On Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:18:08 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

I assure you that it's plastic, not spores.

Well, you're famous for having the right answer in the electrical
realm, so, I would have to give you the benefit of the doubt in
the mechanical.

It doesn't grow. Therefore, it's not mold.

True. It just sort of sits there. Minding its own business.

Grumble. That's my picture and I'm NOT the OP.

Ooops. Sorry about that. Your picture, as always, was perfectly apropos!
Too bad the OP didn't have the skills you have for Internet nntp work.

Come to think of it, VERY FEW people have your skills. You've helped
me quite a few times (under various nyms) on the wireless side, what
with that lousy set of WISPS in the SC mountains (yea, Brett, you know
him as I do. He's nice enough - but he's too busy and harried to give
you the technical time of day, and Dave, well, I'm glad I dropped
them).

The only things that actually directly attacked the white stuff were
mild plastic solvents. However, anything that dissolved the white
stuff, also attacked the plastic handle, so that's not a good fix.

I seem to remember I soaked mine in a variety of nasty solvents,
none of which worked - and then - about 10 years ago (or so, as I
don't really remember), I just scraped them clean. Have been that
way ever since.

Send it to a pathology lab and see what they say.
I wish I had the following 'scopes ...
a) microscope
b) oscilloscope
c) telescope