Hello, new guy here. I'm having a problem. I moved into a new house in September, therefore no time to cure my own firewood. I bought a few cords that seemed a bit less seasoned than I was hoping for. I decided to spring for a cord of "kiln seasoned" to filter in. I promptly brought that cord into the basement. I also have a about half a cord of the greener stuff in there next the stove to, hopefully, help it dry out some more. It's been about 3 weeks and suddenly, what seems like overnight, the "kiln seasoned" is growing hairy green mold all over it. The other stuff is fine, no mold. My basement is a walk out with big windows, only about 30% humidity. Any thoughts on why? Clearly I need to get the moldy stuff back outside. Will this help? Anyone had a similar experience???
First welcome! Second was the kiln dried stuff from a reputable firewood dealer? Sort of weird kiln dried stuff would do that but I haven't had any experience with kiln dried before. You got any pics?
Welcome Weeman , great to meet another Granite Stater here. I'll give you my 2 cents worth and I'm sure others can help as well. I have seen Oak get moldy once in a while on the split ends in the stacks. Surface mold that goes away as it ages. It was green, but it wasn't hairy. Are you sure it was kiln dried? Really sure? With my limited knowledge of such, I believe mold needs moisture to grow. I've never seen kiln dried wood , other than framing lumber. So I have no experience with that, I would move it outside asap to prevent any health issues. This late in the season I'd be looking for any standing dead you can find.
Welcome to FHC Weeman Couple good ideas already. Would you also consider dropping a few clams on a moisture meter, make a fresh split and jab the prongs in? That would give you an answer as to how well/thoroughly the wood was dried (in the kiln).....
The kiln drying process likely kills everything on the surface providing a sterile, completely neutral and welcome surface for new mold spores. There's likely nothing there to inhibit their growth like non-kiln dried/treated wood would have. A clean slate, if you will. Add to the surface a fresh supply of moisture from the room and you have a vibrant nursery.
Welcome to the club, Weeman ! Glad you found us! Sounds like your kiln dried wood is not dry enough or the storage area was not dry. Mold needs moisture.
Welcome to FHC. You came to the right place.. My guess is that the wood didn’t stay in the kiln long enough. This time of year, a supplier might be tempted to short cycle the wood in the kiln in order to meet demand. Doing so would leave a lot of moisture In the center of each split. Over 3 weeks in your basement the moisture in the wood likely worked its way from the center back to the edges providing the moisture and nutrients (sap) for the mold to form. The mold spores were probably already in your house unless you have some kind of Hepa filter that processes every breath of air that you breath. That said if mold isn’t already bothering you, you should be fine leaving it in place. As mentioned, get a moisture meter split a few pieces and check a fresh face on each log you split. You’re not likely to get your supplier to pick up overly wet wood, but at least you’ll know for future purchases... Again, welcome to FHC and some pics would always help..
I would not buy kiln dried from that supplier. No doubt the other wet wood has an effect but I would not expect what you have.
Thanks for the insights. Confirms what I suspected. I bought it from a local logging company that sells firewood in all forms, from green to seasoned to kiln dried. They said they were out of the traditional seasoned and were seasoning in the kiln. They told me it was as dry as the wood that had sat on the hot top for a year... I'm new to the area. Should've done my homework...now I know. Time to buy that moisture meter, although I hope to be in less of a pinch next season. Thanks again.
