Question
Do you have any idea how to clean these dots from the building if they are the fungal spores you describe.
Thanks
Dave
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I park my car in front of my office which is lined with small evergreen shrubs (3 feet high)similar to arborvitae.  They are giving off some kind of parasite or fungus which is in the shape of a small brown dot about the size of a ball pin head.  they seem to emulate from the shrubs and fan out to cover the entire front of the vinyl clad building front.  They also appear all over my car and any car parked close to the building.  Cars parked 30 feet away from the building across the parkinglot do not get affected.
These are very stubborn "spots".  I can only get them off by using a finger nail, even on the building.  We tried Pool Shock chlorine directly on them to no avail.  I have to pick off each one from the car with my finger nail.
They are a brown waxy like dome with a white substance inside which is visible when picked off.  There is no sign of anything in the air around the shrubs.  They simply appear like magic.
Can you identify the problem and suggest a cure.


-----Answer-----
David,

I do not think that the spots are from the shrubs, they sound more like the fungal spores from Artillery fungus.

This fungus grows in the mulch at the base of plants and produces packets of spores that are fired into the air when they mature.

The only way to combat this fungus is to change the mulch regularly as well as raking the mulch to create a hostile environment for the fungus development.

Good luck.
Ed Gulliksen

Answer
David,

I found these methods on the Penn State website. Thanks to Dr. Donald Davis-

From cars

Corn oil will work to loosen the spores from car finishes. It can be applied using a soft nylon pad, like the "Dobie" Brand (but avoid such pads that will scratch the surface, e.g., Scrunge Pad). Wash it off immediately with soap and hose water after removing the spores. It takes a bit of rubbing, but it will loosen. Do not apply in direct sun as the oil will cook to the surface, especially on hot summer days. Remove the corn oil immediately lest it cake to the car finish. By no means, let it sit overnight. I recommend one polishes their car thereafter to restore an even finish and remove any residual oil.
The spots are on cars. My husband spent over 2 hours this past weekend picking the spots off of my car. What a mess!!
I run an automotive website and have had personal experience with Artillery Fungus. I did a quick writeup on my blog to let people know what I have done to remove these pesky spores, thought it might be of interest to you. Go to my blog here
I have it and had my daughter's car covered in it. I took it to a local detail shop and they used white vinegar to remove it from the car.
Car wax worked in the removal from my car (safely) with a little elbow grease.
On my new truck, I used 'Turtle Wax Spray Bug & Tar and Tree Sap Remover'. I sprayed it on the spots (in small sections) and let it soak in for a few seconds. I then rubbed the spots with pieces of an old soft towel, occasionally using my finger nail thru the towel. In about 4 hours I got all of the spots off, probably because the spots were 2 days old or less.

From houses

I抳e used bleach-water on the vinyl siding and it抯 been the only thing that helped at all (still took some pretty good scrubbing)...
Had an estimated 100 plus spots per square foot. A high pressure sprayer, bristle brush, plastic pot scrubber, and strong (vinyl safe) cleaners had no effect on the spots. A sharpened bamboo chop stick was the best tool we found for removing the spots. A sponge and detergent would then clean off the rest.
The last thing we had done was to paint over the spores that were on the aluminum trim using oil based paint and to have a few screens rescreened.
Couldn抰 be removed with a brush and if picked off with a fingernail left a brown stain) called a power washing company, described the situation and they told her it was Artillery Fungus and they wouldn't even take our money because it was virtually impossible to get off.
I have started using an ink eraser on the spots. It does leave a smudge, but takes out the stain completely. I am going to try car wax to even out the smudges.
Labor intensive. I used a sponge with Simple Green on it (full strength is good) and in the other hand you take an INK eraser and you erase it, adding some Simple Green every few strokes. It removes it completely, then you buff the siding hard to remove any eraser smudges.
Only way that I have defeated the fungus is to wash the walls with "outside clorox" along with a brillo pad. It is not a sure cure.
Had one product that has recently helped me in cleaning off the spots left by the artillery fungus. It's called 'Pro-Tek Chemical' and when mixed in about a 10-1 solution of water ( and while using some small bristled type pad & elbow grease) I have been able to remove much of the worst of it. While I have just started using it, I cannot say what (if any) long term negative outcomes might be on my white siding.
Within a week or two after landing, the spores may be emulsified with soapy water or removed with mineral spirits.
I have heard that a product called Jomax and bleach may work.
I've tried to get the spots off the surfaces and they don't really budge.
I am able to remove the "spots" on the windows with a drywall putty knife and some soapy water. We have casement windows, so the fungus that is on the "white" vinyl casement around the window is the worse. Our siding is a wood grain tan color, so it does not show as bad.
Here is a solution we recommend for removing the black spots:
1/2 cup detergent (Tide, for example)
2/3 cup trisodium phosphate (Soilax, for example)
1 quart 5% sodium hypochlorite (Chlorox, for example)
3 quarts water
We suggest applying this solution with a soft bristled brush and removing with water.
Beforehand we tried to remove the black spots with a power washer but to no avail. A year passed by and the condition grew worse. I tried steel-wool, but that really didn't do much. My wife tried a green Brillo pad and water. That had some noticeable affect but seemed to take a lot of scrubbing. Then, I tried Mr. Clean Magic Eraser out on the siding and with very little effort the spots came right off. I tried it on all three sides of the house and it removed every bit of it from the areas I applied the pad. Our vinyl siding has texturing to it, and so it was surprising to see how easy the spots were taken off with the Mr. Clean product. So ecstatic was I that I kept wiping away the spots within arms reach until the pad was depleted.
Each spring I take a plastic scraper and remove all the spots I can find, then wash the siding with Clorox Cleanup. It's time consuming and a pain staking process, but I manage to remove 98-99% of the spots, with a thin outer circle usually remaining.
When my husband noticed it I went to action right away- the Mr. Clean sponges work really well and I have been able to get the majority of it off of our bay window, screens and door. Of course this is only feasible because it is not as severe as in the past and the rest of the house is brick, but thought you might want to pass this along. It removes the entire spot and doesn't scratch.

Good luck.
Ed Gulliksen