On Feb 15, 4:56 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article .com, " wrote:

On Feb 15, 2:54 pm, Frank Boettcher wrote:

Possibly mold, but the reason that wood is the preferred material for
food cutting boards (rather than the various plastics that have shown
up) is that bacteria doesn't like it. It is not a fertile material
for the propogation of bacteria or viruses, so it seems unlikely that
is the source of the problem.

Well, I guess you haven't been in an leaky shower for a while. Or
seen an old woodpile, or been behind he old timer's house that has
wood he was saving for "that project" for many years. I have loaded
wood into dumpsters that was so decayed that it was swept up and
shoveled into a wheel barrow first.

If bacteria and fungii didn't break down wood, why does it decay?

He didn't say "bacteria and fungi," he said "bacteria and viruses."

What causes it to rot?

Fungi.

Why do I have a gold colored mold on one side
and white/black mold/fungus on the other side of a large log I have
been too lazy to split for a few years?

Because damp wood readily supports the growth of fungi.



Wood will easily sustain mold and fungus. Properly maintained wood
will not. Some woods will rot and attract fungus more than others
(this is why spalted oak is rare compared to spalted maple).

So I think, personally, that while "old wood" could mean a lot of
things to a lot of different people, if it has been improperly stored
or cared for it could easily have mold and fungus growing on it.

Certainly it could. But the discussion concerned bacteria and viruses.

Also, unless his friend is one of HG Wells' Martians,
the bacteria associated with putrefaction (rot) are
unlikely to make him sick.

Bodies left unburied in the aftermath of a hurricane
or tsunami are gross, but not a health hazard. If
the people were not sick when they died, they
can't spread disease to the living.

Disease causing microbes require a living
host. So even when the victim succumbed
to an infectious or contagious disease, by
the time the body starts to rot, disease causing
microbes within it are likely to be long-gone.

There are exceptions like anthrax, rabies,
and others which can survive for years in
a dormant state--usually after voiding the
host, but most die within hours of the host.

You can get rabies from breathing the dust
coming off of old wood IF it has bat**** on
it and the bats were rabid. You might
be able to get hantavirus from rodent
urine on it.

I'll agree with the others in this thread that the
most likely culprit is a toxic, allergic, or auto-
immune reaction to mold or fungus in the wood.

It is pretty important to avoid breathing dust,
but especially dust contaminated with mold or
fungus, regardless of the source.

--

FF