What is the difference between mold and mildew?
by 
bigredgrama
ANSWERS: 2
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Merriam-Webster Online says that they're both types of fungus (vegetative organisms that live on decaying organic matter). Here's a slightly more specific (and possibly contradictory?) set of definitions. MOLD: A multi-cellular, microscopic vegetable plant which forms cobweblike masses of branching threads from the surface of which tiny fertile threads project into the air bearing the part of the plant from which spores develop. Mold may be of brilliant colors or black and white, depending on the type. Molds can develop on leather, cloth, paper, etc., especially in the presence of relatively high heat and relative humidity. MILDEW: A growth caused by micro-organisms, whose spores, in a moist, warm environment, become molds.
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kabama's answer is very good for telling the difference between mold and mildew. However, there is a problem with the definitions that he uses. In his answer, he keeps calling mold plants. According to what I learned in my biology and historical geology classes, fungi and plants are considered two separate kingdoms of life (the kingdoms are the largest divisions into which we separate life). Plants are multicelular organism that do photosynthesis and have cell wall on their cells. Fungi are multicelular organisms that have cell walls, but don't do photosynthesis. It may be that the definitions that were outdated (fungi used to be grouped with plants), but the kingdoms as they now stand were defined at least two decades ago.
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