We stripped the carpet and baseboards in our living room to prepare for laminate flooring and I found this black stuff in one section of the drywall where the baseboard was by the wood piece on the side of the staircase. Does this look like mold? If so, should we take off that long decorative piece of wood that runs along the side of the stairs to check behind it? I know that the toilet overflowed badly once from the small bathroom next to the stairs, but don't know how much water or "liquid" made it out to this area and for how long. I also suspect a cat may have peed on the wall a few times, but don't know for sure since the place was rented out for ten years. The pictures show the general area , a close up of the black stuff, and the front of the stairs next to the bathroom. We haven't pulled the baseboards right next to the bathroom yet so I'm thinking of doing that to see if there is anything lurking behind them. Any suggestions or wisdom on this situation is greatly appreciated!Attachment 53600

 

I does look like mildew or mold to me. I would not suggest pulling the stair skirt off, it will not come off easy and will likely break.

Just mix some bleach and water in a spray bottle and kill any you see. Mold and mildew need water to live and grow. As long as things are dry it is not an issue.

 

Thanks for your opinion on the mold and treatment. I heard good things about Concrobium mold remover and preventative so I may give that a try. Was just wondering if I really need to check behind the wood of the staircase or not. It looks like it would be terrible to try to do!

 

If the wood is soft I'd probably remove it and see what's going on but if everything is solid, I'd just treat the mold and go on. The drywall looks good so I assume it's still solid.

 

Thanks for your response Marksr. I think the drywall is ok so I gave it a decent spray of the concrobian stuff today, and a "preventative" spray to the immediate wood areas. We will see how she looks in two days.