Hello, everyone! I have a strange growing *something* in my gas fireplace, and I'm curious about it. I have no idea if it's dangerous. For hours and hours, I have searched the internet for pictures similar to mine, but I haven't found anything. There is some white growth (it may just be crystallization from water condensation?) on the glass in the front of the fireplace, but the really dramatic stuff is a few inches on the other side. Clumps of dense yellow-brownish-greenish fungus (?) have formed. The clumping may be specific to the type of fungus involved, but I suspect it's more closely related to the fake log structure each clump is attached to: small jutting sections of what is probably plastic. Does anyone know what this might be? It's very strange - the fungus (or mold?) structures are nearly an inch tall. They look very much like discolored cotton candy or fiberglass insulation filaments, and there are black specks scattered throughout (may be related to fireplace location, don't know if gas fireplaces would create flakes of soot, etc.). I have contacted mold removal services and fireplace technicians, but neither group has heard of this type of outbreak. I don't even know what category something like this would go in - I wish I were more familiar with different kinds of fungus types. Thanks so much! :D (Edit to include: I do have larger pictures of this, if that would help...)
Unless there is something organic and a source of moisture in your gas fireplace, the growth you see is most likely a deposit from some sort of chemical reaction. Fungus needs to feed upon some damp organic material, which would be unlikely in anything that gets as hot as a fireplace.
I agree with Vitog it seems unlikely to be fungal. Looking at the shot of the whole row, the regularity of the clumps makes me wonder if the substance inside the fake log has started extruding out some regularly spaces holes or breaks? Just a guess, I don't know anything about gas fireplaces. frog
Any chance it could be old fiberglass insulation or asbestos product? Is the chimney uncovered so that rain drops can fall in occassionally? ~ ~
Doesn't look biological to me, so probably best to ask this on a home renovation / repair forum instead. Moved it out of the fungus ID area.
Our gas fireplace came with fiberglass (?) fluff just like that. It makes the fire look like it has glowing embers. Are you sure it was not installed with the fireplace?
Oh, thank you! I am grateful for so much input. A friend of mine had pointed the greenish fibers out out, saying it didn't look right. I was worried that there might be an organic growth, one that might pose a danger to my household... I am reassured that this is not the case. I've never seen the "embers" type of installation before, having grown up with wood burning hearths. I'll follow up with a fireplace company, just to be sure that there's no chemical process occurring. I am delighted to find this website, and thank you again for being so kind. :D
