will not be completely getting rid of all material that is infected and the mold will re-grow fairly fast.

The mold retains water by extending rhizomorphal strands out to reduce the exposed surface area of the mold's hyphae and keeps the water from evaporating for longer. This means that the mold does not actually move moisture from one part of the wood to another, only that the water is kept from evaporating for a longer period of time.

The only way to completely get rid of this mold is to remove all of the materials that are affected by it, because it is not a cosmetic problem at all. This mold is malicious and will eat your house from the inside to the out.

Regrowth of this mold will typically not occur if the wood remains dry for a long period of time. Unfortunately, most wood does not stay dry for very long except for climates that are not very humid and in these areas, this mold will not be that big of a problem, anyway.

Using a dehumidifier to help reduce the humidity in your home could possibly help with this and installing exhaust vents in moist areas to channel moisture outside could also be of benefit.