Ray K wrote:
Can anyone identify the problem on some of the cinder blocks at the
base of the outside wall of my garage? I'm wondering what the black
stuff is. It doesn't rub off, and it's unaffected by bleach. Photos
appear on alt.test at time 5:49 pm, 3/17/08.

Thanks,


Ray
I've reposted the photos at alt.binaries.test, hoping that those who
couldn't view the original posts will have better luck. Sometimes I just
see the top photo; if I go to another message and then return to my
message, both photos usually appear.

Subject: Black foundation.
Time stamp 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time), 3/18/08.
Sender: Ray K

One of the long garage walls is common with the kitchen; the innermost
wall across the width of the two-car garage is common with the laundry
room. The floor of the house is 8 inches higher that the garage floor.
There has never been water seepage into the garage for the eight years
I've lived here, even though some of the mortar appears crumbly after 39
years.

The black is not tar or grease/oil, and as I originally stated, bleach
does not affect it, so it's probably not mold. The corners where the
black is darkest had been covered over with blobs of cement. When I
chiseled away the excess cement - to make it look nicer - the black
showed up, although there is also black at the opposite corner (where
the foundation meets the cinder block that supports the outside wall).

It could just be minerals in the foundation, as someone suggested. Soon
I will be painting it, but I don't want to just cover up what may be a
problem.

Thanks,

Ray