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stevexac
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# Posted: 16 May 2013 19:44
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Any help will be appreciated!!! We dropped and stripped three oak trees in April of 2012. Set them off the ground and are now ready to use them. Posts for the cabins front porch. They have a dark, prob. Mildew all over them. I'd rather not sand them so they keep their original look. Ideas? Or solution from someone whose had the same problem!!!!
Thanks
Steve
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 16 May 2013 22:50
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There is a product we used and I'm sorry, I cannot recall the name of it, but it removes mold and mildew from decks and other wood structures. We bought it at Menards or Fleet Farm-not sure if you have those available where you are. Came in a spray bottle. It shouldn't be too difficult to find. We also have just used bleach and water.
Best of luck 
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 16 May 2013 23:03
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Get a spray bottle for those weedsprayers, fill them with bleach and water (50/50) and in about 5 seconds, it will look like you just cut it down. Saw my cabin neighbor do this to some old silvered round fence post. He p umped up the sprayer, misted the logs, looks brand new fresh cut.
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ICC
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# Posted: 16 May 2013 23:34
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mold and mildew on wood is not necessarily going to be killed by chlorine bleach. the bleach will bleach the mold or mildew so it becomes transparent or not visible, but it is still there. chlorine bleach does kill mold and mildew on hard non porous surfaces. check with the makers of clorox on that. or check the epa.
chlorine bleach also screws with the ph of the wood and harms the fibers as a result. there are products specially made for treating mold and mildew on wood. bleach should be reserved for making laundry white or cleaning the mold or mildew in the shower or wherever it appears on hard non porous surfaces. there are different brands marketed for cleaning wood decks. DEFY makes a safe wood cleaner that is an oxygenated bleach, safe on wood, safe for people and the environment. there are other brands as well.
http://www.saversystems.com/products/wood-and-deck-stain-products/defy-wood-cleaner.h tml
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fpw
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# Posted: 17 May 2013 10:14
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Spray on bleach, let it soak in, then rinse with clean water. Works fine. You might need to hit it with a power washer.
Here are a number of other products you can use.
http://www.loghelp.com/c-52-log-home-wood-cleaners.aspx
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 17 May 2013 20:31 - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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Quoting: ICC mold and mildew on wood is not necessarily going to be killed by chlorine bleach. the bleach will bleach the mold or mildew so it becomes transparent or not visible, but it is still there. chlorine bleach does kill mold and mildew on hard non porous surfaces. check with the makers of clorox on that. or check the epa. chlorine bleach also screws with the ph of the wood and harms the fibers as a result. there are products specially made for treating mold and mildew on wood. bleach should be reserved for making laundry white or cleaning the mold or mildew in the shower or wherever it appears on hard non porous surfaces. there are different brands marketed for cleaning wood decks. DEFY makes a safe wood cleaner that is an oxygenated bleach, safe on wood, safe for people and the environment. there are other brands as well.
This is what the farmers use. After the wood is cleaned, they put on "Chevron Shingle Oil" and they have been doing it for years. This is on their fence post. My cabin is in cowboy/farm country and I 'm not going to second guess what they have used and has worked for years. The original poster asked about the cleaning. He mentioned nothing about preserving, so I didn't add the shingle oil part. But the shingle would resolve all your other concerns about preservation and it makes the wood look very nice too.
To the original poster, bleach will get rid of it all. I seen it first hand myself. Just use bleach, a pressure sprayer, report back.
PS, my clothes, I use bleach on to get them clean and they are very porous types like my wooden fence. Works great I might add. 
And the last website I will visit is the EPA to clean my fence post.
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ICC
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# Posted: 17 May 2013 22:11 - Edited by: ICC
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech This is what the farmers use.
and i know ranchers who pour used motor oil around their posts in the ground. i don't care where or who you are that is not good and just because people have done it since the automobile was invented, does not make it an environmentally friendly thing to do.
Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech bleach will get rid of it all. I seen it first hand myself.
there is no doubt in my mind you saw the mold or mildew disappear. as I did say the bleach will bleach. the bleach makes it seem to disappear as the bleach removes all the color. that is what bleach does. however on a porous (like wood) surface it does not necessarily kill it all. that's all i was saying. just trying to educate people. but some don't want that, it's easier and cooler to go with folklore and the idea that everything old is better than new. don't get me wrong... not everything new is good. our GMO food supply for one, but that is another topic. .
Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech ...clothes, I use bleach on to get them clean...
great stuff for whitening laundry, i said that too. i use it on a few white things too to brighten them up. and clorox does a great job at disinfecting things like laundry, bathroom floors and toilets, etc. a great addition to the laundry when soiled diapers are being washed. but it has been shown that it does not kill the mold spores or the roots of mold. it clears the treatment area temporarily. if you remove the moisture that mold needs to grow it will not grow. but when the moisture comes back the wood will again be host to the mold and mildew problem.
if ya'll are not afraid to learn something new read at least one of the following links. or go ahead and use Google on your own. it is an interesting world out there and not everything we might have been told at one time or another is absolute truth.
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read this http://www.newtechbio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Does_Bleach_Kill_Mold_and_Mildew%3F
or this http://www.gipdrs.com/chlorine-bleach-ineffective-killing-mold-2/
or this
http://www.spore-tech.com/viewcategory.asp?idcategory=78
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 18 May 2013 09:25
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Can you shave the posts again? The mold and mildew probably formed from the moisture in the green wood, once it dries out they won't be able to grow again. A second shave with spokeshave or drawknife may pull the discolored layer, and leave a clean look.
But, if the mold has penetrated deeper, shaving will just expose more discolored wood, in which case chemicals are the only solution.
In general, so I'm told, it's best to cut and peel logs in winter when the moisture content is low so they won't get sap stain, which is mold and mildew. You cut yours in April, just when the trees are watering up with the warm weather......
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 18 May 2013 14:37
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BI, cutting them in the fall/winter also will prevent them from leaking pitch after they are peeled and used for a log home. If you cut them any other time, they leech pitch for a long time.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 19 May 2013 09:06 - Edited by: bldginsp
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This winter I was out in 15 degree weather peeling 6" doug fir poles for the rafters on my build. Hopefully I've avoided sap stain and pitch leaking. But doug fir leaks pitch no matter what, it has a will of it's own...
I avoided froze toes with toe warmers.... best thing since sliced bread. 
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Truecabin
Member
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# Posted: 19 May 2013 10:05
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stevexac have you tried bleach yet i'm curious sometimes bleach works like magic
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fpw
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# Posted: 19 May 2013 15:42
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These beams are Aspen cut in late spring. So they turn black very quick. I soaked them with bleach, used a pressure washer, and then applied stain. They went from quite black to acceptable in a short time.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 19 May 2013 16:12
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Quoting: fpw I soaked them with bleach, used a pressure washer, and then applied stain. They went from quite black to acceptable in a short time.
Like I said... (and the old time farmers)  that works perfect every time. 
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ICC
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# Posted: 20 May 2013 18:34
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The best route is to take a preventative approach. The air is fiull of mold spores almost all the time so it is not unexpected to see mold appear on newly saw wood or peeled logs.
Use a borate solution to spray the wood before the darkening mold or mildew happens. it also has the advantage of preventing insects from doing damage. Tim-bor, Boracare and Armor Guard are some of the available brands. It is clear unless dyed. we use the dyed type when spraying the lower 2 - 3 feet of framed and sheathed new wall construction because the color makes it possible to see where it was done and is needed as proof to the inspector. clear stuff is great for protecting newly sawn wood for those of you with sawmills.
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stevexac
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 21:10
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Thanks for all the ideas! I will be back up in a few weeks. I will post about the results.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 22:31
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Curious as to what you decided to use on your logs?
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