Armitagej Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Is this mold in antique furniture? Click to Enlarge 46.89 KB Click to Enlarge 47.28 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 no. Can't bet my life on it from a photo, but sure just looks like "shellac" and/or degraded varnish. Of course, diluted beetle poop is nothing as dangerous as mold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armitagej Posted September 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 I recently took this furniture out of storage and into my new condo. Have been smelling a musty/wood chips. Could this furniture be the source of the problem? At first it didn't smell, but could introducing humidity into the environment ( I left the balcony door open on a few nights) cause a small to come out of the furniture? (porous?!?!) The furniture belonged to my great great grandmother, so it is very old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 M Stanley, the smell is not unusual for old wood and fabric; furniture. It likely will go away after a time, especially if you open some doors and let it get a little air. Use Fabreeze or diluted cheap fabric softner and spritz. I think your condo is very likely well sealed, so a small source is pretty strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Everything has mold/fungus/mildew/spores on it, especially old wood furniture kept in storage. The upholstery is probably funky too. How freaked out about mold do you want to be? If you tend to freaking out, immediately burn all the furniture, enroll yourself in a remediation program, and consult with multiple medical professionals regarding possible problems caused by mold. If not, clean it and enjoy it, and remember grandma with a smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Long ago, during a life as a shiftless young lout, I worked as a day laborer furnishing a brand new Ramada Inn. The hapless entrepreneur who had the contract had rented a big open top truck with which to fetch matresses he had warehoused across town, maybe for a little too long, for even tho they were new in plastic wrap, many of the matresses had grown a fine fuzz of some fungal species (or group of such). Phew! The mold be darned, we loaded the matresses and box springs way high in the truck and proceeded toward Ramada. On the way the best route took us through a low clearance overhead train trestle. Bossman was at the wheel, and he asked me and my buds if it looked like we would make it. We gave the thumbs up and he gunned it. The behavior of a stack of matresses under an overhead load makes them compress, and as we got centered under the trestle the compression stopped, and we were stuck firmly. If we weren't being paid to be there we would have laughed a lot louder, but as we were paid by the hour, we didn't care how long it took extract enough of them to free the truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 If you're asking if the black in the pictures is mold, it certainly is not. The musty smell is most likely mildew in the upholstery. I used to repair, restore and reproduce 300-400 year old furnishings for a museum and couple historic sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Is this mold in antique furniture?. . . Yes. Definitely. It's very, very bad mold and it's very dangerous. You should carefully pack up all of that furniture in crates and ship it to me. I'll make sure that it's properly disposed of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Sir, Perhaps you've figured out that there aren't too many folks on this forum that believe in the mold bogeyman. We have good cause to be a little bit skeptical of the whole mold is gonna getcha scene that the media has created over the past decade. Prior to the media turning fungi into the apocalypse about a decade ago, we'd tell folks to eliminate the source of the moisture and clean up the fungal growth with some soap and water and enjoy their homes. Ever since the media started making mountains out of mold spore, we've become jaded. I've stored furniture in warehouses and have had it come out smelling musty. A couple of times it came out with a fine coating of some kind of fungi. We wiped it down with soapy water, dried it well and the smell went away. I still spend evenings sitting on the same leather sofa and have never gotten sick from that (gasp) mold exposure. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Antique? Is it just me or does that look like MDF/particle board in the second picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Grandma probably blew out the original.......maybe it was caned. It's MDF near as I can tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Garet, I think you get the Sherlock Holmes medal...on the other hand, that black stuff next to the MDF looks to me like it could creep right across the living room floor and penetrate where ever it could find an orfice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armitagej Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Here is a better shot of the items posted yesterday for those who think its MDF and fiberboard. (that just the cushion for the seats) I never thought posting here would attract so many harsh replies as I was just looking for some help... geez Others, thank you for the replies. regards to all who helped. Click to Enlarge 55.76 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 army, I don't know what your definition of harsh is, but, as with any website, your posting exposes you to slings and arrows...you must gird your loins. The photo of the group has no effect on the perception here of unnecessary handwringing. This site typically is not so keen on homeowner queries. I would second Mike O's comment that "mold" has been made a modern myth by mass media, who love to create fear of every kind, so as to better prey on the worriers among us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 I vote for that is a very cool table. The chairs are nice on their own. Wipe it off with cleaner and invite me over for dinner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Table si, flooring no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Shoot, I thought the guy got excellent advice. He doesn't realize he's in one of the few places on the internet where the advice is based in real world experience in fields of construction, woodworking, and building science. I suppose we could have gone the route of most popular news media and pulled up information from other websites. There's gotta be someplace that thinks moldy furniture is a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Here is a better shot of the items posted yesterday for those who think its MDF and fiberboard. (that just the cushion for the seats) The man's right. It's not MDF. It's genuine particle board. Harder, stronger, and much more painful when you're hit by the little chips while sawing it. The stuff of laminate countertop substrates. Did you re-cover the seats yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Yes, it's true. Kind of nice simple clean design, though. The chairs could be made nicely buff with new upholstery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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