After initial cleaning of the pecan boards, I stacked them, temporarily, on edge, on the floor of the shop's garage, until I could find a more permanent place to store them. Yesterday, preparing to restack them, I discovered most of them had began to mold and mildew.

There may be a number of things, or combination of, that caused the molding and mildewing:
1) Pollen in the air.
2) Dust in the air. The shop garage is pretty dusty dirty.
3) No or poor ventilation. I think this was a major factor. The surface of the lumber stayed damp too long. I've had old salvaged lumber mold and mildew because of surface dampness.
4) This time of year for milling the boards, despite the tree having fallen during the winter months (it's best to fell a tree during the winter and best to mill a green log during the winter, but good ventilation would have countered these "negatives").
5) Bill (SonomaProducts), being envious, came over and sabotaged the boards.

I hand-washed each board, again, with a 1:3 Clorox/water solution, sticker/stacked them and, now, have a fan blowing over them. The mold and mildew washed off pretty easily, so I don't think there will be any permanent discoloring (or tatooing, as I call it) of the boards, but I'll keep an eye on them. One smaller board (a "scab" board, cut from the side of the log) was most exposed and had already began to warp/cup.

For comparison, two years ago, when the walnut was milled, I was able to sticker/stack the boards, in a permanent place, immediately after cleaning. I had a fan blowing over them, for the first month of drying, as well. Yesterday, I removed these walnut boards and there was no mold or mildew, at all. The milling, cleaning and stacking of these boards were done in mid-winter. *Yesterday, I removed them from storage because it's time to start sizing them up, for making the trestle table, to hopefully be completed for the farm/camp hunting season.

In general, you never know when problems will arise, with lumber as this. Hand washing the boards was no fun.

Here's some pics of yesterday's pecan and walnut: https://www.flickr.com/photos/43836144@N04/?details=1

Yesterday, I also restacked some of the pine flooring, we had been planing. The shop has been too crowded, with all these projects scattered about. I'm getting sick and tired of stacking and restacking lumber, especially the big lumber. Sometimes, it ain't no fun, anymore.

Sonny

On 4/12/2014 10:33 AM, Sonny wrote:
After initial cleaning of the pecan boards, I stacked them, temporarily, on edge, on the floor of the shop's garage, until I could find a more permanent place to store them. Yesterday, preparing to restack them, I discovered most of them had began to mold and mildew.

There may be a number of things, or combination of, that caused the molding and mildewing:
1) Pollen in the air.
2) Dust in the air. The shop garage is pretty dusty dirty.
3) No or poor ventilation. I think this was a major factor. The surface of the lumber stayed damp too long. I've had old salvaged lumber mold and mildew because of surface dampness.
4) This time of year for milling the boards, despite the tree having fallen during the winter months (it's best to fell a tree during the winter and best to mill a green log during the winter, but good ventilation would have countered these "negatives").
5) Bill (SonomaProducts), being envious, came over and sabotaged the boards.

I hand-washed each board, again, with a 1:3 Clorox/water solution, sticker/stacked them and, now, have a fan blowing over them. The mold and mildew washed off pretty easily, so I don't think there will be any permanent discoloring (or tatooing, as I call it) of the boards, but I'll keep an eye on them. One smaller board (a "scab" board, cut from the side of the log) was most exposed and had already began to warp/cup.

For comparison, two years ago, when the walnut was milled, I was able to sticker/stack the boards, in a permanent place, immediately after cleaning. I had a fan blowing over them, for the first month of drying, as well. Yesterday, I removed these walnut boards and there was no mold or mildew, at all. The milling, cleaning and stacking of these boards were done in mid-winter. *Yesterday, I removed them from storage because it's time to start sizing them up, for making the trestle table, to hopefully be completed for the farm/camp hunting season.

In general, you never know when problems will arise, with lumber as this. Hand washing the boards was no fun.

Here's some pics of yesterday's pecan and walnut: https://www.flickr.com/photos/43836144@N04/?details=1

Yesterday, I also restacked some of the pine flooring, we had been planing. The shop has been too crowded, with all these projects scattered about. I'm getting sick and tired of stacking and restacking lumber, especially the big lumber. Sometimes, it ain't no fun, anymore.

Sonny


Sonny, can you face the fan to blow against a wall?

That way you won't dry the surface too fast... I was reading on LJ's
that Pecan is one of the slower drying woods, which would be a problem
if you dried the surface too fast.

See this thread which just became active again.. I don't know your
history with Pecan, I have none... So I'm not providing info. I know you
work lots of cedar and stuff..

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/52388



--
Jeff

Sonny wrote:
After initial cleaning of the pecan boards, I stacked them, temporarily, on edge, on the floor of the shop's garage, until I could find a more permanent place to store them. Yesterday, preparing to restack them, I discovered most of them had began to mold and mildew.

There may be a number of things, or combination of, that caused the molding and mildewing:
snip

One other option: I had problems with magnolia bowl blanks getting
mold/mildew on them. I ordered some Sodium Proprionate from Antec
online chemicals, dissolved some and sprayed it on the roughed out
bowls with a spray bottle. It works and is not particularly toxic.
Farmers spray in on hay going into the baler so that it won't mildew
in the bale.

--
 GW Ross 

 Pandora's Rule: Never open a box you 
 didn't close.