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Can Your Moldy Wood Pallets Be Saved? Maybe...

6/6/2013

 
Don’t scrap that moldy pallet just yet... we might be able to save it!

The bad news is you found mold on your pallets. The good news is that mold grows on the surfaces of the pallet components. This surface growth does not structurally degrade the material - at least not in the short term.
Wood Pallet MoldIf the mold growth is in the early stages and has not yet degraded the wood, you might be able to save your pallet.




If you find mold:

  • First, you need to kill the mold.
    The key is getting the pallets dry (or dry again). You need to get control over the moisture content of your pallets. Once the pallet components reach a moisture content below 19%, the mold is unable to survive.  
 
  • Second, address the aesthetics of the pallet.
    Inactive mold could still be visible on the pallets. Pressure washing the pallets and using a diluted bleach solution will help kill and remove mold.  
But wait... don't remove mold from pallets until you do this:

You should always check with your customers before you make any attempts to remove mold. Certain chemicals and even bleach can be used to try to remove existing mold. However, your customer may prohibit the use of chemicals on their pallets. The last thing you want to do is to make a bad situation even worse.

If your pallet mold issue is too overwhelming or requires a professional, reach out to Nelson Company. We can do a free assessment of the mold and work with you to develop a solution for your problem.

Are you having recurring pallet mold problems? We would love to help. Please describe your mold problem below and we will get back to you!

Post by: Rich Reiher, Vice President of Sales
Adrian
11/7/2014 04:35:03 am

Hello! I need help. I think inhave moldy pallets but i am not sure. I thought at first it was just dirt but after brushing it out i could still see like a black stain. I am planning to repurpose these pallets I have extra for furniture (like a couch and such) but i dunno how to proceed regarding the possible mold prior to repurposing it. Thanks.

Rich link
11/19/2014 12:56:51 am

Adrian, there are a variety of stains that occur naturally in wood. This could be what you are seeing. Feel free to send us some pictures and we'll take at look at what you are seeing.

Amanda McKinney
12/19/2016 08:06:48 pm

How can I submit pics?

nihat
5/15/2020 03:05:28 am

Dear Rich

We want to come up with an automated solution to clean the mold from the wood pallets. What I am visualizing is, the pallet with mold (the product will be on the pallet so during the cleaning process we don’t want to do damage the product box on the pallet.) would go on a conveyor belt, go into this machine, the machine will spray chemicals, and then it will come out from the other side. What chemicals may work, is it going to be sufficient to clean, how long does the chemical need to stay etc. ,
can you inform us? Do you have any solution or suggestion?

Rich Reiher link
2/7/2017 01:44:42 pm

Amanda, feel free to send the pics to [email protected]. Thanks!


Comments are closed.
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