Mold problems

So after reading a book on carving I decided to strip the bark on two large pine logs that have been drying for over a year. There was buildup of black looking mold along the top and bottom where the log had been cut while the center was fresh as the day I cut it. Two weeks have passed since then and light green mold has started to grow all over the logs. I admit that I stacked them together in a pile so the moisture could escape. I know have them standing up separated from each other. Any suggestions on how to stop the growth? They have been in a dry cold garage all winter.

Bleachy water spray down

On 2010-04-26 04:54, wplugger wrote:
Bleachy water spray down

Bleach is the fastest way, but not the best way.

Bleach won't kill the root of the mold spore so it will return again, and again, and again. Which isn't a problem if your going to seal the wood when your done working. If your going to leave the wood in any kind of natural state your going to need to kill the mold by getting some stronger stuff.

If you have an aversion to chemical warfare, you can go natural with vinegar. Takes a bit more work, and tends to induce cravings for pickles and Filipino food. Get white vinegar, heat it as hot as you can handle, and spray the wood. The heat and the acidity of the vinegar will kill the root of the mold spore.

Whatever method you use, use lots of fans and ventilation. Everything you use to kill mold smells bad and/or is bad for you. And you don't want the wood to stay wet after application or you will wind up with more mold than you started with.

Good luck with whatever method you choose! And please report back what you used and how and pics help.

First off, where do you live and what kind of pine are you dealing with? When I first started carving, I lived closer to the beach where it was more humid. My palm logs molded up pretty good until I moved further inland. Most types of pine are very prone to mold. I used to be in the lumber industry and I remember a truck coming in, loaded with pine boards and no cover. It had rained the night before and the entire load was freakin blue. At first I thought I was looking at spray painted Doug Fir, but was informed it was "white" pine. Laughed my ass off, man. Poor bastard had to return the load.

I live outside of Philadelphia, so I'm not near the water at all. I had intended to leave the bark on the log (white pine I believe) but it was sappy all over so I decided after 8 or so months of drying with the bark on to lop it all off. What I found was the bark along the top and bottom of the log came off easily and had blackish mold underneath it. The bark along the center of the log was fresh as the day I cut it and the inside of the bark was spongy and wet. So with all the bark off I stacked the logs on their side so the moisture would escape out each end (since I made fresh cuts on the ends as well). What is happening now is a blue/light green mold has started growing all over the logs. I separated them and they are standing tall in my garage.

This weekend I will either spray with bleach or the hot vinegar. I'll do so outside and let them dry in the sun. I was planning on scrubbing them with after I spray to get the mold off then reapplying another coat. I've been out of town for a week so I'll see if the mold has gotten much worse when I get home later today.