Moldy Stocks... Suggestions?

[John Cinkoske]

Greetings and Happy New Year to One and All!
A friend has gun safes in an unheated building in the Midwest...
A number of the guns in the safes seem to be growing a whitish or grayish mold on the stocks.
A Golden Rod is present and plugged in in one of the safes with the moldy wood.
What would be the cause? The problem seems to be year-round.
How can it be prevented?
What is the best method of removal of the mold?
Could a wiping-down concoction containing sperm oil be a contributor?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Ron Leo]

Had similar issue until I focused on managing the safe's humidity level...add dessicants, perhaps another golden rod, and a good hygrometer. Keep the humidity ~45% or less.

Tough to do in an unheated space...I keep the shop @ 50* when not working.

Clean the mold with lemon oil, or preservative of choice, and beware of rust if you have mold growing....others will chime in...just my two cents...

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Make sure to at least wear a mask, mold can be a killer! gary

[Kevin McCormack]

Avoid using sperm oil AT ALL COSTS!!! I have an HE Fox that one of the best stock men in the country had to extract 3 times to remove all of the sperm oil from the stock head. Multiple extractions involved denatured alcohol, acetone, commercial grade ammonia dilution and MEK. It finally all came out, but the recoloring and restoration was a b**tch and the invoice was scary!

[Steve Havener]

Mold is a living organism and once established requires treatment with a product specifically formulated to kill it once it has been established. I would bet that the interior of the gun safe is contaminate and will require a complete cleaning and disinfection. Cleaning the interior of the gun safe with TileX and Formula 409 will kill mold and should prevent further problems.

[John Cinkoske]

Thanks for all the replies, all great suggestions.
Would Tilex or Formula 409 work on carpet?
They are all lined with it.

[Steve Havener]

409 makes a carpet spot and stain remover but I cant tell from the listed formula if it contains the same chemicals as the regular 409 cleaner. Best to call their help desk at 1-800-227-1860.

[Bill Holcombe]

Not sure how it would react to the guns and the wood and stuff, but if you want to stay away from chemicals, vinegar is an awesome fungus remover.

Put it in a spray bottle and go to town. Not sure how the blue or the wood finish would react to vinegar though, but it should be great for the inside of the safe, as long as you let it air out.

[wayne goerres]

If you want to keep the finish on your guns I wouldn't get vinegar on them.

[Daryl Corona]

Thanks for all the replies, all great suggestions.
Would Tilex or Formula 409 work on carpet?
They are all lined with it.

I think your mold problem could be directly related to the carpet lined safe. Get rid of the carpet and I bet the problem disappears.

[John Cinkoske]

I've used vinegar to strip blue off of gun parts.
Don't try this at home for sure!
Stripping out the carpet and painting the insides with Kilz Primer might be the best solution.

....and doubling up the GoldenRods, and installing Hygrometers in each one...

Will Lemon Oil hurt the bluing? I suspect it has a neutral pH...

[Joe Dreisch]

In Vietnam during the monsoon seasons we would install a porcelain keyless fixture with a 60 watt bulb in it to heat the insides of our lockers and keep clothes and firearms dry. It generates a respectable amount of warmth and keeps things dry. Use a 130 volt bulb for much longer (bulb) life. You could probably get away with a 40 watt.
I agree with Daryl that the carpet is holding humidity. Get rid of the carpet in one safe and try the hot locker treatment.

[John Cinkoske]

I found a supply of 15W 130 volt bulbs, so a couple weeks ago we installed porcelain fixtures in the safes above the center partitions, nowhere near the stock wood. They seem warmer whenever you open them, so maybe this will work. The owner wouldn't let me rip out the carpet. I won't name names but the safes were sold recently by the successor to Parker Bros... Thanks again for all the suggestions!