Why is this mildewing/molding?

[BigDaddyR]

Okay. I cut this and spli/stacked this about 2-3 months ago. There is airspace in the middle of the stack. I think it is live oak, was very heavy. Talking about the wood at the bottom of the stack. Any thoughts?

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[bucknfeller]

Not sure about that one??? Never seen mold grow out in the cold. If you are worried about it, some bleach in a garden sprayer will kill it.

 

[CTYank]

Looks normal to me. Mold spores are out there in the gazillions. Give them a home with sufficient moisture and food, and they grow enough to become visible. Oak retains moisture better than all other hardwoods, but this was mostlikely a result of the history of the wood in the stack. Like, it was NOT split and stacked just before summer dog-days. Nor protected from rain splashing. Not noteworthy. :cool2:

Bleaching firewood? Really?

 

[Ayatollah]

Rain water dripping down the front of the wood. Also, possibly picking up the spores from the roof of your structure. I've got some just like that in a spot just like that. First time that's happened to me on my oak though. Could be mother nature's handiwork. Something in the air this year

 

[bucknfeller]

Looks normal to me. Mold spores are out there in the gazillions. Give them a home with sufficient moisture and food, and they grow enough to become visible. Oak retains moisture better than all other hardwoods, but this was mostlikely a result of the history of the wood in the stack. Like, it was NOT split and stacked just before summer dog-days. Nor protected from rain splashing. Not noteworthy. :cool2:

Bleaching firewood? Really?

Bleaching firewood? Really? Yeah really. I've been sick from mold before, not pleasant. I didn't even know it was there. If it was close to my house and I was worried about it spreading around, I'd bleach it for sure.

 

[slowp]

It'll dry and burn OK.

 

[haveawoody]

BigDaddyR,

About 1/2 way down the stack you can see mighty wet wood, sides and top are dry but from the middle down it's wet.
Picture#2 and #3 show the damp pattern quite well.

Bet it's just the weird weather of freeze one day and thaw the next then rain then snow allowing the wood to stay damp.

Might be time to put some steel roof sheets or something on just top of the stacks to shed the bulk of rain/snow entering the piles.
Good news is once you get it nice and dry for a few months the mold will depart the scene.

PS, i think your wood in the stacks is Black locust.

 

[Trx250r180]

maybe if you burn the wood ,the fire will kill the mold :msp_wink: like said before if dried it should go away ,if you have a pressure washer ,could always blast it off ,the water will dry in a couple days and no chemicals

 

[BigDaddyR]

BigDaddyR,

About 1/2 way down the stack you can see mighty wet wood, sides and top are dry but from the middle down it's wet.
Picture#2 and #3 show the damp pattern quite well.

Bet it's just the weird weather of freeze one day and thaw the next then rain then snow allowing the wood to stay damp.

Might be time to put some steel roof sheets or something on just top of the stacks to shed the bulk of rain/snow entering the piles.
Good news is once you get it nice and dry for a few months the mold will depart the scene.

PS, i think your wood in the stacks is Black locust.

The bottom of the stack I belive is Live oak. Huge tree with big twisty gnarly limbs. Wood was very heavy. Heavier than any other green wood I've ever picked up. The top half of the stack is red oak that was down and dead for a year or two before I cut, split and stacked it. Have a ton of red oaks around here and a lot of dead/down ones. It was much drier than the live oak. Guess I should have stacked it on the bottom and the other wood at the top.

I'd love it if that was Black Locust with how hot it burns. Would love to find some of it around here.

My main concern is that if it dries in the summer and goes away then great. I just didn't want to drag it into the house and cause a problem. I'v had wood mold/mildew in the woodshed when it was green and I didn't leave the doors open but not outside stacked with airspace in the middle.

 

[BigDaddyR]

Looks normal to me. Mold spores are out there in the gazillions. Give them a home with sufficient moisture and food, and they grow enough to become visible. Oak retains moisture better than all other hardwoods, but this was mostlikely a result of the history of the wood in the stack. Like, it was NOT split and stacked just before summer dog-days. Nor protected from rain splashing. Not noteworthy. :cool2:

Bleaching firewood? Really?

