Pine Boards are Molding....I BEAT IT!

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

My biggest seller is a Pine board 1 x 8 x 10.
After each cant is milled to lumber, I hand brush each side of the board.
After I stack and sticker, I will take the push broom and sweep the boards again.
At the end of the day, I take the leaf blower and blow any excess dust from between the boards.

I have experimented with 2 inch stickers, now I just use 1 1/4 inch stickers.....size of stickers does not matter.
I have tried a fan blowing air between the boards over night.

The humidity is high, temp is in the 90's and up.

Very little breeze in S.C this time of year and when we do get a breeze, its hot.

MY BOARDS ARE MOLDING! 

Would it help to spray the boards with a BLEACH mix after cleaning?
Could I add bleach to my lube?

Even the dry Pine logs I saw where I do not use lube, mold a little. There is some moisture in every log.

Has anyone ever used bleach to solve this problem? Or at least tried?

  

 

[EZ]

I'm not an expert on this milling and drying but I air dry all my lumber outside with some kind of roof over it. A block wall will draw moisture.
EZ

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I'm not an expert on this milling and drying but I air dry all my lumber outside with some kind of roof over it. A block wall will draw moisture.
EZ

The block wall is 15 feet away and the other sides of the building are open. I have stacked it outside also. It will still mold.

I think I'm gonna try a mist of bleach tomorrow. Gotta try something. Thanks EZ.

[Buck]

Rack em for a couple of weeks then go to stacks. X fashion, just lean them inward on a beam from both directions. Old timers around here would do that a couple of weeks and then go to flat stacks this time of the year.

[losttheplot]

I think the bleach would evaporate pretty quick.

[wwsjr]

I have used 50% mix of cheap bleach and water. Spray with pump-up sprayer as I stacked. I only sprayed the top side of the boards. 1" stickers were used. Worked for me.

[NMFP]

You cane use bleach however, The reason you have mold growing on the boards is because of the sugars in the wood.  The fungi eat the sugars and therefore, grow on the lumber.

I personally use sap stain control products from Kop-Coat and I believe that Baileys has a product too but I do not know the name of the product.

Bleach will work for a small amount of time but as soon as the bleach dries up and the sugars are still present, they will begine to mold again.

Try using fluted stickers with alot of air flow.  Normally if you build a pack that is 42 or 48" wide, you will notice the interior boards will most likely be molded.  Try building narrower packs with fluted stickers and make sure you have ALOT of air flow and I am positive your wold problems will go away.

If you need more help, please ask.  I have other suggestions as well.

[RMay]

bleach will work but stay bright & air  works the best  8)

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

bleach will work but stay bright & air  works the best  8)

What is STAY BRIGHT? RMAY
Thanks.

[Tree Feller]

The high relative humidity combined with the perfect temperature is why fungi are growing on your lumber. The RH just won't let it dry quickly enough. The good news is that it doesn't really hurt the lumber structurally. The bad news is that your customers probably won't buy it because it is ugly.

Bleach will definitely kill the fungi and might allow the lumber to dry below the 20% MC needed to sustain fungal growth before it becomes ineffective. It is certainly worth a try.

If the bleach doesn't work (or even if it does) you might think about using a borate product like Tim-Bor. It's an effective insecticide and a fungicide, too. I use it on my hardwood lumber to prevent powderpost beetle infestation. It's also completely safe and non-toxic.

http://www.amazon.com/Tim-bor-Professional-Insecticide-Fungicide-1-5/dp/B00282L6T2

[SandburRanch]

This product looks like a reasonable solution.

http://www.qualityborate.com/Applications/MoldPreventionApplications/BoraSolPCPlus/tabid/130/Default.aspx

[cutterboy]

I know how you feel David. I had some white birch mold badly last year. First time ever that happened to me. We don't get as much of the hot humid weather as you do down there but we do get some. I had about 120bf that looked really bad. I ended up selling it all for 50 cents a bf and I was happy to get that.

I hope you find a way to keep the mold away. After all the work of sawing and stacking it just makes you mad to see it mold. >:(

  Cutter

[cutterboy]

Welcome SandburRanch. Looks like a good product. I wonder how much it costs.

[SandburRanch]

I'm not sure of the cost.  As a matter of fact I didn't even see that it states "available soon" until after I replied.  It was just a google search that looked promising.

