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OT: What is this?

D

Dan-IA

Member
I have a picture of something growing on these boards. I'm not real sure what it is, except that last time I got into this stuff I developed something like hay fever for the next 6 weeks. This in a guy who has no known allergic reactions to anything on the planet.

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But this grayish-white scaly lichen-looking stuff does nasty things to me.
Is it mold, and if so, what kind? About the only things that work on it are a putty knife or a wire brush, and even they are not particularly effective at removing it.
 
Can't tell you what it is, but deckwash (bleach) and a hand sprayer should take care of it with less elbow grease?

--->Paul
 
I dont know what is, but it should have been taken care of long time ago. Looks like it could be on a deck or fence line feeder, but power wash it and the clorox it.
 
It's some sort of mold, that's for sure. It's all over my wooden fence down at the barn, as well. I pressure wash it or bleach it (or both) and then just paint over the dang stuff.
 
You need a good dust mask when you work on removing that stuff. I recommend the power wash with bleach and detergent treatment followed by some sort of sealer. The sealer lets you go two-three years between power washes.
 
We have that exact same stuff all over where I live. It's a lichen which is a combination of a fungus and a plant (algae). My wife scraped some off of a granite grave stone once and had a terrible reaction just like you described. She was looking up info on it and it turns out that it may not be an allergic reaction at all, but a short lived fungal infection in your lungs.

Apperantly you can kill it with a copper-based fungicide, but a pressure washer is probably a better solution.
Lichen
 
it could be mold,which you should be able to get rid of with bleach,however it could also be a fungus which could be deadly if you breath it and it starts growing in your lungs.so when you do something with it please be sure to wear a good resperater
 
Baking soda is a fungicide and bleach will kill mold. Mix 6 tablespoons of baking soda to a gal of water and douse liberally. I don't know if you can put bleach in with the baking soda or if you need to do that separately. The baking soda & water will also kill black spot (a fungus) on rose bushes.
 
I agree with tjdub - that’s definitely lichen. Where I live the stuff will grow on almost any hard, non-metallic surface – rock, wood, concrete, asphalt roofing, etc.

Easiest way to remove it is to hit with a pressure washer. The water insures no dust (to which some people are sensitive) is raised. Alternatively you can wet the lichen down then go at it with a scraper or wire brush. Or it can be killed by treating with a copper-based fungicide (copper sulfate, etc) then scrubbing. Bleach works too but it’s not as effective (lichen is an amazingly tough stuff to kill...)

On wood surfaces lichen’s return can be prevented by treating the surface with copper- or zinc-bearing paints/stains. On roofing a strip of bare copper nailed along the roof peak will leach sufficient metal onto the roofing when it rains to prevent lichen’s return.
 
(quoted from post at 11:52:28 07/10/08) I agree with tjdub - that’s definitely lichen. Where I live the stuff will grow on almost any hard, non-metallic surface – rock, wood, concrete, asphalt roofing, etc.
Click to expand...

Actually I just blasted a bunch of that crud off of a tractor last weekend. It had been sitting for a couple months and everywhere that was in the shade had that stuff on it.

It was no match for the pressure washer. :twisted:
 
Dan-IA, Please be careful with that stuff. I just had a friend (76 yrs old) mysteriously die. He had not been feeling good for a few weeks - not real sick - just didn't feel good. An autopsy revealed he was completely covered inside with a fungus. He was an avid mushroom collector and eater. Don't know if that's cause or coincidence. I'd get a sample (safely) analyzed somewhere (hospital?) so you would know how to eradicate it. Have yourself (and other family members) checked if you still have any respiratory difficulties.

Again, treat this stuff seriously !! Good Luck and let us know what you find out. Bob Farrell
 
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