[monkey boy]

Our board is in an un-insulated outhouse that doesn't get a huge amount of airflow. Last year I had no issues with mould but I think with all temp spikes and then colder spells plus a lot of rain mould has started to grow on holds and the plywood. If I'm using the board a lot it's not as bad but I'm about to have ACL surgery and therefore it won't be used for a while. Any ideas?

I've got the de-humidifier going again to see if that helps.

Cheers

[petejh]

Other than airflow or spending loads on heating, nope. I use the HG mould killer stuff, gets rid of it quickly.  Your board will smell of chlorine for an hour or two after.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301947329

[Probes]

Yep, airflow, if its unheated. Are you able to fit a basic extract, like a 100mm bathroom extract? This with somewhere to let air in, would probably help a lot. Also you could treat the holds, using like an osmo, this would stop mold developing on the holds. Treat them and sand back the contact area to get some friction back. But, getting air moving is first call.

[mr chaz]

I've thought about getting a solar powered fan/vent thingy as my shed woodie has similar issues, not done it though. I painted the ply with outdoor protective paint and that has helped. Other than that I keep it at bay through regular use, numerous vents and the odd bit of bleach spray/sanding.

[spidermonkey09]

Other than airflow or spending loads on heating, nope. I use the HG mould killer stuff, gets rid of it quickly.  Your board will smell of chlorine for an hour or two after.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301947329

This is good gear, I also rate the Cillit Bang Black Mould spray. You can get it v cheap on ebay in multiples. I'd probably give it a really good clean now, leave it to dry as much as possible over summer/ get some air through it and then see how it looks comes next winter.

[Bradders]

I've thought about getting a solar powered fan/vent thingy as my shed woodie has similar issues, not done it though. I painted the ply with outdoor protective paint and that has helped. Other than that I keep it at bay through regular use, numerous vents and the odd bit of bleach spray/sanding.

I tried exactly this, unfortunately it's only a problem in winter when of course there wasn't enough sunlight to power the fan 

Installing simple vents has helped deal with the majority of the condensation I was getting but hasn't stopped mould growing. I don't seem to get it on the holds but the ply has a fair bit. Ideally I think you'd have a mains linked fan running but not sure what the cost would be for that.

[mrjonathanr]

My board is in a brick shed. It has an opening side hatch as well as a door. the only time mould appeared was one winter when I was injured and did not go in there for several months.

Can you install a hatch or window to ventilate the place better?

[Probes]

Small bathroom fan, about 15w... .10p a day.

[Betajunkie]

Similar situation myself have tried numerous things over the years.
Have large vents as it has a door and openable hatch that I leave open most of year. It still suffers this time of year then corrects itself in the summer. I did paint the board in some water resistant paint which helped for a while but still comes back doesn't really get mould on holds but more on the plywood. Unfortunately might just be a case of replacing the plywood when the time comes but interested to hear other peoples options. I put a heated fan in there prior to my sessions and it cuts back alot on the dampness allowing me to have a good session still.

[mrjonathanr]

A slightly different thought. Where does the humidity come from?  One source of moisture for me was at ground level. This disappeared when I dug up the surrounding earth and created a basic soakaway by filling the trench with pebbles.

[Probes]

What is the outhouse constructed from/like...? Brick/block single/double wall. Blockwork can be troublesome if not properly sealed.

[monkey boy]

Thanks for all that.

I normally leave three windows open and then the door when I'm in there, hasn't made much difference. It's pretty hemmed in so we get very little air flow there which is probably the issue. There's also a lot of moisture as we have a big hillside behind us.

It's made of limestone, just single walled.

Didn't have any issues last winter which is what I found odd.

[monkey boy]

Other than airflow or spending loads on heating, nope. I use the HG mould killer stuff, gets rid of it quickly.  Your board will smell of chlorine for an hour or two after.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301947329

We have some of that actually so can use that for now.

[cofe]

Blast it with a turbo heater for 20 minutes a day. Cheap from Toolstation etc.

[Probes]

It's made of limestone, just single walled.

Oh  . Can you knock up an open fire and chimney?

Yeah that'll be letting a bit of moisture/damp through especially if its lime mortared.

[monkey boy]

It's made of limestone, just single walled.

Oh  . Can you knock up an open fire and chimney?

