Hola Everybody!

I live in Florida, about a year ago I went away for a few weeks but neglected to empty my coffee maker basket of it's already brewed coffee grounds. When I came back, I opened it up to find this huge growth of bright neon orange mold all over it. It was fuzzy looking, and when I moved the basket, loads of fine powdery mold went into the air like flour or baby powder would. Instead of cleaning it, I just threw the thing out. I had never seen anything like it.

Since then, it's now recurred but not just in the coffee maker. It's appeared rather regularly on fruit and most anything moist. I've tried researching this on the net but cannot find anything remotely similar to this mold or what it is.

Has anyone had this same sort of mold? Does anyone know if it's hazardous or whether it's just another harmless [if weird] household mold? Any help would be appreciated because it's been bothering me for awhile. Thanks in advance!

 

I searched and found 2 types that it may be

PENICILLIUM This mold also has a velvety colony, which has blue green centres with pale to bright yellow, vinaceous reverse and yellow exudate. It has a fruity odour, suggesting apples or pineapples. It is found in the soil of citrus plantations and has been isolated from decaying cabbage and barley plants, stored seeds of cereals, grapes, nuts, dried fruits, and fruit juices. It is one of the most dominant and important house molds; the indoor mold can be readily seen on stale bread, citrus fruits, and apples. It is frequently found in wine cellars.

EPICOCCUM NIGRUM This mold has worldwide distribution. Found on soil, decaying plants, and fabrics. It has also been isolated from cereals, fruits, polluted fresh water, compost beds, insects, human skin, and sputum. Quite a lot of airborne spores. Some Italian allergists rate it quite highly.

Also known as fruit rot..i was able to find pictures of the nigrum and it did show bright orange cultures.

Basicly from what i read as long as the area is cleaned and the fruit is tossed out. Than no health concerns are there. Just dont eat them. The fruit rot shows up serveral days after the fruit is stored at room temperature. basicly the fruit rot infects the fruit at the time it starts to grow and doesnt show up until maturity. This is another reason why to wash fruits and veggies really good before consumption.

I would leave the coffee maker up to dry out the inside and discard filters after use. I believe that this is just a isolated incident and if you keep the area clean and fruit tossed after a few days you should be good. Use a mixture of bleach and water.