I'm a student at cwu and these are pics from my bathroom in the dorm. The shower head leaks and there's no ventilation whatsoever. It's always smelled extremely musty since I arrived. I keep getting sick so I suspected a problem and I thought maybe it's mold so I took pictures and I need help identifying it. My grandma also told me to get a mask immediately.
Hi Naka - Thank you for the question, and I'm sorry you are having a rough time. I am not able to confirm the nature of your lifeform from the photo (no detail is visible), but if it is a mold, it is important to know that identifying mold types frequently requires microscopy. I'm not a mold specialist, but I can offer a few ideas to consider, based on learning from others who study molds. In general I'm told that there can be a bit of an overreaction to the hazard presented by most molds. A few species present a hazard, yes, but many are essentially harmless - it is more a question of quantity: If you have a *very* large amount of mold (or other fungi) producing spores, spores in very large quantity can sometimes be a mechanical irritant to the lungs, in more or less the same way that inhaling a bunch of dust would be an irritant. It is true that some folks are more sensitive than others to this, as well, folks with compromised immune systems should not be in such a situation. Life will grow as long as there is dampness, and there are various kinds of life in addition to mold that would be happy to colonize a damp situation. I don't know what you have there, but if it is a damp-loving lifeform it may persist or return after cleaning, if the damp situation continues. Changing the pH of an area (eg strategic choice of cleaning product) can sometimes deter various lifeforms, as usually they have a level of alkalinity/acidity that they like. I hope that is of some use. If it continues to grow and develops any photograph-able structure, please feel welcome to post updated shots. Best of luck, frog