No wood mold where I live @ 109°F with a RH of 12 percent.  But we don't have any saw mills either. :D

And thanks for the welcome.

[bandmiller2]

This is no help, but I try not to mill the good pine in the summer months.Prehaps some sort of kiln for the freashly cut pine.I'am sure bleach will help but not a cure your problem.Blue stain in the summer is something we have to live with. Frank C.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, SandburRanch.   

[bandmiller2]

Dave,it helps if you cut in cooler weather and inventory dried pine for the warmer weather.If someone wants what you don't have explain to them about the blues, and they will just have to live with it.Most of my pine goes on rough buildings that will be stained anyways,most folks understand if you explain it. Frank C.

[NMFP]

If you are confident that you have good air flow, build narrower packs.  I always teach my students the tricks of the trade to produce the highest quality of lumber possible.  Most often, there are many free ways to deal with problems if you are willing to adjust accordingly.

[WDH]

David,

I cut some in JANUARY and some it still molded  .  I was chagrined  >:(. 

I use a 25 gallon spray tank that has a diaphram pump that runs off a battery power pack.  It pumps at 60 psi.  There is a long wand.  This is a set up that Customsawyer showed me.  He used the tank on an ATV to run off a battery, and was used to spray rows of seedlings for grass control.  This beats the DanG out of a pump-up or backpack sprayer which is way too slow and way too much work.

I lay the boards off the saw right onto a 10' long stacking table that I can unload with the forks on the tractor when I am done spraying.  The boards slide right off the back of the mill onto the table so that I do not have to "tote" boards.  Customsawyers saws that it is not acceptable to tote a board.  Lay out a 10' layer, spray, flip, and spray again.  You can then lay the next layer right on top of the already sprayed boards, so you can do as many layers as your forks can pick up at a time.  I spray for powderpost beetles in oak, ash, hickory, pecan, and other ring porous woods.  I have not sprayed pine, but I am sure that it would work just as well.

I use Solubor, a sodium borate salt.  It is a dissolvable powder that is mixed in fertilizer tanks as a boron nutrient additive.  Tim-bor is also a sodium borate salt.  These two products have the exact same amount of elemental boron, 20.5%.  The deal is that Tim-bor is labeled for pesticide use.  However, it costs 3 times as much as Solubor.  A 25 pound pail of Timbor is $83, or $3.32 per pound.  A 50 pound bag of Solubor is $50, or $1.00 per pound.  Mix at 1 to 1.5 pounds per gallon of water.  A gallon of spray will coat about 100 BF, spraying both sides and the edges.  I don't see why you could not add chlorine to the spray to inhibit the mold and mildew, with or without the borate.  I am not sure if the borate controls mold and mildew, but I think that it might.  Maybe you can do an experiment  ;D.

This pics shows the sprayer behind the mill in the background.  The spray table is behind the head of the mill, but you can't see it good in this oic.


 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Dave,it helps if you cut in cooler weather and inventory dried pine for the warmer weather.If someone wants what you don't have explain to them about the blues, and they will just have to live with it.Most of my pine goes on rough buildings that will be stained anyways,most folks understand if you explain it. Frank C.

You're probably right Frank. The fence builders, barn siders, etc. don't "give a mold" what it looks like as long as it is strong wood. Others are afraid of GREEN WOOD.....and most people LOVE Blue Stain. There's a big difference in the green mold on my boards and blue stain. Blue stain is kinda of nice to most of my customers.

There is country store 400 yards above me transforming the entire inside to look western. They have been putting in my board and baton for a month and it looks DanG good. They keep the temp. in the store at 73 degrees while they are installing the boards and storing them as they need them. At this temp in the store....no mold at all on the stacked lumber.
I am going to keep sawing for them and transport the boards to the store within 2 hours to get them in the cool temp. This has cut down the mold almost 98%. They palm sand the boards before they put them up and that helps a lot too. If there is mold, you have to look close to find it. And I mean close. They sprayed some TILEX on it and the mold disappears.
I will send pics of the store later as it continues to transform.
Thanks for all ya'lls input.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Thanks for the info Danny.....I have a 15 gallon tank I can mix a solution in with a wand sprayer and it runs on 12 volt.
I'm gonna try something.....you can bet your sweet bippy!

