How Does Mold Grow on Wood Furniture?
Other People Are Reading
-
-
Wood is an organic material. Just because the tree's been cut down, milled and fashioned into furniture doesn't mean that it's lost all the characteristics of an organic material. It's porous and needs to be sealed so that the grain doesn't "raise" and it needs to be moisturized to avoid cracking, just like skin. Oils, varnish and shellac are all either porous or based on organic substances. Put a piece of wood furniture in the right place and it's as susceptible to mold as any other organic substance. Give mold and mildew a place to grow and they'll grab it, no matter how improbable it seems.
-
Mold is a parasitic fungus that comes from spores that travel on air currents all around us. Spores are the "fruit" of mature mold, released as mold matures and ages. Although spring and summer are the most hospitable to mold spores, spores are produced all year long. Since mold grows best between 70 and 90 degrees, your home is a perfect location for a winter vacation. Spores that find a warm, humid home circulate until they find a ready source of food. Mold appears on surfaces as patchy black, green or brown growth and may look fuzzy. The fragile fungus collapses on contact to make a slimy patch. It expands, consuming the wood as it grows and leaving rot in its wake. Although bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms provide the most hospitable atmosphere for mold to grow, it can spread throughout a home once it gains a breeding ground. In addition to wood, mold can attach itself and destroy wallboard, plastic and even concrete. Paint formulated with barium metaborate or zinc chloride can prevent or retard the growth of mold but won't eradicate existing colonies.
-
-
The best way to protect wood furniture against mold growth is to control the spread of the fungus throughout your house. Keeping bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms free of mold and mildew will help. A piece of furniture that has been colonized by mold can be cleaned using a three-to-one solution of water and household bleach (sodium hypochlorite). After the mold has died---it will lighten---rinse with clear water. Allow the piece to dry thoroughly (preferably in the sun on a warm, dry day), then sand and refinish the area. Paint or finish your furniture on a calm day so new mold spores don't have a chance to re-colonize the wood under the finish. Use semi or high-gloss finishes on furniture and keep surfaces clean---grease and food from the kitchen or dirty hands will draw spores like a magnet. Invest in a dehumidifier for the summer if you live in an area where there's high humidity and make sure your home is well-ventilated, including the attic and basement. And change the filter on your furnace or air cleaner as recommended by the manufacturer to catch spores as they circulate. An ounce of prevention can save you a time-consuming rehabilitation project.
-
Resources
- Photo Credit DRW & Associates, Inc.
