Removing mould from wood

[OliveOyl]

Hi All

 

As my lovely little boat has had to fend for herself for some months, there is mould on some of the wood.

 

Since returning to my boat, I have begun to tackle the mould by:-

wiping

spraying with vinegar, then wiping

block sanding, then wiping 

Yesterday, I even sprayed with a proprietary mould spray, but then realised it said not to use on wood.

Any advice/suggestions please, as although the mould has reduced, there is still some present.

 

(I have spent this evening reading past threads on 'winterising' and treating mouldy clothes etc, so  will go and but cat litter tomorrow, and spend the rest of this evening finding out what a computer fan looks like, its cost and what to do with one!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bizzard]

11 minutes ago, OliveOyl said:

Hi All

 

As my lovely little boat has had to fend for herself for some months, there is mould on some of the wood.

 

Since returning to my boat, I have begun to tackle the mould by:-

wiping

spraying with vinegar, then wiping

block sanding, then wiping 

Yesterday, I even sprayed with a proprietary mould spray, but then realised it said not to use on wood.

Any advice/suggestions please, as although the mould has reduced, there is still some present.

 

(I have spent this evening reading past threads on 'winterising' and treating mouldy clothes etc, so  will go and but cat litter tomorrow, and spend the rest of this evening finding out what a computer fan looks like, its cost and what to do with one!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rub it all with Olive oil Mrs Oyl. Seriously Mrs Oyl it needs ventilation, plenty of it, all widows left open, and doors too if in a safe place. We have a couple of boats here that have been unoccupied for years. We leave all windows and doors open all year round and no sign of damp, mould. Water is drained off though in case it freezes.

[OliveOyl]

Thanks Bizz, I have realised that and am leaving hoppers open, lighting fire at leat twice a week at the moment, and as I put in my post, am learning a lot about prevention, but for now, I want to get rid of it.

Also, some of the wood seems to be unvarnished, so I thought if I could get rid of the mould fully, I could varnish once it gets warmer/drier - or is that bad idea?

[cereal tiller]

Just now, OliveOyl said:

Thanks Bizz, I have realised that and am leaving hoppers open, lighting fire at leat twice a week at the moment, and as I put in my post, am learning a lot about prevention, but for now, I want to get rid of it.

Also, some of the wood seems to be unvarnished, so I thought if I could get rid of the mould fully, I could varnish once it gets warmer/drier - or is that bad idea?

You could Oil it,Danish or Teak oil come to mind,there are others

Olive Oil would stimulate appetite,once

 the Weather gets warmer

CT

[bizzard]

1 minute ago, OliveOyl said:

Thanks Bizz, I have realised that and am leaving hoppers open, lighting fire at leat twice a week at the moment, and as I put in my post, am learning a lot about prevention, but for now, I want to get rid of it.

Also, some of the wood seems to be unvarnished, so I thought if I could get rid of the mould fully, I could varnish once it gets warmer/drier - or is that bad idea?

There's all manner of fancy stuff to rub into wood these days, butI'd rub into the bare wood good old  boiled linseed oil, several times which you can varnish over later, but with oil based varnish only. We treated our wooden masts like that, couldn't beat it.

[OliveOyl]

Would oiling remove it though??

 

My worry about puting anything on it, is that it will simply become shiny mould.

I do have an orbital sander -would that be more effective than doing it by hand? Would worry about spreading mould spores.

[bizzard]

6 minutes ago, OliveOyl said:

Would oiling remove it though??

 

My worry about puting anything on it, is that it will simply become shiny mould.

If the mouldy colour persists after the vinegar you could try bleach. But before doing any oiling or varnishing ensure that its perfectly dry. If the mouldy persists you might have to paint it. But if its bean oiled with anything use oil based paint. Check out mould coloured paints which will blend in.

Edited February 27, 2017 by bizzard

[OliveOyl]

It's black mould

[bizzard]

5 minutes ago, OliveOyl said:

It's black mould

Moody colour.  Try applying lots of bleach.

[WotEver]

7 minutes ago, OliveOyl said:

It's black mould

Borax substitute (cos you can't buy borax in the UK) would probably be the best to remove black mould. Mix to a paste and scrub with an old toothbrush. Available from Amazon and the like. 