[NMFP]

Tilex has sodium hypochlorite which is a form of bleach.  There is also a surfactant with this that holds the bleach on the wood.  A surfactant is a detergent or soap which allows the bleach to stay on the wood and not evaporate quickly.  Knowing chemistry helps to know how everyday products can be used for other purposes.  Many times, free or low cost.

[WDH]

Having to spray is a pain in the butt log.

[NMFP]

I have sawn millions of feet of pine and never sprayed.  Build narrow packs with fluted stickers and keep constant air flow, no mold will grow as long as you have good air flow no matter the humidity level. 

[west penn]

   How wide are your stacks?  the pic shows them to be fairly wide.  Try a small stack outside with 42inch long stickers. are your boards on the outside of the stack getting moldy also?

[WDH]

The mold that I got was on a 5 foot stack.  About the only species that I am comfortable anymore with a 5 foot stack are the oaks, walnut, and cherry. 

[red oaks lumber]

you need to have your piles in an area that has the most air flow,  that location might not be the most conveinent but, moldy lumber is not real conveinet either.
use stickers that are closer to 42" keeping your stack narrower, less air flow will still be effective.
  just remember air flow, air flow , air flow.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

   How wide are your stacks?  the pic shows them to be fairly wide.  Try a small stack outside with 42inch long stickers. are your boards on the outside of the stack getting moldy also?

My stacks are .......drum roll...... .......9 foot wide. And yes I am getting mold on the edge boards. In fact my pic shows the first 2 or 3 boards.

[crosscut]

poston i might add if you use the borates be carefull of any runoff thinking it will kill grass and trees they  get to much of it.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

poston i might add if you use the borates be carefull of any runoff thinking it will kill grass and trees they  get to much of it.

[slider]

David i have been using strait bleach on my wide boards,pine,with good results but a pain.I'm going to try running a big fan next batch .I think once the moisture is below 20% you are good to go.

[bandmiller2]

Question for you smart woodsy types,are the mold spores born upon the wind or naturally on/in the logs.What part does woodyard hygene play,do yards get infected.??As stated I think quick dry is best and easiest cure,I've had some luck with narrow piles and a big fan. Frank C.

[NMFP]

Spores are everywhere.  The issue is that the sugars are redily exposed and alot of them so, the mold starts immediately.  This is also true for Birch logs as well.  Take a birch log and cut it and let it lay for a year, you will see that the log will be rotting much quicker than most other species.  Birch has a very high sugar content which provides a HUGE beffet of sugars to be consumed.

All log yards will have the same problems, its just in how you manage your sawing rotation and what species you saw at certain times of the year. 

Pine, spruce, maples, basswood  = cool weather

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I have a pile of FRESH sawdust I dump everyday in a pile away from the mill. Why does the pile of fresh sawdust not mold deep inside? Deep inside the pile it gets NO air. Shouldn't mold be present there? It's not.

Just wondering.

[Alyeska Pete]

David,
Maye it's an optical illusion, but it appears that you don't have much horizontal separation between each board in each lindividual ayer.  That would really inhibit air circulation vertically if you don''t have much air flow horizontally be it natural or induced.
Pete

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

David,
Maye it's an optical illusion, but it appears that you don't have much horizontal separation between each board in each lindividual ayer.  That would really inhibit air circulation vertically if you don''t have much air flow horizontally be it natural or induced.
Pete

Hey Pete.....no illusion.....I have stacked boards every which way I can. In S.C. this time of year, we have NO air flow at all. Just stale, hot, humid air.
I'm on my way to WAL-MART to get some bleach.

[smwwoody]

We dead stack and spray every layer with sta-brite from ISK Biocides.  Dead stacked pine can set for up to 2 weeks with no mold.  we mix it 100:1 with water and spray it with a demand pump through a car wash type set up.

http://www.loghelp.com/p-1001-sta-brite-p-biocide-5-gal.aspx

Woody

[Bogue Chitto]

I sell a lot of those 1x8x8 also David and have the same problem (South Louisiana). The only thing I have ever used is bleach.  One of my customer that buys the lumber makes furniture.  He said that a lot New Orleans people like the stain so I just keep him a stack of moldy boards. To much mold he runs them through a sander.

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

David,

The nine foot wide stacks surely have a lot to do with the problem. I believe you need to redesign your stacks and use MUCH narrower stacks, 48" max and probably 42" would be even better. And provide separation between the stacks. Align the stacks so that prevailing winds move though the stacks (side to side) parallel to the stickers.

