Gasoline causing black mold

I have searched the forum and internet and can't seem to find info on the black mold caused by gasoline. I am not sure about all parts of the country but in the northeast they put something in our gas that causes anything nearby to turn black. All of my plastic gas cans are black. It power washes off fine but it looks terrible. The real problem is with a boat cover on the fumes from the tank vents etc also cause the same black spots on vinyl, fiberglass etc. I called CC in Orlando and asked them about it and they have never heard of that problem before. So any guys in the northeast know anything about it and what to do about it?

Do you have one of those 2-cycle Nautiques that take mixed fuel?
Steve

Sounds like an investigation needs to be done... 60 minutes, Congress, Mythbusters??

All of my red gas cans and my dad's have this black residue all over the outside. Car gas caps same thing.

I'll call Jamie at MB and get them on it right away.

The black stuff on my gas cans I see is mold. Usually caused by moisture.Where do you store your gas?

Funny, I live in Iowa, home of Ethanol. But we still have the option of pure gas or E10. I opt for the pure gas myself. Ethanol has only 50% of the energy content of gas, so E10 really isn't a bargain, even at 10 cents a gallon less.

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(url=http://www.absolutelyspotlessmold.com/)

Maybe this is Mold Man's boat...

I've never heard of this before.

I have seen black stuff on the inside of fuel doors on some of the cars we had that sat outside for long periods of time. But the same stuff would be in the door hood and trunk jambs so it clearly isn't relational to fuel.

I have the same problem with the fuel locker in my sailboat. There is no question that the gas fumes somehow contribute to the mold growth - the matching locker that stores my anchor has no mold. I've had this locker perfectly clean a couple of times over the past few years yet the mold returns with a vengance each time. This time after I clean it I plan to remove the gas tank and fuel line when I'm not using the boat to see if that prevents the problem.   

I plan to use bleach, then pressure washing, then Concrobium. I read about it at Practical Sailor (http://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/36_6/features/Mildew-Prevention-Sailboat_5933-1.html) and can get it from the local home improvement store. We'll have to compare results.

I have been searching on and off for this mold topic as I have wondered much of the same as discussed here. I first noticed it immediately the fall of the year E-10 was introduced (somewhere around 2006 or 2007? in NJ). SRoberts pictures above; I experienced first hand, not on one sailboat, but almost all the ones we serviced at the marina I had worked at until 2009. It was around all the portable fuel tanks in the cockpit of the sailboats. I worked at this facility from 1988 on many of the same boats and never saw this in the fuel lockers before. The only variable was the fuel change with E-10. Shortly, I started to notice the mold on various plastic jerry cans that were stored outside. I think they were more prone to condensation being outside. My plastic cans stayed clean till recently, as I started to store them in a ratty shed. Until 3 years ago (approx 2013), they were stored in my garage when I started to notice a little mold on the ceiling over the area. I suspected the vapor thru the sealed plastic fuel approved containers. Now, the garage, which is detached and non conditioned, has mold seemingly starting to rapidly take off inside. It can be humid in there in the summer but so is everyone else's garages! I now contribute this to an old truck that I keep in there in which does not have a sealed fuel system and seems to always have a fuel odor around it. I think it is feeding or promoting the mold. I would like to keep the truck in the garage, so the next thing is either a de-humifier or better ventilation or both?? I see it around the gas filler doors on cars and even my Wellcraft center console boat. This boat has an in hull tank and access ports in the floor. When I open the ports, there is a black slime on the top of the tank. The other bilge areas also have blackened up over the last 5-6 years and now are disgusting. The fuel lines and filter/water separator all turn black, along with the fiberglass around the area. I do not know if it is related, but I now have health issues (muscle and joint pains-disabling) similar to Lyme disease symptoms and I can not clean up behind this thing because of limitations. I have also been recently diagnosed with a toxic mold exposure but do not know if it is from this or not. It may have been from another source possibly as I had stuff tested. The results were of a non toxic type in the garage. The mold illness diagnosis is based on new studies. Google surviving mold and Ritchie Shoemaker for more on this. As I googled more, I also found on Wikepedia a particular type of mold that grows around distilleries because of the vapors. "Baudoinia species use ethanol for their carbon nutrition, Ethanol in vapour form also accelerates the growth of the fungus and stimulates spore germination." etc. That is not the species in my garage but there you go anyway. Any help on the matter or suggestion for each other would be great. I would like to see E-10 go away or more studies on this done.

Now that this is mentioned I have noticed this on some of my cans,does not matter if they are metal or plastic ones but they are all older. Metal ones are from the 60's plastic ones from the 80's. Cleans right up with Publix mildew remover and does not come back for a very long time. The ones I have in Florida are the newer plastic ones and I can get gas here with no alcohol so I have not seen the same problem here.

Especially since it is a boat and the northeast is already prone to humidity issues, there could be other underlying issues promoting the potential mold development. The gasoline may not actually be the source of the issue. If it is even mold, it can be the result of a number of water sources (ie: ventilation problems, etc.). The only way to know for sure would be to consult a professional and have it inspected.

http://mastertechmold.com/

http://mastertechmold.com/mold-inspection/

http://mastertechmold.com/mold-removal/