mold after 6 inches of rain

[MissMac]

Looking for some feedback re: wood molding up. I've got a bunch of single rows of white birch stacked in the sun/wind, however we just had 6 inches of rain in 72 hours with 90km/h winds, so needless to say the wood got wet. Impossible to top cover it given the wind speed, so it all got soaked. So not shocking to see mold appearing on the splits, but just wondering if the sun/wind will kill it off, or whether it's just gonna be there now?

Trying to speed up the seasoning before putting stuff into the woodshed, but kinda looks like that's backfired on me. Thoughts?

 

[peakbagger]

The sun will bake it out quick.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I have the same exact problem right now with White Birch just like you have, but I don't forsee it becoming a problem. I really have taken a liking to White Birch, nice looking wood with a unique aroma to it!

 

[red oak]

In single rows the mold should dry up quick

 

[Prof]

Heck 2 summers ago it was so wet that I picked oyster mushrooms off my stacks! I like mushrooms more than most, but I got no pleasure from picking them there. It never really dried out that year and it was tough burning the wood when fall rolled around. We still have plenty of time for things to dry out. I'd just wait--a week or two of good sun and wind and the wood will be as dry as a popcorn fart.

 

[MissMac]

thanks for the replies! i'm going to leave it out for a few more months likely, and put it in the shed after a nice long(ish) dry snap. i found that this past winter when i was pulling birch splits out of the shed that some of the pieces towards the back of the shed had some mould on them, so i thought that i'd let them dry out a bit in the driveway before putting them away. all good - i know the mould burns too! I do love the birch - it is the primo firewood up here.

 

[peakbagger]

My speculation is that the mold is feeding off nutrients in the wood that are coming out during the drying process. If the wood was fresh cut, the sap that comes out via the grain is full of plant sugars (there are some folks who tap white birch trees for syrup). As the wood ages my guess is the sugars reduce and the wood is less likely to mold as there is not as much "food" on the cut ends of the wood.

 

[SpaceBus]

My speculation is that the mold is feeding off nutrients in the wood that are coming out during the drying process. If the wood was fresh cut, the sap that comes out via the grain is full of plant sugars (there are some folks who tap white birch trees for syrup). As the wood ages my guess is the sugars reduce and the wood is less likely to mold as there is not as much "food" on the cut ends of the wood.

I've noticed my red maple splits tend to mold, so perhaps you are right. Rarely do my spruce or fir splits mold.

 

[EODMSgt]

Looking for some feedback re: wood molding up. I've got a bunch of single rows of white birch stacked in the sun/wind, however we just had 6 inches of rain in 72 hours with 90km/h winds, so needless to say the wood got wet. Impossible to top cover it given the wind speed, so it all got soaked. So not shocking to see mold appearing on the splits, but just wondering if the sun/wind will kill it off, or whether it's just gonna be there now?

Trying to speed up the seasoning before putting stuff into the woodshed, but kinda looks like that's backfired on me. Thoughts?

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The pic below is from last summer and despite a lot of sun, I had mold and mushrooms on some of the rounds as well as the splits (mainly on white birch and beech but even on some red oak). It wasn't a particularly wet summer and over the years I have just gotten used to the 'extras' that come with splitting and stacking firewood. I left the stacks out until late Oct./early Nov (but top covered in late Aug) and burned most of it last season. (Most of the mold had dried up long before it went in the shed.) The rounds were split and stacked last fall and some now have mold on the ends but most don't.

If possible, I would definitely leave the stacks out in the sun/air as long as possible before moving them into the shed. I know a lot of people move wood into the shed as soon as they split (and I did that too years ago) however personally, I want it outside as long as possible (unless you expect months of monsoons).

 

[kennyp2339]

Whether you see it or not, your always going to have some type of mold on organic materials such as wood when the environment is damp, that out door mold is generally harmless and the spores with come and go, become less numerous as the wood dries out and natural sugars become less and less available