Good Luck!

Herb

[Tree Feller]

I have a pile of FRESH sawdust I dump everyday in a pile away from the mill. Why does the pile of fresh sawdust not mold deep inside? Deep inside the pile it gets NO air. Shouldn't mold be present there? It's not.

Just wondering.

Most fungi are obligate aerobes...they need oxygen to grow. No oxygen = no mold.

[NMFP]

There is no to little oxygen in the middle of your sawdust pile.  Therefore, the microorganisms need feed and oxygen to grow, not just one of the variables but 2.  This is the same as you put a post in water and it rots off at the water line.  Not above or below.  The wood under water is free of axygen so the bacteria cannot feed and above water line, there is oxygen and food source but must commonly, the airflow keeps the moisture level too low in the wood for an organism to effectively feed.

Does this seem to clear up the situation.

On another note, you can use box fans but becareful!  They will produce laminar air flow and not turbulant because of being in an open environment.  Laminar air flow is like the air flow on the wing of an air plane.  Turbulant air flow is a circular pattern.  Meaning, laminar air flow if you have a lot of heat beside a pack of lumber, you will effectively move the hot air directly across the face of the lumber, moving spores from one board to the other.  Turbulant air flow will move the same heat, but in a circular pattern across the lumber.  You will also have spore movement but......the chances of those spores dropping on the next board are reduced greatly.

Sorry for the simpified version but not liking to type is a reason for simplified.  I teach this stuff to my students but we go into a lot more details and scientific experiments.

[SCsawdawg]

David,
I'm in the Rock Hill area too.  Now that the temps are in the 100s and that humidity is up there too, my pine is that pretty "Carolina blue" color as well.  I'm thinking about charging extra ;D.  You wouldn't be talking about Nichols store by any chance because that place is beautiful.
Generally speaking most of my customers are building sheds and barns so it usually not a problem for me, but I must admit I've learned a great deal from this post and am very happy you asked the question.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

David,
I'm in the Rock Hill area too.  Now that the temps are in the 100s and that humidity is up there too, my pine is that pretty "Carolina blue" color as well.  I'm thinking about charging extra ;D.  You wouldn't be talking about Nichols store by any chance because that place is beautiful.
Generally speaking most of my customers are building sheds and barns so it usually not a problem for me, but I must admit I've learned a great deal from this post and am very happy you asked the question.

Sawdawg, The store above my house is NIVEN'S on hwy. 5. Darren's place does look GREAT inside and out. My buddy John that was killed a few weeks ago, sawed a lot of Cedar for Nichol's Store.
And like you, I have learned a lot from my thread also!
Oh, by the way.......106 degrees this coming Saturday!  8)

[Cypressstump]

Oh, by the way.......106 degrees this coming Saturday!  8)

Catching a bit of a cold snap eh?

Our humidity is 90% and heat index of 104. just lovely !

[snowshoveler]

Hmmm...70 maybe 75 here and my pine will get that very special and highly valued blue too.
Just learn to market it different.I think someone here suggested calling it denim pine and that it is value added.
You normally have to charge more for it.
Chris

[dblair]

my friends have lots of wood stacked and they always put inch or better between the boards  so the air flows bottom up  . what do you think , maybe ?  on the other hand what works in Va. maybe not in S.C.  for instance tobacco in Va. will age in unconditioned warehouse  without mold in Ga. it molds .

[Ianab]

The humidity is the main issue.

We have problems with pine moulding like that too, with average humidity around 80% year round, and pushing 100 at times. Airflow might help, but you are pushing damp air into the stack, so drying is limited, and you can't get it dry on the surface  before mould starts.

Things that help.

Where you stack it.  One trick is to stack it up on a hill, where the wind and sun gets at it.  Not always practical, but better than  in the shade and shelter.

Get it into a kiln. Straight into a kiln and get it heated and dry right away. Pine can be dried as fast as your kiln will allow.

Spray it with an anti-sapstain chemical. It's only got to inhibit the mould for a few weeks until the surface of the wood gets dry enough.

While the way you are stacking does affect things as well, it may just be that no matter how you stack it, the mould is going to take hold to some extent. As the others have said, the spores are airborne, so they will take hold anywhere, and if conditions are correct, temp, water, sugar, oxygen and no chemicals to inhibit mould growth... then it grows.

