Mold Spores in Spalted Wood

[Lyle Jamieson]

I was about to put a piece of spalted maple on the lathe this morning, was planning on turning it with the bark on because the bark was pretty thin and still securely attached.
Usually I'll hit it with a wooden mallet....and see if the bark stays attached. As I hit it a couple times I saw some black mold spores release into the air. I decided to take the bark off....

So....is this mold more dangerous than sanding dust to my lungs?
I usually don't wear a mask when prepping a blank. Always wear one when sanding.
Is a normal dust mask enough to protect me from mold spores?

Safety First!
Lyle

 

[Oliver Moss]

Mold can certainly be very dangerous depending on how sensitive one is to it and how much one is exposed to it. I am quite sensitive to it so I always go the extra mile to make sure I'm not exposed if possible.

I would say a normal dust mask would be the minimum for me personally, but again you might not be as effected as I am.

 

[robo hippy]

From Dr. Spalt, aka Seri Robertson, the fungi spores that cause the spalting only eat wood, not us, and don't go after us. A lot of other molds and fungi out in the woods can be dangerous to us. It probably wouldn't hurt to wear a mask, or at least do it outside.

robo hippy

 

[Brian Gustin]

Black mold - the kind you may often find in a house that has had flood damage, can be cause to condemn a building, I have read somewhere, so I would assume it can be rather dangerous...

 

[Dean Center]

Black mold - the kind you may often find in a house that has had flood damage, can be cause to condemn a building, I have read somewhere, so I would assume it can be rather dangerous...

This urban myth just won't ever go away, maybe because remediation companies make a good living off the panic.

Mold of almost any kind is not really dangerous to us, EXCEPT in people like Oliver where there is an allergy, which can trigger asthma or severe allergic reactions. Yes, you can get an infection in your ear canal. And there are people who have aspergillus in their bronchial tree, which is annoying and troublesome enough to get treated, but it's not 'dangerous' like acute bacterial pneumonia (or Covid).

The truly unfortunate victims of major flooding who end up with their home covered in mold to waist level have to remove and replace sheet rock, and do other remediation measures. Sometimes, a long standing mold infestation is so bad and in so many impossible to access nooks and crannies that a very old building might need to be condemned because the landlord can't assure tenants of a safe (allergy free) environment. But those of you who live in humid places deal with mold on a daily basis. For most, it's chronic sniffles or a naggy little cough now and then. Annoying, but not dangerous.

Mold spores are relatively large and a well fitting dust mask or half mask respirator should provide adequate filtration.

 

[Brian Gustin]

This urban myth just won't ever go away, maybe because remediation companies make a good living off the panic.

Mold of almost any kind is not really dangerous to us, EXCEPT in people like Oliver where there is an allergy, which can trigger asthma or severe allergic reactions. Yes, you can get an infection in your ear canal. And there are people who have aspergillus in their bronchial tree, which is annoying and troublesome enough to get treated, but it's not 'dangerous' like acute bacterial pneumonia (or Covid).

The truly unfortunate victims of major flooding who end up with their home covered in mold to waist level have to remove and replace sheet rock, and do other remediation measures. Sometimes, a long standing mold infestation is so bad and in so many impossible to access nooks and crannies that a very old building might need to be condemned because the landlord can't assure tenants of a safe (allergy free) environment. But those of you who live in humid places deal with mold on a daily basis. For most, it's chronic sniffles or a naggy little cough now and then. Annoying, but not dangerous.

Mold spores are relatively large and a well fitting dust mask or half mask respirator should provide adequate filtration.

Good to know. I only recall reading about black mold somewhere and how home inspector told owner the building had to be torn down... The rest was just inferred conjecture. I never really read up into it, since we haven't had mold problems, to speak of (Other than bread/food/etc.)

 

[Randy Heinemann]

@Dean Center " But those of you who live in humid places deal with mold on a daily basis. For most, it's chronic sniffles or a naggy little cough now and then. Annoying, but not dangerous.

