Summer has been very humid here in the Poconos and my basement is like super cold, dark and humid so all kinds of mold, fungi etc, grows in it. Now I have my workshop down there. I carve outside in the summer. Last weekend I when down to there for more wood and found this tiny cooperish looking fructiferous bodies and spots all over my wood stock.
I sprayed the wood with alcohol and tried to clean it but I am afraid it might become useless or even toxic.
HELP!!!!!!

[AlArchie]

If the wood is smaller size, you might pop it into the micro-wave for a few minutes. For larger stock, spray it down with household bleach, then put it outside in the sun to dry. If the fungus has gotten deep in the wood, there is probably not much you can do, except get it to a sunny spot and let it stay there for a few weeks to thououghly dry. You may have a good supply of spalted wood, there, Doel, and that ain't all bad!

Al

[Kenny_S]

I would start thinking on using a respirator. Good ones can be found for $20 and higher. I use one of the more costly kind and use it with paint, spraying the house with insecticides, wood carving(sanding and Grinding).

Well worth the investment.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

well speaking of fungi! yesterday I cleaned the bark off a half dozen poplar sticks...last night got all choked up, tight in chest, coughing, sore/hoarse throat boy!! either that stuff is worst than I thought, or its a coincidence and I caught something at the same time! either way, will wear a mask next time....peeled these outside too and tried to stay downwind...apparently didn't help! guess that was my dumb stunt for this week!! lol

At most I would only carve this with hand tools once you get it cleaned as much as you can. During the cleaning process, if you continue with this wood, I would definitely use a high quality respirator and wear protective gloves. These tools will not create fine dust. I would AVOID inhaling any wood dust created by sawing or using power tools. This is not healthy. BE CAREFUL!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

these limbs are strange, I wasn't using power, the fine dust is in the bark and the stringy layer under the bark, it comes out if clouds! the trees were standing dead, don't know if the bark dried out and caught dust in it or what??

To all,
This is not realy a carving story but definately related. Several years ago a neighbor had several semi loads of wood chips hauled to his home for landscape mulch. The mulch was walnut and had only been chipped a few weeks before. Steam rolled off the pile. I helped him out with my little John Deere loader tractor move it around trees, flower beds etc. Another neighbor joined in the fun. The next day I felt like I had been hit by a truck and had the worst hangover of my life. The neighbor ended up in the ermergency room. The third guy was fine. Be careful. This hobby is fun but not that fun.
Ah Chip

[AlArchie]

Dave, there a a couple things I can think of that might be causing your reaction;

1. If you have earwigs in your area (most likely) them little buggers hide out and over-winter in any crevice they can find, including beneath bark layers, and they deposit an amazing amount of fecal matter in their hideouts. It is present as very tiny pellets, almost microscopic, and fine dust.
I find this even in the birdhouses when i clean them out in the spring. There is also a lot of other insect detrius present uned those decaying bark sections.

2. Some of that 'stringy' inner bark is due to fungal detrioration of the cambrial layer, and there are probably a lot of dried spores in the area under the bark. If you wet the dust, you can detect that 'mushroomy' odor present.
dust maskes, in either case are prudent!

Al