How can I tell if the raw wood in my basement is dyed or is moldy?

Question

My basement is unfinished but I am concerned about mold. The wood has green on it, but it is really green like dye. It doesn't scratch off. How can I tell if this is dye from the lumber or if it is moldy?

Answer 1

if it is moist or feels soft its mold

Answer 2

Drill a hole in the piece of wood in question, feel the chips and observe the color, the chips should feel some what clean and maybe a little moist depending on the age. Color should be consistent throughout the wood. More than likely the lumber is pressure treated. Do not burn the wood use a sharp drill bit or a new bit. Pressure treated wood contains arsenic, and becomes a gas when burned. New regulations now don't permit the use of arsenic, but older homes still may have pressure treated lumber. Mold will usually show itself in spores in wet areas, keep air flowing in the basement and check for spores.

Answer 3

Do you find the green all over the board, or only in a specific area? Does it look like a rubber stamp, or an identification marking on the board, and does it appear on more than one board? The green you see may also be because the lumber has been pressure treated. It's called a variety of names, Wolmanized comes to mind. The lumber is pressure treated for resistance to water, and is used for decks, piers and docks for boats, or anywhere where it would be exposed to dampness. ( a basement would be a logical and appropriate use ). It appears as olive-green in color, and would be fairly uniform in color over the entire board. My experience with mold is that it appears as blotchy, black spots on the lumber, and looks like mold on bread, only black in color. I haven't experienced green mold, but it could certainly exist. You can kill the mold by spraying it with a 10%-20% solution of household bleach and water. Be careful not to scrape or rub the suspected mold, that only disturbs the mold spores and makes them airborne...... (a real problem for those who are sensitive and have allergies). Tape sheet plastic over the area of the mold before you spray it......... this will contain any mold spores that may be disturbed if you spray too vigorously. Once you've sprayed, you can remove and dispose of the plastic after a couple of hours. Wear at least a paper respirator to cover your nose and mouth when working around the area of the suspected mold.

Answer 4

I most likely agree with green wood being green. And perhaps that is the natural way wood rots or rather processes itself when new (the green wood in your basement) will likely want to breathe. Leaving u with a green look coming out of wood beams. My main concern would be black mold. The seeping or weeping of green (untreated wood) shouldnt be a bother try treating that wood at an approiate time to make sure wood, walls, wet walls, and floors are well protected. If a second bathroom ie shower toilet etc. is clean from black mold. I sure hope this makes sence. Been there and still am fighting The black mold. anyways good luck.

Answer 5

The green on your lumber in your basement isn't mold, as a matter of fact, that green color will inhibit, or stop, mold growth.

In most every sub surface, or below ground level application, a specially treated kind of wood is used.
The lumber is called 'Pressure Treated', the green color is a wood preservative that is actually IN the wood after it's been treated. The preservative is a mold and rot inhibiter, and keeps the wood from rotting and decomposing, even in very wet conditions.

Because this treatment isn't very good for you, if you have kids or pets that can come in contact with the green lumber, it is always best to paint it, using any good quality latex primer and paint.

Mold on that wood will never happen!

P.S., mold you're worried about is ALWAYS black, mold remediation is part of what I do.

Answer 6

Mold on wood is normally black, would fall or scratch off if disturbed, and has an identifiable smell of decay. The green in the wood seems to be the dye, since it doesn't scratch off.

Answer 7

Why not attempt to grow a culture from the area. Quick trick here: cut a small piece of cheese exposing a fresh surface. Dab the cheese on the surface to expose it to microorganisms. If what you described is mold, fungus, bacteria there should be plenty of spores.

Put the cheese inside a sealed container like Tupperware. Put a small amount of water in container to keep the air inside moist (like 10 drops). Leave it out in a warm place.

If there are organisms present you should see growth in 3 to 5 days. I suspect if what you’ve described is due to microorganisms, the surface will be covered. You can clean your Tupperware with soap and water, followed by a bit of bleech.

Cheers, oh and BTW if it is mold, rip the wood out, find a way the increase ventilation and if possible restore with something other than wood. The fungus that grows in areas like that cause dry rot. And dry rot spreads to infect the wood nearby. A stitch in time saves nine.

Answer 8

Since it's not coming off, it sounds like it is dye. Mold has surface growth so since it is a hard surface, it would appear on your fingers if you wiped/scratched it. Mold frequently looks fuzzy or powderery so look with a magnifying glass to see if there is filamentous growth. The most common basement molds look blackish.

Answer 9

Rides is right, and Jim looks like he did a cut and paste.

Black mold is dangerous, and turns white when it is dead.

Green mold will come off with bleach or a cleaner.

Treated wood won't mold but is dangerous to pets.

If you have black mold, it will be in LOVE with any drywall you have nearby, moreso than the wood.

Answer 10

Clean it with bleach water 10 parts water to 1 part bleach.
Then paint the wood with Kilz.
I also would put a concrete sealer on the walls and floor.
Only do this if the wood feels strong and is not mushy or rotted.

Answer 11

You've received a lot of good answers here, but one caution about Chemist's reply - using cheese as a determiner is going to give you false readings. There are mold spores in the air all around us, and as a matter of fact, it takes mold spores to turn cow juice into cheese, so the test Chemist prescribes is ALWAYS going to grow mold.