Oxiclean applied likewise may well also work although I've never tried it. It's more easily obtainable so I guess no harm in trying. 

Both of the above create oxygen to help dissolve and lift stubborn organic stains. 

[OliveOyl]

Many thanks all, I will get scrubbing.

Just been on Amazon and found the substitute.

 

P.S. Apparently, borax is good for killing fleas, so if any fleabitten cats come aboard, I will be able to sort them too!

[MtB]

I'm inclined to recommend spraying it with bleach too. 

But if that fails, a power plane always succeeds

Hope that helps... 

[Sea Dog]

I understood from similar questions asked earlier that Oxalic Acid was the answer. I bought some (in powder form) from eBay and it worked wonders on a burned pan, but haven't used it on wood yet! Also available in a product proprietary cleaning product called 'barkeeper's friend'. 

[Lysander]

We used oxalic acid to good effect on the black stains on our taffrail. It didn't manage to remove the stains deep in the grain though.

[WotEver]

57 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I understood from similar questions asked earlier that Oxalic Acid was the answer. I bought some (in powder form) from eBay and it worked wonders on a burned pan, but haven't used it on wood yet! Also available in a product proprietary cleaning product called 'barkeeper's friend'. 

Oxalic acid is good for removing tannin stains and other similar dark marks from wood, and obviously as Barkeepers Friend has many other useful purposes. However, I've never tried it for black mould removal whereas I have used Borax which I know should work. 

[Murflynn]

it is not clear to me if OP refers to black mould (mildew) or black water staining (that typically affects oak faced ply for example).  They are quite different.

I was chatting to the owner of our local high street hardware shop who sell everything from dog treats to 2" nails, telling him that my brother uses black silicone sealant to avoid unsightly mildew marks.  He sold me a £6 bottle of HG bathroom mould spray killer.  I used it around the shower tray and within 2 hours all the black mildew mould had gone from the white sealant. 

 

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Murflynn said:

He sold me a £6 bottle of HG bathroom mould spray killer.  I used it around the shower tray and within 2 hours all the black mildew mould had gone from the white sealant. 

Does it say on the bottle that it's suitable for use on wood? What are the ingredients?

[Murflynn]

2 hours ago, WotEver said:

Does it say on the bottle that it's suitable for use on wood? What are the ingredients?

your suspicions are well founded.  Chlorine based bleach and not for use on wood - but I would still try it on a hidden part of the wood.

[WotEver]

The nice thing about borax or Oxiclean or indeed oxalic acid is that none of them will bleach the wood. 

[OliveOyl]

On 27/02/2017 at 23:54, Mike the Boilerman said:

I'm inclined to recommend spraying it with bleach too. 

But if that fails, a power plane always succeeds

Hope that helps... 

Is that some sort of flying device, or an elec version of my dear Grandpa's wood plane I keep?

[OliveOyl]

On 28/02/2017 at 08:07, Lysander said:

We used oxalic acid to good effect on the black stains on our taffrail. It didn't manage to remove the stains deep in the grain though.

I think that's what is in kidney stones!

[WotEver]

42 minutes ago, OliveOyl said:

I think that's what is in kidney stones!

Close, kidney stones are mostly calcium oxalate. 

[OliveOyl]

Just now, WotEver said:

Close, kidney stones are mostly calcium oxalate. 

I stand corrected  (makes mental note to self to ask ironmonger for the correct product!)

[MtB]

5 hours ago, OliveOyl said:

Is that some sort of flying device, or an elec version of my dear Grandpa's wood plane I keep?

Yes.

 

(Gurls. Hopeless, eh?! )

[cheshire~rose]

I have a bottle of Colron Wood Lightener on one of my Auntie Wainwright shelves. It says it lightens wood and removes stains.

The contents are 27.5% w/w Hydrogen Peroxide.

What part of the Midlands are you in? I could not send this through the post to you because it's corrosive and has a vented cap so it has to stay upright but you would be welcome to it if I can get it to you somehow. If some shrapnel out of your purse made it's way into Chesterfield Canal Trust's coffers that would be nice, but not necessary