There is fungus among us

[Brian Brown]

I found some spalted wood over the weekend. I tried turning some, and the dust really bothered me. How do you kill the fungus that causes it? Besides the breathing problem, I want to stop the rotting, as it has progressed too far. Will a bath in DNA take care of it? any other suggestions for killing it?

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Brian, first, be very careful with any type of spalted wood. The spores can do very serious damage to your lungs. Regarding stopping the process, I have very little experience with the stuff, although I did once create a piece which I titled, "Fungus Amongus".

[Bernie Weishapl]

Brian I would definitely suggest getting a respirator. I have the Trend and it keeps all sanding dust and mold out of system. I got some dust from one of the exotics I was turning and I think some mold from a piece I was turning that had a lot of spalting which I had breathed in while using a paper dust mask. He told me if I kept it up I would get a type of emphysema. It got my attention quick. He told me that mold was really bad for your lungs. Once sealed with a finish it is ok. I am not sure DNA will cure the problem. Just my humble opinion.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Brian, heating the wood as in kiln drying will kill any organisms. The heat is thought of as just killing insects but heating high enough breaks down proteins which kills all life...insects, insect eggs, mold spores and hyphae, etc. (And you if you spent long enough in a kiln :rolleyes:)

DNA would only work for as far as it could penetrate - the mold organism penetrates throughout the wood; at least in the case of spalting you hope so. But just because you kill the mold organism doesn't mean the mold particles won't still have possible detrimental effects. The material may not be living but could still cause reactions. Like people with allergies its the chemical makeup of pollen, etc that causes the problems. In the case of turning you might mist the piece down occasionally or put a fan directing dust, etc from turning in a direction other than at you.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Brian - I turn a lot of spalted birch - and I always wear my Trend! I DNA all of the roughed out pieces and have found that the DNA does stop the mold from growing. I am not a scientist but mold requires moisture in order to grow. The DNA removes that during the drying process and the mold stops - at least as long as the bowl doesn't regain moisture. I did have some bowls that were dryed and stacked uncovered on a shelf well over a year ago - humidity went up in the shop and over time I noticed mold growing on the outside of some of the blanks. They were promptly bagged and moved out to the shed for storage until I decide to turn them.

I always figured that the DNA helped to dry the roughed out piece and as long as I completed the item fairly soon and applied a sealant type finish - I shouldn't have to worry about the mold again. So far - so good. Spalted bowls I turned almost 4 years ago haven't changed yet - don't mean to imply they are good looking bowls... they just haven't changed!

[Barry Elder]

Brian, probably most of the fungus you deal with in the wood is already dead. But it is still "dirt" which does not work well with the living tissue in your lungs. You only have two and you need to protect them with a filtering device. Or increase your life and medical insurance for your family's sake. This is not sarcasm, but experience.

[William Bachtel]

Fungus doesn't kill, it becomes inactive, when dried out, moisture below 25%, am I right on this. It also takes a temperture above 55 degrees to active it.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Brian, probably most of the fungus you deal with in the wood is already dead. But it is still "dirt" which does not work well with the living tissue in your lungs. You only have two and you need to protect them with a filtering device. Or increase your life and medical insurance for your family's sake. This is not sarcasm, but experience.


Fungal spores last a LONG time (years or decades) and shouldn't be ignored. They "hatch" in the warm, moist environment of your lungs.


Fungus doesn't kill, it becomes inactive, when dried out, moisture below 25%, am I right on this. It also takes a temperture above 55 degrees to active it.

Not true; it might not be actively "growing" in the wood, but it is slowly creeping outwards and increasing; think cold, rocky environments where lichens are the only thing that grow. Lichens are a fungus and algae growing together, just like corals in the ocean are animals with algae living inside. Also, if breathed in, anything inactive is going to go gangbusters when it gets inside the warm, moist, oxygen rich environment of your lungs.


I've been turning a lot of spalted sycamore recently, and wear a 3M respirator all the time when turning spalted wood. I'm in nursing school, and my last microbiology lab had some interesting fungal infection slides....not pretty.

[robert hainstock]

:)household bleach will also kill fungus, but a respirator is the best hedge against infection. Also good ventilation to help any off airborn spores.
:eek::eek:
Bob

[Fred Conte]

Brian,

I had some first hand and horrific experience with wood fungus alittle over two months ago.

I was prepping some wood on my tablesaw using my CV system. But the dust and spores still got in the air. Within 5-10 minutes my respiration and heart rate went into hyperdrive, by the time I got from my shop to the house (150 ft) I was on my hands and knees, fortunately I had 2 bottles of Benedryl which I downed one immediately laying on the bathroom floor. I live alone and in a rural area, this was the most frightening near death experience I ever had. This happened on a Saturday. I was at the doctors office first thing Monday morning. He said that I probably was going into anafalatic shock and drinking the bottle of Benedryl is what pulled me through.

I now have a mild form of asma which seems to kick in from pollen, I have to carry Primatene mist with me and I keep Benedryl in my truck.

Oh yeah - I ordered an Airshield the next day and use it all the time even with my CV system.

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH WOOD MOLD/FUNGUS!!!

HTH - Fred

[Bill Kesler]

I've always used bleach to kill mold. Not a scientist but it works for me. After reading Fred's post I went on line and ordered the Trend. I have quite a bit of spalted hickory and don't want to test the lung theories.