I ran into a guy today at Wal-Mart in the tool section that told me about his friend that had been hospitalized from either a bacterial infection or a viral infection he got from using some old lumber in the back of his shed. I'm still a novice, but Wow! This seems a bit far fetched. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before?
I have not been hospitalized, but remodeling has led me to some pretty nasty materials. If the lumber from the back of his shed was covered in some kind of mold (I am thinking exposed to the air, and to water that didn't drain or dry - you know, the pile of shit lumber that we are going to use later) that was particularly thick and nasty, I could see it. I have torn out bathrooms and has molded boards rub across my arms without piercing the skin that have raised red marks and tiny blisters.
If there was something in the grain of the wood, he cut it or sanded it, and inhaled the dust, he could have gotten something nasty.
Bacterial? Maybe. Viral? Probably not. An allergic reaction? Quite probably.
For more than you can chew on this subject, go to the woodworking rec and search for spalted wood turning. Spalted wood - wood streaked with mold and fungus - is highly prized (I force spalt some of mine) for turning as it gives wood tremendous character. However, many have claimed all manner of ailments from turning this stuff, and it has gained national attention from its dangers in the turning community.
When I was too stupid to wear my dust mask, it sure got me. I was turning spalted pecan. I felt like I had bronchitis for a couple of days after turning and sanding the piece, all the while inhaling the dust. Now I but quality throw away dust masks and use them every time.
Try Googling "spalted wood danger" and you will be surprised at all the hits.
Robert
Possibly mold, but the reason that wood is the preferred material for food cutting boards (rather than the various plastics that have shown up) is that bacteria doesn't like it. It is not a fertile material for the propogation of bacteria or viruses, so it seems unlikely that is the source of the problem.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Well, I guess you haven't been in an leaky shower for a while. Or seen an old woodpile, or been behind he old timer's house that has wood he was saving for "that project" for many years. I have loaded wood into dumpsters that was so decayed that it was swept up and shoveled into a wheel barrow first.
If bacteria and fungii didn't break down wood, why does it decay? What causes it to rot? Why do I have a gold colored mold on one side and white/black mold/fungus on the other side of a large log I have been too lazy to split for a few years?
Wood will easily sustain mold and fungus. Properly maintained wood will not. Some woods will rot and attract fungus more than others (this is why spalted oak is rare compared to spalted maple).
So I think, personally, that while "old wood" could mean a lot of things to a lot of different people, if it has been improperly stored or cared for it could easily have mold and fungus growing on it.
OP wasn't talking about new lumberyard material.
Robert
Could well not be.
A couple of years ago I had a severe bacterial lung infection.
Doc's were trying to blame it on woodworking until a lab technician happened to ask if I'd cleaned out a barbeque pit lately. Sure enough, three days before the symptoms hit me, I had cleaned out two barbeque pits.
Lab technician said that if they've just asked him earlier, he could have told them how common it was to come down with a bacterial lung infection after cleaning a barbeque pit.
He didn't say "bacteria and fungi," he said "bacteria and viruses."
Fungi.
Because damp wood readily supports the growth of fungi.
Certainly it could. But the discussion concerned bacteria and viruses.
Wood is a preferred material for a cutting board if you clean it after use. Toss a cutting board out in the yard for a few months and see if your statement still rings true.
Never, I have never seen a Tool Section in Wal-Mart.
As the body musters itself to attack the mold or the toxins they manufacture, it often becomes more vulnerable to the spread of bacteria it otherwise would have an easy time controlling.
In the case of ashes, I suspect a large dose of alkalosis might have been the factor.
Note that winter, with its low indoor relative humidity produces more lung infections. Keep your parents' homes humidified, they'll breathe better and live longer. As long as you don't get it humid enough to foster molds....
Left long enough fungi and insects will cause it to decay. I still don't think it will be harmful to humans from contact alone. The point I was making is that wood kept off the ground is not a good propogation site for bacteria.
Not a biologist, I simply read several university studies on cutting board materials and their relative safety from bacteria when I was making a few cutting boards. I thought the man made materials would be better. I was wrong based on what I read.
Good point.
In the southern states many insurances companies are opting out coverage of mold and mildew on home owners insurance. That stuff lives on the wood inside walls in damp areas like bathrooms. It costs a fortune to remediate.
"Swingman" wrote
Two comments;
Isn't just like a doc (or the MIL) to blame woodworking for anything that ails ya??
I am going to wear a super gas mask/filter when I clean out the barbecue from now on! Maybe even a full fledged hazmat suit.
On Feb 15, 4:56 pm, Frank Boettcher
No Frank, you were NOT wrong in context of cutting boards. I am an avid cook and have not only read the same things you have, but followed the debates over the years. I think it was proven to just about everyone's satisfaction that wooden cutting boards are even more safe than plastic in the home environment.
And I agree with you that wood kept off the ground is not a good site for bacterial growth. With those qualifiers, I agree with your original response.
Perhaps I should have been a little more careful in my original response, too. I didn't mean to offend.
Robert
OK, I'll bite.
How do you clean your barbecue?
I fire up a 500,000 BTU propane torch and burn mine clean.
Quick, fast, cheap, and neat.
Lew
Some guy...had a friend...that was hospitalized from an infection and the friend of the guy said that it was due to old lumber.
I got some problems with this kind of heresy. Seems to me they would have to culture the bugs that were infecting the guy and then trace this to the source in order to make the connection.
Seems to me the only time this kind of thing happens is when there is a great public health threat, and that is usually after people start dropping dead from some strange infection.
I can only think of several cases like the mouse turd dust, Sars, or the Ebola virus where the CDC sends out men in white coveralls and fancy respirators to track down the vector of something nasty.
Well that's better than opting out of all coverage. State Farm just announced that, because of the untenable legal environment in Mississippi, they will write no new policies. Started out just no policies south of Interstate 10, but as of two days ago, statewide.
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