Yeah that'll be letting a bit of moisture/damp through especially if its lime mortared.

Haha!

I guess it'll be a case of sorting the mould out over the summer each year and then maintaining over the winter. I'll see how the de-humidifier does and could look at heater although that'll probably be quite expensive from an electricity perspective.

Cofe - do you have one? Which one?

Cheers

[cofe]

Think I’ve got this one: https://www.toolstation.com/2kw-space-heater/p92761

Quite good at just blasting moisture off the board/hold surface. Can get bigger, beefier versions.

[J_duds]

I've had this mould problem on a board and the wooden frame behind the board.
I possibly did too much:
I removed the holds. Cleaned off the mould using a white vinegar cleaner. Let it dry.
Treated the wood by spraying it with a mould treatment. Let it dry for a few days possibly a few weeks in my case.
Then varnished the ply with yacht varnish.
I also now leave a window slightly open to create some air flow.

I will look into the solar fan ideas mentioned above!

[Paul B]

I didn't have this problem and then put threshold strips underneath the barn style doors (as leaves/rain/melting drifts were getting in) and then all of a sudden had the issue. Not that I've used it for ages now but I'd accepted a cleaning programme and would put an Erbauer heater on for 15-30 minutes before a session to get rid of the moisture. I'd planned to core and fit a bathroom fan but haven't succeeded in being bothered yet. My plywood was lightly vanished so it seemed to clean off fairly well.

[petejh]

If anyone’s considering spending a bit more to heat their board to prevent mould, I recommend an IR heater over an air heater. I fitted out my stone cottage (all electric, no gas/oil) with IR heater panels all round to replace the electric storage heaters when I moved in last year. They’ve completely stopped the mould that used to be an issue on one of the back walls, without any other action taken. The IR heats the object directly, but not the air between the heater and object, so it’s much drier heat than warm air. A 400w panel close to a board would probably prevent mould.
I got expensive 1100w and 800w German ones but could get a 400w for around £250 from trianco. Still pricey just to heat a boardroom though.

Edit: around £1.15 for 10hrs continuous use @29p/kwh. Wouldn’t need to be on continuously, so say 50p - £1 per day through winter.

[monkey boy]

Most of these replies seem to focus on airflow and heat. Airflow hasn't helped on my board at all, I just don't we get enough where the building is. I've set the dehumidifer up now so I'll see if that helps.

For me the biggest issues is it growing on the holds themselves. We have got some on the ply board but not as much.

I'll see how dehumidifer goes and then maybe try heater at some point too.

All useful stuff.

[Bradders]

Worth saying I've tried a dehumidifier in mine and it made no difference, even using a decent size mains based one. It's not a sealed space so unless it's an absolutely massive / industrial type one it'll always be fighting a losing battle. It also got rapidly clogged with chalk, and they're not cheap to run.

Another idea I've had, but not tried yet, is using a thermostatic greenhouse heater like this one

https://www.toolstation.com/dimplex-thermostatic-tubular-heater-ipx4/p17033?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dm&pcrid=null&pkw=null&pmt=null&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAz8GuBhCxARIsAOpzk8x1DRMQgjyxiCmn6yqV3FaMOQeftWdv1wtNLZiRq6zqNPiJbkA9q7waAlvaEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Gives a constant low level supply of heat at low wattage so, in theory, should work to keep the heat a little higher than the ambient temp and therefore stop the damp coming in.

[GazM]

Is the concern that the mould will affect the strength of the board, or the texture of the holds?

My board is nearly 10 years old, in a damp wooden shed with no heating, up here north of Inverness. I get a few patches of the bluey-grey mould on some of the ply surface and on some wooden holds (think different wood is more/less susceptible) but have never done anything about it and am not aware that it's ever caused any issues. I could be wrong, but I get the impression that the mould doesn't like chalk.

[rodma]

Worth saying I've tried a dehumidifier in mine and it made no difference, even using a decent size mains based one. It's not a sealed space

I love this. We have one for using in the house and tried to dehumidify the neighbourhood (and beyond) the first couple of times we used it. We quickly cottoned on.

[Betajunkie]

I plan on stripping mine and sanding it down in the summer then painting over it. Any ideas on which paint would work best?
Board is outside in a shed.