Hi-
I’m usually a Gatherings poster, but this is definitely a woodworker’s question! Here is the situation:
My best friend had a very old white oak (Quercus Garryana) on her folk’s property cut down before the developers levelled the place. She had the lumber rough cut into 1″, 2″ and 3″ thick planks. She wanted to eventually have it made into furniture, so that each member of the family could have a piece from the family’s old property. She had stacked it in their shed with shims in between each layer to let it air dry over time. However, it stayed too wet, and the middle of the stack has mold and mildew on the planks. It has been seasoning for 9 months. (Can you tell this was in the Pacific Northwet?)
Questions:
Is the wood totally ruined?
If it isn’t ruined, what can be done to rescue it?
Can we just spray it down with household bleach to kill the mildew?
Will the bleach ruin the wood?
My parents have a breezeway that is drier and draftier than her parent’s shed. If we move it to the breezeway and bleach it – will that be enough? Or does it have to go to a kiln?
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Replies
Is the wood totally ruined?
No!
If it isn't ruined, what can be done to rescue it?
Let more air circulate around it or move it to a dryer location.
Can we just spray it down with household bleach to kill the mildew?
Yes but if you leave it where it is it will just get mildew on it again.
Will the bleach ruin the wood?
No, besides this is rough sawn, normally you would plane it down and take off any mildew and remove any discoloration. Sometimes wood is bleached to give you a lighter color during the finishing process.
My parents have a breezeway that is drier and draftier than her parent's shed. If we move it to the breezeway and bleach it - will that be enough? Or does it have to go to a kiln?
If you really want someone to make furniture out of it and you don’t know anything about how to dry wood (or make furniture) I would locate someone who does. That way they can dry the wood for you and build your furniture for you. It usually takes a year to air dry for every 1” of wood thickness. So kiln drying might be the best option if time is a factor. (I wish I was your neighbor!)
Don't bleach it. After nine months the problem might be over. The mold cannot grow on wood with moisture content below 18% and it's quite possible the wood is below that. The mold does not ruin the wood and is quite shallow.
Increase your air flow either by putting a fan in the area of moving the stack. Do not plane the wood, you'd just be wasting thickness.
Our society is currently obsessed with mold being a bad thing. It's very common for lumber to have mold on it in varying amounts and the spores are everywhere around us. Once the wood is too dry to support the mold it will stop growing. After nine months it probably already is, scrape some off the worst board and see if it returns. Unless the entire shed is covered with the mold the conditions are not favorable for it's growth.
In other words, don't sweat it. Increase the air flow and just let it dry. I've written an article for Fine Woodworking on this very topic, it appeared several years ago and is probably available through the website. I address the growth of mold as a condition indicative of inadequate air flow in the early stages of drying, about what I've told you here.
Lee
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