Removing mold from veneer

[Myk Rian]

A friend gave me many sheets of veneer that has mold on it.
What is a good way to remove it without bleaching the wood to a lighter color?
I've taken a brush to some of it, but that didn't help much.

[Myk Rian]

Nobody at all?

[Mike Archambeau]

A little bleach, a little powdered laundry dtergent, and a little tri-sodium-phospate mixed with water. You can spritz it on with a spray bottle and brush it with a scrubbing action. If you wet both sides evenly, it will minimize warping.

[Glen Butler]

Chlorine bleach may not bleach it as much as two part wood bleach, and will kill the mold.

[Chip Lindley]

Try chlorine bleach ONLY on the mold. A soap mixture will require lots of water to remove, which is not veneer-friendly. Plus, there will be finishing issues later.

Experiment with chlorine bleach and also oxalic acid (wood bleach) Not sure of oxalic's mold-killing properties since it only used to lighten wood stains.

[Myk Rian]

Looking at it, seems more like mildew.
Thanks fellas. I'll try a couple things on small pieces and see what happens.

[Frank Drew]

Myk,

Any chance the mold or mildew is shallow enough, and the veneer thick enough, that finish sanding will remove it?

[Myk Rian]

I'm really not sure, Frank. It seems to be in the pores of the wood. I can brush it with a nylon brush and it gets most of it out, but I'm afraid it will compromise any attempt to glue it to a substrate.
Being as veneer is so thin, it won't take much to go through it.