Change even ONE of the parameters and you are OK.

Ian

[SCsawdawg]

David it is a small world indeed.  Mr. John's death was a great blow to me.  In fact, he taught me to saw, encouraged me to get my own mill, and was a true and dear friend.  The sawing community lost one of its best.  He set an example with his life that I hope I can come close to with mine.  My hats off to the sawyers who take the time to teach their trade to younger bucks like me.  He even taught me the bleach trick!  Are you the gentleman who is going to help Ms. Audrey sell his mill?  I was helping Mr. John work on it before he got sick. 

That's what I like about this forum.  People trying to help each other because they want to.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

David it is a small world indeed.  Mr. John's death was a great blow to me.  In fact, he taught me to saw, encouraged me to get my own mill, and was a true and dear friend.  The sawing community lost one of its best.  He set an example with his life that I hope I can come close to with mine.  My hats off to the sawyers who take the time to teach their trade to younger bucks like me.  He even taught me the bleach trick!  Are you the gentleman who is going to help Ms. Audrey sell his mill?  I was helping Mr. John work on it before he got sick. 

That's what I like about this forum.  People trying to help each other because they want to.

John was a good one Sawdawg. Like you, I worked on that mill many times. And yes, gonna try to help Ms. Audrey sell it. Woodmizer just did a service on it in April. Somebody will get a pretty good saw.

****************************************************************************************

Good points Ian. I have tried the fan but just blowing hot, humid air, it seems the mold grew just as fast.
I don't have any hills on the place.....but I got a bull dozer.  :D Might build one.


***************************************************************************************

Now believe this or not, I was reading these replies an hour ago and a Lady called wanting 30 boards. She and her husband are going to build some kind of small wall in their bedroom. They're from Texas and want a western look on a small wall. They just now left. When they went to load the boards I had to open my BIG MOUTH and start trying to explain about the mold. I talked for 10 minutes giving reason I can't control mold. He finally said he was a wood worker and he's seen it for years when it comes to Pine. He said all he had to do was run a belt sander over it and the mold would be gone. He's coming back with his trailer Sat. to get more.

Things that make you go ummmm!  say_what

[WDH]

The mold and mildew that turns the outside of the board black and the fungus that stains the interior of the wood that nice blue color are different critters.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

The mold and mildew that turns the outside of the board black and the fungus that stains the interior of the wood that nice blue color are different critters.

You are right my friend. I am not really worried about BLUE STAIN, it's the GREEN and I mean "GREEN" MOLD. I can rub my hand in it and it's almost like a paint.

[WDH]

I know exactly what you mean, and I hates it too  .

[Cypressstump]

How long after you cut and sticker do you start seeing the mold ? And how green was the pine when cut?

[tcsmpsi]

Yes, the mold/mildew, if not taken care of and is allowed to grow long enough,  will deteriorate the wood.  It's humid enough down here, though winter is better, there is no 'guarantee' of it not getting warm enough to grow these little spirits.

For those pines I do not wish to have 'bothered' by the little rascals, I spray with bleach water.  After the fact, spraying with said solution will help take the green out very well.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

How long after you cut and sticker do you start seeing the mold ? And how green was the pine when cut?

After I stack and sticker I will see that the mold has a good start within 48 hours. Some of my logs are dry to where the bark is just releasing and other logs are has green as 2 weeks old. I just get a load on the forks and saw. Generally sale about 600 plus a month. When a customer buys them, they agree.....get up on the barn as soon as possible. The mold will go away.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Per WDH...I did some experimenting. You can see how moldy the boards are in my first set of pics. I mixed 3 cups of bleach with 2 gallons of water ( H2O Danny)  and sprayed the boards GOOD!

So what is my experiment? Tell me if I'm wrong but mold is a type of plant....right? So I mixed in about 2 ounces of Round-Up. Hopefully when it soaks in, the round-up will help keep down any further growth until the boards sell.

                                               Below are the boards just about at their worst.


 

 


                                              Here I am spraying my secret potion.....water, bleach and Round-Up.
                                                 I'm the "Little Fat Boy" in the ORANGE SHIRT




 


                                             Here are the boards later in the day.




 



                                           Here is the stack now......I just sold 160 boards.




 


                                              Here is the reason for the mold.




