Mold starting to form?

[WoodChucker]

I have a load of red pine inside my saw mill shed thats just starting to form black mold (i think). The shed is wide open in the front and also open on one side. The stack of wood is located in the back corner where there may not be enough air moving. I have a large fan above the wood pile blowing across the top, but it's more for my comfort then for the wood. I added another small fan today and have it pointing at the side where the mold is at. Is lack of air the problem or is this normal for pine? Is there anything else I should be doing that might help? Thanks!

R.T.

[woodmills1]

Is the black in the wood or is something black forming on the wood.  around here any white pine will quickly stain black when it is above 70 degrees, however I don't usually see it in our red pine as quickly.  If the logs were a little old then it probally is blue/black pine stain.

[Tom]

A lack of good air flowl is probably your biggest problem.  It's hard to get the moist air out of the inside of a stack of wood and putting it against a wall or in a corner doesn't help.   A mildicide can help.  I've used laundry bleach as I stacked.  Your best bet is get it dried quickly.  If you have to restack it, apply a mildicide and clean/scrape/pressure-wash the mold from the boards.

[Minnesota_boy]

I agree with Tom, airflow is your problem.  Either get a big fan blowing at the side of the pile or move that pile out into the breeze.  You need to remove water from the surface of the lumber quickly when the temperature is elevated, such as in summer, or mold will quickly take over.  You can get by with stacking in a shed like that when the temperature is cool during the day if the humidity is low, but unless the moisture content is low by the time it gets warm out, you have mold problems.

[solidwoods]

I vote lack of air also. I would sticker the pine outside with 1.5" tall stickers, 2 chimney stack* or stack it with space between each board being the width of the thickness of the lumber. it if you wish . Bring under shelter in 30-60 days and resticker 1.5"tall.

To save this (eventhough all it should do is blue stain, not rot)
Resticker outside as above.

*2 board space 2 board space, 2 board and create 2 chimneys in the stack.
JIM

[WoodChucker]

Ok thanks everyone, I'll go out today and get a bigger fan, plus aim the the other big fan I already have at the pile.

So with proper air flow will it stop the mold from spreading or will it continue to spread and grow now that it's infected? I guess what I'm asking is do I need to kill it or will it just stop growing with good air flow?

Also, will I be able to run the boards with mold on them trough a planner and get rid of it, or does it go real deep into the wood?

Thanks for your help!

R.T.

[Minnesota_boy]

The mold will continue to grow and get deeper into the wood until the growing conditions change.  If the wood becomes dry enough, the mold will stop growing.  Just wish I had a magic number for the moisture content that you need to shoot for and how long it will take to achieve it.  >:(

[Bill_B]

If you plan any lumber that has mold on it use a respirator that will filter out mold.  Mold is something that you don't want to get in your lungs.

[WoodChucker]

Hey thanks guys, I went out and got an extra fan today so I'll see if that takes care of it. I was able to wipe most of it off with a glove I had on, so it must not be to deep into the wood yet. Thanks again for the help!

R.T.

[Tom]

Woodchucker,
It's fairly common for molds to grow in the sawdust that is left on the board.   Perhaps you may be experiencing some of that too.  That is part of a learning curve that we all have to pass through over and over again.   It's important to knock the sawdust off of the board before you stack it but we get away with not doing it so often that "the one time" really gets us all, again and again. :D

[chet]

I had a stack of red pine 8/4 that started to mold this spring. It was stacked outdoors in the wide open spaces. I had just stacked the piles to close together. I spread them out and problem was solved.

[RMay]

Woodchucker you can lean it up a week or two where the sun and wind can get to it before you stack it on stickers it works on lobloly pine  8)

[WoodChucker]

Tom, it's funny you mention the sawdust left on the board, where the mold starts on my stack of wood is the first 5 or 6 layers. I started taking a little broom and knocking off the sawdust on both sides of each board before I stacked it. After that point theres no mold, so your probably right.

Chet, yeah I can understand that, it's been pretty hot and lots of rain around here for about the last month so I'm sure that may play into also.

Thanks for the input and help, I appreciate it.

R.T.