old timber house restoration

[brooklana]

Hi everyone,we are restoring a 100 year old house that is full timber softwood lined,all the bedrooms have never been painted and we wish to keep them that way but when the house was resited to our block of land the ceiling got very wet and now its dry has a dusty mould coating on it, so im wondering how to remove it without discolouring the timber and any ideas on what to apply to the timber to preserve its natural look would be appreciated. We are not really sure what type of timber it is and have had a few people look at it and say it could be coachwood or hoop pine but no one so far is sure.Any info would be helpfullthanks Brooklana.

[Scribbly Gum]

Wipe down with white vinegar - big bottles are cheap at the supermarket.
Allow to dry and Bob's yur unkle!

[brooklana]

Thanks scribbly gum, will i only have to do it once and will i have to coat the timber with some product to stop the mould from forming again?

[Scribbly Gum]

Once should be enough.
Keep an eye on it and repeat if necessary.
You shouldn't have any more trouble after it dries out.
Cheers
SG

[brooklana]

thanks scribbly gum

[Horsecroft88]

If you wanted to coat it, you could try wiping say a coat of shellac over it. I know messy over head but then again given you have re-located the house perhaps, and you are in the process of restoring it, just put a drop sheet over the floor to protect it. Re the timber, I am not sure where you are, but typically timber lining (ceilings and walls) is baltic pine regency molding. See pic of our house we are restoring

[The Bleeder]

Brooklana,

If the vinegar as SG suggested doesn't work then try oxalic acid (a little stronger than vinegar). A lot of funiture restores use it to get rid of mould.

There may be other suggestions but try over in the renovation forum.

[Horsecroft88]

Yes good advice re oxalic acid, furniture restorers use it to neutralise any residues after paint-stripping. I use metho, and sometimes simply warm soapy water to clean off but in terms of stopping mould I am not sure my method would be effective. I don't know whether sugar soap might be useful ???