 

[Tree Feller]

Yeah, the bleach will definitely kill mold. Just sell the lumber quick before it comes back!   :D

I think the addition of Roundup may not be necessary as Fungi are neither plant nor animal but are their own classification.

[tcsmpsi]

Two things....those boards weren't bad, and I make mine a mite stronger.   ;D  When the fuzzy little rascals get about a half inch tall, and telling if a board is actually in the midst of that jungle is only because you know you put one there, you have to look closely and make sure it's not starting on you.   :D

However, you have done well, and I am sure that you are much happier with that stack, now.  Eh? 

[cutterboy]

David, good for you for staying with it till you found a solution. I'm going to remember this in case I have another problem with mold.

Looks like nice country where you live. That last picture shows a bit of it and it looks real pretty.

[red oaks lumber]

your problem will always continue as long as your piling your wood in an area with minimal air flow. put your pile in the open and you wont have mold issues, the heat is only a small part of your problem. lack of air flow is the biggest enemy you face, by spraying your wood you only mask the bigger problem. :(


air flow  air flow air flow

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

your problem will always continue as long as your piling your wood in an area with minimal air flow. put your pile in the open and you wont have mold issues, the heat is only a small part of your problem. lack of air flow is the biggest enemy you face, by spraying your wood you only mask the bigger problem. :(


air flow  air flow air flow

Not looking for a long term solution. Just enough bleach to keep the mold down for a week to 10 days. The boards don't stay here long.

But you are right Steve,,,,,if I was looking for long term air drying, I would need to change a few things.

[WDH]

You must have slipped a little eye of newt into that spray H2O  :D.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

You must have slipped a little eye of newt into that spray H2O  :D.

And a bone from an Indian burial ground.  ;D

[Tree Feller]

You sure do look different in that bush hat than you do with that wide-brim hat and bibs in your avatar.   

[shelbycharger400]

dont feel bad... i have erc growing green mold that i cut 2 weeks ago..   >:(
bleach and borax isnt workin.     boxelder is the worst for mold/ fungus

[Trahlin]

Any liquid product with copper (copper sulfate) will inhibit mold development.  Be careful of what you use as copper sulfate may stain the product blue.  There are a myriad of copper solutions available through fertilizer dealers designed to be sprayed as foliar fertilizer. 

Proven in production agriculture to be a fungicide.  Used all over the world, and has been cheap until the last couple of years.  We spray copper sulfate solution on pinto bean fields to prevent mold damage.  I see no reason why it wouldn't work for your boards.

If you want to see how effective copper is at controlling fungus, look for an old house with lightning rods on the roof.  The old cables that ran from the ground rod and connected the lightning rods in circuit were made of copper.  You will not see any moss growing on the shingles in the vicinity of the copper wire. 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Well here is my experiment update. After spraying my Pine boards with Bleach & Water....it kept the mold off for 14 days. The Mold now is starting to return on my experimental boards.

However, the mold did stay away long enough for me to sell good mold free boards.  8)

[WDH]

If they molded after you sold the wood, then you can make the case that it is not your mold, but the customer's mold  :D.

[scsmith42]

David, have you tried putting a few box fans on one side of your stacks, blowing through them?  This may help and be cheaper than the bleach (and less time too!).

[Stephen1]

If you want to see how effective copper is at controlling fungus, look for an old house with lightning rods on the roof.  The old cables that ran from the ground rod and connected the lightning rods in circuit were made of copper.  You will not see any moss growing on the shingles in the vicinity of the copper wire.

And that is one of the reasons for copper flashing and ridge cap on a wood shingled roof!

[beenthere]

Some put a copper wire or narrow copper strip just under every 3rd or 4th run of beveled or lapped siding to ward off mildew.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

David, have you tried putting a few box fans on one side of your stacks, blowing through them?  This may help and be cheaper than the bleach (and less time too!).

Yes, I did try the fans. But as you know, in the Carolinas, when the heat index was 110 degrees, the fans were no help. It's cooling down a little now. Thanks goodness.

[giant splinter]

Sounds like a good reason to build an air conditioned mill shed

[bandmiller2]

A friend of mine uses cheap pool shock treatment on lumber, mostly chlorene bleach.Back when folks cut ice for ice houses they would put copper sulfate in a burlap bag and hang it in a feeder stream to keep the pond weed free.Frank C.