We have had rain for over a week straight in tropical NJ. We have not seen the sun in a long time and it has been ridiculously damp. I noticed that one of my wood piles that I planned on using winter of 2019 started to get some distinct blue / green mold just in the last week (first pic below). I added some other pictures from another stack that had some mold growing (which I have become used to seeing on a few pieces (second pic) but I hadn't seen this blue/green mold before. I was more worried about this new visitor to the wood pile. Do I have anything to be worried about or will this die off once we get some sun and winter shows up? Is there anything I should do? I was tempted to grab a wire brush with some vinegar. Any help you can provide is appreciated
My guess is that will disappear as soon as the sun decides to reappear. Those here with more experience than I will be able to give you a better answer than a guess though. This has been a very tough year for keeping anything dry throughout our area of the country that is for sure.
I personally wouldn't stress it. Mold needs the right conditions, and those conditions won't be prevalent much longer.
Thats nothing dude, im just south of you in tropical delmarva, and I have huge orange mushrooms growing on mine.. it all burns!
I have some also....not concerned with it. I just hope we have SOME descent dry weather before the end of october....
The only thing I'd be concerned about with mold, is bringing it into the house for storage. Pretty much, the only time I bring wood inside, is to put splits directly into the stove to burn.
No concern here either, except like MikeInMa mentioned about bringing it in the house beforehand - that I wouldn’t do.
Yeah this. I had some mold involved but went right on in. Best you keep that exposure to a minimum. Spores move throughout the house quite quickly so if you wanted to knock it off before it goes inside, might help. Otherwise just toss in a hot stove and close it.
Mold spores are everywhere all the time. Some people have troubles with them. When conditions are favorable for whatever type that is they bloom. If/when it stops raining it won't survive the changes. Same when it gets cold. I really wouldn't worry about it as these tropical conditions can't last too much longer and they certainly shouldn't exist in your house. I might not bring a cord of it in today if someone has extreme sensitivity to some molds and take the chance that's one of them.
I wouldn’t worry about it. If you’re not sure though bring it to me and I will dispose of it in my mold destroying device this winter.
If it's near your house I would blast it with a mix of bleach and water. We had a week straight of rain here, and what started on the wood piles jumped to the house ...covered anything away from the light... Sofits, porch ceiling, and some trim around the garage door. Spray with bleach and water and after a few minutes I could wipe it off.
It has been a miserably damp humid summer for wood drying. I’ve been one of those who don’t top cover. Usually can get away with it. Not this year. I have some split tulip that got dumped on the ground and never stacked. First time I’m going to toss wood. Stuff on top is ok but the bottom of the pile is black and moldy. Quite ugly. It’ll fill in the deep mud ruts in one of the trails near my house. Good thing it’s only tulip.
Personally I would not use bleach on wood. One I think it’s pointless in this case as the wood will be fine. Bear in mind that bleach can cause corrision of wood stove and stainless chimney. Perhaps for prevention of mold related breathing problems, don’t bring in big quantities of it into the house at a time. In my opinion, there is too much use of harsh chemicals and pesticides when people find bugs or mold on their firewood. I would just leave it.
We don't worry about mold and fungus but as others have stated, it is not good to store in the house. Just one more reason we don't bring wood into our house until the stove needs it. Fortunately, it is only 2 or 3 steps from the stove to the porch with the wood rack.
Same here Sav as the firewood can wait till its good and cold out to bring in the house but I do use the chlorine for weeds and the pt decks that aren't stained. The front one will be dealt with when it cools off and will water seal after the Cl2. It dries quick and is no harm after. The amount we put in at the Water plant does make people think though.
