Can I Clean Off Wood Rot?

Once you realize your wood is rotting, what can you do? You could always call a professional to assess the damage and see how salvageable the wood is, but if you aren’t able to call one right away and want to check the damage yourself, here’s what you need to look out for: 

• Unsalvageable Wood Rot  

Unsalvageable wood rot cannot be cleaned, dried, or repaired. It’s the kind of rot that requires you to completely replace the wooden support. Usually, the kinds of fungus that cause the wood to be unusable are those that make the wood shrink and soften up. Once the wood’s internal structure has been debilitated so heavily, it will never be able to support the house’s weight the same way it used to. Even if you manage to eliminate the fungal growth, the wood is still smaller than it used to be and likely to snap under the weight of the house. 

Softwood rot needs to be removed and replaced as soon as you detect it because it’s the type of fungus that quickly spreads to other support beams. While you’re dealing with one part of the wood rot, the fungal growth will be spreading to other support beams. If you rely on clearing this kind of fungal growth on all the wood in your crawl space, the entire infrastructure will have been debilitated by the time you’re done. 

• Salvageable Wood Rot  

If the wood hasn’t been softened up or shrunken down, it can be saved if the fungal growth isn’t too severe. However, the process of clearing wood from any fungal growth might be a little too difficult for the average homeowner, even those with a DIY background. To salvage the wood, it must first be dried out and the humidity levels in the crawl space need to be as low as possible. This cannot be done with a normal, household dehumidifier because they aren’t potent enough to properly dehumidify a moisture-filled area like a crawl space. An industry-grade dehumidifier is required. 

Next, either a fungicide or a wood preservative must be used to kill the fungus. This can be dangerous to handle because many of them contain harmful chemicals. The most effective fungicide products are only available to professionals, so most off-the-shelf products won’t get rid of the problem completely. Finally, a hardener is applied to strengthen the wood and fill any holes and cracks. Some hardeners are only to be used on door frames and wooden tables; these are not strong enough to help crawl space support beams hold up an entire house, so the hardener needs to be chosen carefully.