I recently cut and am starting to split and stack some oak and red maple. The trees have a lot of lichen and moss on the bark since they are all from the edge of a swampy area. Eventually I need to remove the lichen/moss to burn in a fireplace. Neither of these leave pleasant odors in the house and it's probably not good to breath them anyway. I started to clean the logs with a wire brush but it's a lot of work. It might be easier to clean them when I go to use them, distribute the workload over a longer period of time. My questions are: will the lichen get worse over the next year or two as the wood is seasoning? Will the moss continue to grow? Will the moss keep the logs moist and slow down the drying or even cause rot? What do other people do in this situation?
The best answer I can offer is this. If you let your splits stacked and top covered for long enough (i.e. A year or two at least) that should all just dry up and crumble away. At least that has been my experience with the stuff. On that maple, the bark should separate from the wood fairly quickly at least within a year. The oak seems to hold on to it for a while, at least any red oak seems to for me.
Splitsnstacks, you think both the lichen and moss will dry up? If so then I guess I don't really have a problem
It hasn't caused any troubles for me. Just make sure to top cover and stack er off the ground so it doesn't draw much new moisture and I think you'll be gooder to go in a few years
My gut says give it time and it will dry out and fall off. My second option would be a pressure washer, sure would be easier and faster than a wire brush.
It won't continue to grow once it is CSS and drying...I just throw it in the fire as is, but if you want rid of it completely I would think it should be pretty easy to just peel the bark off right before taking it in the house
I was thinking that the moss grows because of being wet, they don't really suck water from roots since I have moss growing on my concrete foundation. So the stuff near the ends of the splits that get wet during a rain storm may never dry. I haven't tried it but I would think the pressure washer would remove the moss but definitely not the lichen. I use a really hard wire brush, the tines do not bend, and I have to scrub hard to remove the lichen. The moss comes off very easily. So would lichen continue to grow or dry out when the splits are stacked?
Can't burn lichen or moss in the fireplace. If it were a wood stove it would be a non-issue. I could remove the bark before burning but that is a lot of work. Besides, the bark gives interesting flames when new splits are added to the fire.
ignore it worry about finding more to cut, split and stack it dries up, dies and falls off all on its own what doesn't seasons and burns, same goes with the bark. if you can't stand the smell of firewood burn oil or gas
Have you burned lichen laded wood in a fireplace?? The smell is extremely acrid, nasty and sickening. It coats your nostrils and really does make me sick if there is too much. The smell of lichen free wood is wonderful. I love the smell of firewood, that's why I make fires ... ambiance. I do not burn wood for fuel.
Most of mine falls off by the time I'm ready to use it...but it has usually been drying 3-4 years at that point
The only fireplace that I have been around much was just at my Aunt/Uncles place at Christmastime when we were kids...I don't remember any smell at all...does your chimney have enough draft? Almost sounds like you are getting a bit of smoke in the house...
My chimney drafts very well. No, smoke does not come out of the firebox. I have never had a wood stove but have burned wood in a fireplace for 35 years. There is always a smell. Air currents and minor drafts waft some of the odors out of the fireplace. I have never seen any fireplace that emits no odor.
The moss and lichen will dry up as the wood does, as long as it is split and stacked and off the ground. As for the bark, most of the oak that I burn the bark will readily come off before burning as the wood dries. I have burned wood with lichen on it but I can't remember any moss, I don't remember the lichen causing any problems. I think for both keeping the wood dry and getting it split and stacked are key.
If you buck the wood and stack the rounds to dry for a while, quite often the bark will pop loose when it's split.
Stop worrying and burn it. Lichens and moss will dry with the wood. And burning them is no more harmful than burning the wood.
I'm not worrying. I am trying to address the issue that I mentioned in post #11. If you like the smell of lichen and it causes you no unpleasant side effects that's great. It makes me sick.