This was stacked about 2 months ago. From tree to stack in about a week so no time to dry from the ends. The dear wife won't want me leaving wood around until summer as I had about 8 stacks of round at the time to split. Spitter rental weekend resulted in a pile I'm still trying to get all stacked. LOL

 

[howellhandmade]

I've had this happen on pin oak. It went away when the wood dried a bit. Soon as the sun hits it good and hard, the mold will be gone.

 

[haveawoody]

BigDaddyR,

Could have sworn that was black locust, guess the color made me think that.
Oak is just as good as locust for btu just a different fire with locust but similar heating results.

Yeah a couple months of drying at that mold will go.
The odd all over the place winter and driving rain and snow have been getting deep into my piles also.
Mine are all top covered and with the nutty changing weather wet is staying that way or turning to ice again before they dry.

Think when spring comes about the 14 of Feb you will be fine.
Thats my guess for spring this year

 

[allstihl]

i seperate my white and dark loads and use bleach on the whites only

 

[Ductape]

I'd consider it normal also. I see it on Oak and Sugar Maple sometimes. Sometimes you'll see some mushrooms on wood too. Just burn it like the rest of your firewood.

 

[BigDaddyR]

I'd consider it normal also. I see it on Oak and Sugar Maple sometimes. Sometimes you'll see some mushrooms on wood too. Just burn it like the rest of your firewood.

I've seen mushrooms on wood before. Always on the outside bark though and I told my son the same thing. He was cleaning it off and I'm like, "What are you doing?" He was like cleaning it. I was like, Grrr Throw it in the truck. It'll burn, quit wasting time. LOL

Guess I'll stop being a girl and just let it mold and burn that ####.

 

[Iron Head]

Not only Oak but fir, maple, ash, and everything else. That's just a sign of insufficient curing. It will cure up fine in a couple of months.
The moisture level is much more near ground level.

 

[bucknfeller]

BigDaddyR,

Could have sworn that was black locust, guess the color made me think that.
Oak is just as good as locust for btu just a different fire with locust but similar heating results.

Yeah a couple months of drying at that mold will go.
The odd all over the place winter and driving rain and snow have been getting deep into my piles also.
Mine are all top covered and with the nutty changing weather wet is staying that way or turning to ice again before they dry.

Think when spring comes about the 14 of Feb you will be fine.
Thats my guess for spring this year

You must have some different breeds of oak up there... I've burned about 5 different kinds that we have here and none are even remotely close to locust. Not even in the same category. I don't use IR thermometers or any other unnecessary gadgets, but I do know what a warm house feels like, and what a thick bed of coals in the morning looks like. I wish it was half as good, there's plenty of it around.

 

[haveawoody]

bucknfeller,

Lots of northern red in my area.

Really not that much difference between oak and locust for BTU values.
Black locust sure it's a little better than the best oak for btu but very little difference.


Locust, Honey 25.8 Medium Low Few Slight Excellent
Locust, Black 27.9 Difficult Low Few Slight Excellent
Oak, Bur 26.2 Easy Low Few Good Excellent
Oak, Live 25.0 NA Low Few Excellent
Oak, Red 24.0 Difficult Low Few Good Excellent
Oak, White 26.4 Easy Low Few Slight Excellent

 

[stihl sawing]

It didn't look too bad, It will burn. Now if you wanna see some mold. Stack up some split sweet gum, now you're gonna get some mold.

 

[greendohn]

I had some hack-berry mold in the wood shed last year. I burn in an OWB so I wasn't concerned. If I was still burning wood in the house I would have treated the mold before taking it into the house. A couple years ago we had problems with mold on our tomato plants, it was happening all over this region. Purdue University put out a paper on it which I read about at the local co-op. As luck would have it, the co-op also sold a product for the mold eradication which was safe for veggies. I might try the stuff on my wood pile if I see any more mold.