Mold (prevention)

[Dale Miner]

On another forum, the question of mildew and mold came up, and I made this reply to the question.
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Mildew, and more importantly mold (the kind that discolors the wood deeply) is a problem for me with the lighter colored woods like soft maple, and heavy section pieces of ash. I've not had a problem with darker woods like cherry and walnut.

In the past, I tried using diluted, and even full strength chlorine bleach on rough-outs to prevent the fungal growth during drying with the paper bag method. The use of bleach after roughing out seemed to have no effect on the mold and mildew growth.

Some web browsing led me to believe that in effect, the use of chloring bleach was counter productive. Even full strenth from the jug, household bleach has water as it's main ingredient. The chlorine in the mix will leave the wood within a day or two, and the water that was introduced during the application will remain for a much longer period. After the chlorine leaves, airborn spores find a surface with high moisture and flourish. Therefore, treating with household chlorine bleach actually results in a promotion of fungal activity (in my opinion).

Lately, a near 100% sucess has been obtained by treating rough-outs with boric acid dissolved in hot water. The solution of course does add water to the rough-out, but the important part of the mix, the boric acid, does not evaporate. The boric acid causes the ph of the mixture to be toxic to any fungus or spores on the surface of the wood, and as the water evaporates, the boric acid remains on the surface of the wood, preventing any airborn spores from finding conditions favorable for growth.

Some of the web surfing also indicates that vinegar, and citrus juice will also have the long lasting surface retardant effect. The boric acid mixture seems to have no effect on the color of the wood.

I'm pretty sure that during the second turning the boric acid will become airborne dust and might irritate mucous membranes, although it's not been a problem for me.
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Betty, best I can do for now.

Later,
Dale M

 

[Joe Greiner]

I think you're on the right track, with the boric acid. Several years ago, in search of mildewcides/fungicides, I downloaded a page, and had to use parts of its title in a Google search, just now, to find the url. Here 'tis: http://alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/homemade.html

Two "magic potions" are listed. Both involve boric acid. And substitute for much more expensive commercial products.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Might be cheaper and easier to acquire if you simply use Borax. Pretty good against bugs, too. The Old Ranger recommends it. Don't eat it, because it's banned as a food additive here.

Or, you could dry fast enough to prevent mildew getting a hold on the wood. Don't bag for the first day or so, and never use wet shavings as a buffer, use dry, and change them when wet. Mildew won't spalt the wood, because it's not the right family of fungi, but if you keep spalted wood above ~18% moisture, it'll continue to grow, even with mildew as a weed.

 

[Carl Ford]

Use denatured alcohol to avold mold

I always turn green logs to finial thickness in 1 step and then soak in denatured alcohol to avoid mold.

Lots of people use this method to speed up the drying process. Faster drying for me is just a side effect. I just don't want any mold.

I have never tried soaking whole logs. Probably will work.

The denatured alcohol replaces the water in the green turned bowls.

For Alcohol Method see http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/turning/articles_473.shtml

I am to lazy to do the paper hats in above article. I just soak my bowls for a couple of days then remove and wrap in brown paper for a week.

I often soak things for a week. I have accidentally soaked things for 3 weeks. No side effects. No problems.

 

[Betty Scarpino]

On another forum, the question of mildew and mold came up, and I made this reply to the question.
-------------------------------
Mildew, and more importantly mold (the kind that discolors the wood deeply) is a problem for me with the lighter colored woods like soft maple, and heavy section pieces of ash. I've not had a problem with darker woods like cherry and walnut.

In the past, I tried using diluted, and even full strength chlorine bleach on rough-outs to prevent the fungal growth during drying with the paper bag method. The use of bleach after roughing out seemed to have no effect on the mold and mildew growth.

Some web browsing led me to believe that in effect, the use of chloring bleach was counter productive. Even full strenth from the jug, household bleach has water as it's main ingredient. The chlorine in the mix will leave the wood within a day or two, and the water that was introduced during the application will remain for a much longer period. After the chlorine leaves, airborn spores find a surface with high moisture and flourish. Therefore, treating with household chlorine bleach actually results in a promotion of fungal activity (in my opinion).

Lately, a near 100% sucess has been obtained by treating rough-outs with boric acid dissolved in hot water. The solution of course does add water to the rough-out, but the important part of the mix, the boric acid, does not evaporate. The boric acid causes the ph of the mixture to be toxic to any fungus or spores on the surface of the wood, and as the water evaporates, the boric acid remains on the surface of the wood, preventing any airborn spores from finding conditions favorable for growth.

Some of the web surfing also indicates that vinegar, and citrus juice will also have the long lasting surface retardant effect. The boric acid mixture seems to have no effect on the color of the wood.

I'm pretty sure that during the second turning the boric acid will become airborne dust and might irritate mucous membranes, although it's not been a problem for me.
-----------------------------

Betty, best I can do for now.

Later,
Dale M

Dale,
I just found your post. I will copy it and use it as a tip in the journal. Ed Davidson assures me that less than 10% of AAW members use the Forum, so I believe this topic will be of interest to the other 90% (or more) AAW members.

Thank you, Dale, much appreciated.

Betty Scarpino, Editor, AW

 

[john lucas]

I got interested in the Boric Acid dust and looked it up on Wikipedia. Pretty interesting. It's worth a scan. did you know it's used to control Fusion and also to make green colors in fireworks. See what you can learn from the AAW forum's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boric_acid