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Green Wood / Mold Issue

B

Brad Richards

Joined
Dec 10, 2021
Messages
11
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3
Location
Birmingham, Al
A few weeks ago I obtained some slabs of sweetgum and sycamore. The slabs varied in thickness 4", 6" and 8"; with each being about 14"-16" wide. When I cut the slabs to length, after cutting the slabs to length, I applied Anchorseal 2 to the end grain, and also brushed on approximately 4" around all four sides. After a week the sweetgum started showing signs of mold (as can be seen in the photo below); the sycamore shows no mold. I'm storing the wood in my basement which stays around 55-60 degrees. Is it normal to have this much mold growing on the surface? Could it be due to the fact that all wood/moisture is stored in one corner of the basement?



IMG_8498.JPEG
 
Possibly stupid question (that I'm sure has been asked and answered many times) but, assuming you wear proper PPE, is this a problem? Would that surface layer just be turned off and then dry out harmlessly?
 
Brad Richards said:
A few weeks ago I obtained some slabs of sweetgum and sycamore. The slabs varied in thickness 4", 6" and 8"; with each being about 14"-16" wide. When I cut the slabs to length, after cutting the slabs to length, I applied Anchorseal 2 to the end grain, and also brushed on approximately 4" around all four sides. After a week the sweetgum started showing signs of mold (as can be seen in the photo below); the sycamore shows no mold. I'm storing the wood in my basement which stays around 55-60 degrees. Is it normal to have this much mold growing on the surface? Could it be due to the fact that all wood/moisture is stored in one corner of the basement?



View attachment 76823
Click to expand...
Whenever I see that kind of mold on the surface, I always spray it with the bathroom (or kitchen) cleaner, like Clorox, "with bleach". Might take a few spritzes over a couple days to kill it off.

I kind of agree all the wood, with fresh cut ends, has created a little micro-environment in that corner of your basement. Too much moisture. I would think it would dissipate relatively quickly as the ends of each slab dry out a bit.
 
Last edited:
Dan Stromberg said:
Possibly stupid question (that I'm sure has been asked and answered many times) but, assuming you wear proper PPE, is this a problem? Would that surface layer just be turned off and then dry out harmlessly?
Click to expand...
I typically cut the slabs to rounds on my bandsaw when ready to use, so you would cut the mold off there. If you are going to slice into spindle blanks, it would still be there when turning (or you can also cut it off the end of each spindle). You could use proper PPE and wouldn't be a big problem when turning, but I think it would depend on if the mold spores are still active, or has the wood dryed out, and are the spores still active (or not) before you start turning it? Those pictured above are evidently active spores based on the original post.

In any case, I like to kill it off and not let it get any worse, which is why I made a comment above about spraying it with a weak bleach solution. If you turn with mold spores that are active I think the mold would go airborne in your turning area "for a while". I'm not sure about all that, but it's an assumption.
 
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