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Thread: What's this substance on my power-board?

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    Junior Member malcolmturnbull's Avatar
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    Default What's this substance on my power-board?

    Can someone please tell me what is happening here?

    There is a black powder like substance which appears to be some electromagnetic reaction with the power-board looking at the pattern. It was up against the wall and as you can see its stuck to the wall and came apart when I move the power-board. The pink stuff underneath is carpet. There seems to be some light blueish/green goo as well on the carpet. I've had this happen once before. I've turned off the power-board and left it.

    Please let me know if you cannot see the photo and I'll post it some other way..
    Last edited by malcolmturnbull; 12-12-17 at 04:46 PM.

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    LSemmens
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    I'd be tossing the board, Not sure about the black stuff, looks like ants have tried to set up a nest. The green goo is probably .
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Yes, time to purchase a new power board.

    Thoroughly clean the 'muck' from ALL surfaces and do as lsemmens has suggested and throw the contaminated power board into the nearest bin.

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    Any known (or unknown) animals in your property..?? Looks a bit like a Phycomyces Fungi - bit hard to tell from the picture though. Either way, chuck the power board, clean the crap up and use some form of disinfectant... That shit grosses me out!

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    Junior Member malcolmturnbull's Avatar
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    Thanks all.

    Yes I agree, the power-board is going in the bin and the carpet is going soon as well.

    It's definitely not ant related as there are no ants to be seen but you might be right about the verdigris. We got a dog a month ago but the first instance happened around 3 months ago. When it occurred then I cleaned it up and turned off the power-board. I only turned it back on 2 weeks ago to use the computer and it appeared again, hence why I though it was caused by the electricity. Someone at work said it could be carbon.

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    Wow...Looks like the p board is spewing lava.
    Don't happen to live in Bali do you ?

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    It is more likely spores living in the carpet.
    The little bit of warmth when it is in use spurs them on.
    Simple test. Clean up and then place the powerboard on something to elevate it of the carpet.
    Maybe just suspend it mid air via the computer cables.
    If nothing happens then you know the answer.

    May need to call Ghostbusters to remove what is living in the carpet.

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    Burnt out flux capacitor

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    to me it is a spill of something on the powerboard and it's gone feral
    有段者

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    Is the substance attracted to a magnet?

    It looks a bit like iron filings.

    It could also be crystals of some sort... a chemical reaction.

    Hope you get a definitive answer on this.

  • #11
    Junior Member malcolmturnbull's Avatar
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    Thanks again all for your responses.

    Two new clumps appeared today (See photos) and the growth on the power-board was unchanged.

    I've removed the power-board and vacuum cleaned the entire area then sprayed it all with BAM bathroom cleaner and then smothered everything in white vinegar.

    So now I am convinced it's some type of mould/spores in the carpet and nothing to do with electricity. The wall behind the growth is the bathroom so it might have something to do with dampness. More investigations needed to find the root cause.



    Last edited by malcolmturnbull; 14-12-17 at 12:04 PM.

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    LSemmens
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    If it's moisture related, and it most certainly looks like it, you may need to work out how the moisture is getting in. As you say, the bathroom is on the other side of the wall, so some major renovations, re-waterproofing, may be in your near future.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Might be a nasty surprise waiting in the wall cavity.

    The added info of the bathroom behind suggests it's a moisture/mold issue.

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    I would be removing it immediately(wear a mask) as the spors can be toxic. However the carpet will be infested with mycelium so it will grow back again. Try first spaying the carpet with vinegar before you try anti mould sprays that might discolour your carpet.

    Then you will have to think about the bathroom renovation.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 14-12-17 at 10:25 PM.
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    It looks so organic and reading the comments makes me wonder if its 'Black Mold' caused by a collection of moisture/humidity and no ventilation there.
    No matter what it is, handle it with extreme care and dont disturb the mass in any way, get something like those zip lock sandwich bags and wearing long gloves, glasses and mask, place it into the bags and seal them. I would NOT suck it up into a vacuum cleaner no matter if its bagless or not as you cant be sure the filters are designed to trap what ever that is.

    I was just wondering if it might pay to carefully spray it with something like Hair spray to coat it so it wont separate or is that overkill?
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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