Bozeman, MT - hardly a humid place. I've been there many times. Great place, but not humid.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, living in a very high humidity area, the Pacific North Wet, mold is a house hold problem, especially in the winter. So strange to visit some places where vent fans in the bathroom are not standard. Some of the house hold molds that can form, and they seem to get lumped into 'black' mold, can be harmful or fatal to some, and there have been houses that require extensive work to rid the house of those mold spores, and some times the houses need to be razed. Burning would probably be more efficient for killing all the spores. I would urge caution with any mold that grows on foods, or household walls.

robo hippy

 

[Randy Heinemann]

I have read a couple of articles concerning mold in spalted wood and they came to the same conclusion that, unless you have some special allergy, the mold isn't harmful. However, basic fine dust in itself is harmful to the lungs. I never turn without my dust collector on which is connected to the hood mounted on my lathe. In addition to that, I wear a powered helmet (both dust and protection with a shield) and I use an air cleaner. At this point, the dust collector, helmet, and air cleaner are all HEPA. I'm sure nothing is perfect, but I think these 3 methods assure me of the least amount of dust in my lungs and shop, regardless of mold spores. I believe completely in using the best dust collection possible in the shop.

 

[Mike Johnson]

There are 100's of various mold spores, some are more hazardous than others. most of these have an accumulative effect on a person unless you
have a severe sensitivity to one of them. There are mold spores in the air that we breath every day. limiting your direct exposure to a known source is always the best choice when you have readily available filter masks. Repeated exposure can cause a sensitivity to some of the varieties.

 

[Brian Nowak-Thompson]

like Mike said, there are 100s of mold species, but only a few select color of the spores. So just because it is black doesn't mean anything despite the common perception of "black" mold. Don't generalize. Anything.

 

[John Whitley]

From Dr. Spalt, aka Seri Robertson, the fungi spores that cause the spalting only eat wood, not us, and don't go after us. A lot of other molds and fungi out in the woods can be dangerous to us. It probably wouldn't hurt to wear a mask, or at least do it outside.

robo hippy

To add to that, Dr. Robinson has two articles in the AAW learning resources on this exact topic. You need to be an AAW member and logged in to access that page. The last two articles linked there are specifically on Spalted Wood, and both dispel the myths about dangers from spalted wood and clarify what real risks you may need to pay attention to, such as specific allergies you may have, etc.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

The minute you started to fill your lungs with the surrounding air, you were breathing in every kind of mold and fungus spores around, and you are continuing to do so with every breath, dangerous ?, NO, but lots of BS, and that's probably more dangerous.

People trying to make a living by suggesting it is oh so dangerous, you fall for it, they will clean it all, while the same spores are floating around and settling down on all surfaces, with the right conditions they will thrive

The wood dust floating around when working/sanding wood are the biggest danger, and over time will plug up your lungs if you don't wear good dust masks, so wear breathing protection for that.

 

[John Snow]

The wood dust floating around when working/sanding wood are the biggest danger, and over time will plug up your lungs if you don't wear good dust masks, so wear breathing protection for that.

The fine wood dust probably is the bigger danger, but people more sensitive to mold are ... more sensitive. Just like to any allergen, some of us are more affected, some to a debilitating or even fatal extent. My best friend had a double lung transplant last year. Last week he told me that even though they hadn't found the cause for his initial disease, a possible cause could have been heavy exposure to malt dust over almost 20 years (he was a brewery owner). His doc told him that sawdust could also do the same damage to the lungs.

What I take from his story is that some things will kill most people, like heavy exposure to asbestos, or silica dust, but other things, like mold and sawdust, or even malt dust, can kill some people. And no, he ain't dead yet, thank goodness, but he has to be real careful about the general environment now.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

As I said above, I have never doubted the danger of dust, especially the fine dust that escapes into the air without equipment to prevent it. I spent the early years of my woodworking not knowing that there was a danger from dust or, for that matter, loud continuous sound. That was in the mid-1970's when that sort of information wasn't really prevalent. Since I understood the dangers, dust collection and sound protection have been my priorities, even if it meant that I spent my money first on good dust collection and much later on a new tool I wanted. For the past 30 years, I've had 2 cyclones. The first one was good but not great. The second is a cyclone with a HEPA filter. In addition, for that same period, I've used a ceiling hung air cleaner with a non-HEPA filter only because HEPA filter air cleaners weren't all that available. Plus I've used a powered dust helmet while working with power tools. Now, I have the HEPA cyclone, a HEPA (or just under HEPA) air cleaner, and a HEPA powered respirator/helmet. When I turn I use all of those just because I have no interest in taking the chance that I'll be OK without all of that.

I know there is a lot of information available on dust and collection. With the filters and dust collection equipment and air cleaners available today, I feel the best course of action is to outfit the shop with HEPA based filtering to keep the finest dust from recirculating and you from breathing it. You really can't afford to cause damage to your lungs or your hearing. No amount of money can buy a replacement for your original healthy lungs and good hearing.

 

[Lyle Jamieson]

Thanks for all your input! Safety First!