How to get rid of fungus

[Whit AndersonIL]

After a recent wind storm I rough turned quite a few (60?) green bowls. They have been sitting for about a month (some a little longer and some a little less). After rough turning, I coated them with Anchorseal and put them in brown grocery bags. When I checked on them two days ago I found that a lot of them had fungus on them. If I just had a couple I might fuss with them and try various things. With some many of them to deal with I would rather do one thing (the right thing) and be done with it. My problem is that I'm not sure what the right thing is. What if anything should I do about the fungus on these bowls (no, I'm not hoping for spalted bowls).

TIA

--Whit

[Brian Ashton]

Needs some pics to really determine the extent of fungus you have. Surface fungus isn't uncommon as you try to dry out really wet wood slowly so as not to crack it. If that's the case don't worry about it. Fungus generally grows to slow to be a problem. As the pieces dry the fungus will stop growing - usually around 19% moisture content. If the fungus is causing damage in the way of punchy soft wood then I'd speed up the drying to get the fungus to a low enough level of moisture content to stop it growing and then slow the drying process down again.

Salt is an easy natural method of killing fungus if you want to go that way. Rub it generously into the wood and leave it there. Probably will help dry the wood out also.

[Prashun Patel]

That's common. If you've anchorsealed them, then they likely don't need the bags. I've had fungus form on sealed logs that weren't even bagged. It happens when there's not enough airflow around the blanks. You don't want too much, obviously, but try unbagging the bowls, scraping off the fungus, and spreading them out a little on the floor.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Shoot, I usually invite fungus. Especially on white woods like maple and box elder. As long as it doesn't get too punky. And if it is black it is spalted. As has been said, surface fungus will turn away. If the paper bags are soggy, change the for new ones, but if they have been in there for a couple weeks they're ready to come out anyway.

[Richard Jones]

Unwanted fungus as you describe could be caused by bagging the bowls too quick after Anchorsealing them. I usually let them dry a few days on the floor of my shop before bagging them and storing them wherever. Depending on your location/conditions, you may find you don't even need the bag. In my shop, I see no difference in drying/warping/cracking/etc. between bagged and not bagged. A drier clime like AZ or TX may require something different. In your area, I'd try a few without the bags to see what happens.

R

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Are you sure you don't mean mold. Summer cut woods hold a lot of moisture. There are a couple ways to avoid it. First, let the logs dry a few months before turning them. That usually also keeps you and your walls a lot drier when you turn. If you can't wait, and I know that feeling, turn wet and bag. Change the bag every couple days until the worst of the moisture is gone and don't store in a damp location. In the end, you can always turn it away as long as you keep the mold under control. The mold will stop growing when the wood is dry enough since mold requires heat and moisture to grow.
faust

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Living in the upper left hand corner of the country, we get a fair amount of damp weather during the course of a year - and I've had my share of moldy blanks. If it is fast growing (sometimes it appears within a couple of days of roughing out), I'll give the blanks a light spray of Boric Acid (pain old Borax). It's a light solution mixed with water and kept in a spray bottle. It kills the mold and, since it doesn't evaporate away but stays on the surface, it keeps the mold at bay for quite a while - much longer than chlorox and water.
I'm not a chemist and I can't speak to any toxic properties involved, but if you google it, Boric Acid seems to be pretty tame stuff. Still, I wear a mask when spraying and while turning the surface on dried blanks, and keep the dogs away from the area. They do use full-strength, dry Boric Acid powder for insect control, but I'm diluting it down and not adding the vinegar or peroxide they use for heavy duty mold remediation. I mix about 1/4 cup in a quart of hot water and keep it in a spray bottle.
I don't bag my blanks, just let 'em dry stacked on wire rack shelving.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I anchorseal all my rough outs but don't put them in bags just for that reason. I have found it is not needed if kept in a cool place on the floor with not much air flow.

[Whit AndersonIL]

Thanks for all the suggestions. It is very reassuring to hear so many people tell me not to worry too much. I think I'll take the oldest half of the rough tuned bowls out of the bags, brush them off, and just see what happens for a week or two. If it all looks good I'll do the same with the other half.

--Whit

[William Bachtel]

Get rid of the bags. You don't need the bags, since you anchorsealed them.

[Tom Lewis]

I recently rough turned some bowls out of cottonwood, put anchorseal on them and put them out in my pump house. A couple of weeks later I looked at them and they were covered with mold. I sprayed them with Lysol spray and it seemed to stop the mold.
I have been finish turning some of the bowls and they are spectacular. Maybe mold is a good thing.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I recently rough turned some bowls out of cottonwood, put anchorseal on them and put them out in my pump house. A couple of weeks later I looked at them and they were covered with mold. I sprayed them with Lysol spray and it seemed to stop the mold.
I have been finish turning some of the bowls and they are spectacular. Maybe mold is a good thing.

Sure beats plain old white wood. Pump house looks like it had some nice heat and humidity. Pretty wood.