Fighting mold again sawing pine

[EZland]

Good grief,

I cut some pine a week ago, stacked and stickered it it would air dry.  I thought I had good air flow even though it was air drying and then five days of rain.  then the mold.  I am not worried totally about the look, because I am using it for siding on my saw mill shed.  Just once I like to cut some within out it going green.   I will zap the stack with bleach today.  Just wish there was something to stop this with air dry pine in the summer. 

[WDH]

Fans.  A couple of box fans will keep the air moving and help move the evaporating water vapor from between the layers. 

[goose63]

Happy birthday EZLand good luck with the mold 

[Deese]

Good Luck EZLAND
That mold is about to get 

[red oaks lumber]

try avoid cutting pine in the middle of summer, that will help the mold problems

[Robert Owens]

I have had the same problem the last week. I cut four logs into 2x6's for rafters and stickered them and then the rains came along with the higher humidity. I don't have electricity in the barn I'm stacking in although the sides are open so it will have to do for now. I still have 40 plus logs to cut so I'll be back at it tomorrow morning. Cooler weather will be here soon enough. Will the mold cause any long term damage? This lumber is going to be used to build my sawmill shed and storage for lumber.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Mold and other fungi have four requirements for active growth

Oxygen
Temperature  (55 is very slow growth, 85 is maximum, 115 is slow and 130 kills)
Food (sugar in the wood for some, but not mold, dirt in the air, etc.)
Moisture (over 22% MC roughly)

Eliminate one of the four and you stop it dead.  Or else poison the food with a fungicide.

[EZland]

Well Gene,
In the weather we had the last couple of weeks,  I was maxed out on all of the four.  Moisture in the air was about 65%, temp..... 85 degrees on the money.  Oxygen and food would be hard to control.   So air movement is the only thing I could have control of.  Once I get my open shed built I might be able to build a fan system to push the air through.  Maybe something like some drum fans or box fans all in a line like WDH said.  the good news the lumber was only for siding and I have already killed it with bleach.  I think I will try larger stickers too, 1 1/2. 

At least I have solved problem the mold in my solar kiln this year! 

last year, I had a load of pine mold in my kiln.  I made some T&G with it and it looked really cool with the gray coloring,  I killed the mold with bleach and put in back in the kiln.  It  was only for  my own project so not so bad,  I did seal it really well to not have any problem in the future.   

[johnhm]

EZland,  What percentage of bleach to water did you use when killing your mold.  I to have the same problem!

[jwilly3879]

1 gallon bleach to 4 gallons water is what I have always used to kill mold without bleaching the wood too much.

[beenthere]

I'm thinking that bleach mix is much stronger than necessary.

Try a quart to 4 gal, and if it does the job, then reduce the strength until it does not kill the mold.

Or increase if the quart to a gal of water doesn't work.

For me, I've found a little dab will do ya.  (old sayin)