Particle board cubbords are effected with green fungus and keeps developing frequently. Solution required.?

Question

Hello All, I have Particle board cubbords imported from malaysia, this cubbort during winter time develop fungus on the surface. The fungus is green in colour and is like soft cotton. Once cleaned, this will reappear in 2 days time, The cubbord is placed in a corner rested to wall, The wall is clean with no fungus. Is there a solution to avoid this fungus development on the cubbord. Please advise.

Answer 1

personally i would get rid of them and get new ones.you may have this happen for the life time of the cupboards the fungus will be in the wood because it is so porous

Answer 2

Sounds as if your cupboard is absorbing moisture some how.  You are going to have to use something to get rid of the fungus first, you cannot just brush it off and then seal over it. First use a full strength bleach solution to thoroughly clean the cupboard.  The bleach odor will be quite strong to make sure you have plenty of ventilation.  Let dry thoroughly.  Coat the entire interior and exterior surfaces of the cupboard with polyurethane. 3 coats are recommended. Follow the directions on how to apply. (There is a water based poly-easy clean up -  that I use and recommend. It is made by Minwax and available at most Home Depot, Lowes, etc.).  This should seal your cupboard surfaces and make them fungus impervious.  I seal the interior surfaces of all of my kitchen cupboards with this product. It keeps them moisture resistant and easy to keep clean.

As to avoiding moisture, you may need to install a ventilation fan which will help to cut down on the moisture accumulating in the room. You also might check to see if there is not some sort of leak in your plumbing lines in the room, which will need attention. Or moisture could be entering around your doors and windows.  If it is you should recaulk them.

Info on product available at http://www.minwax.com/products/water_bas...

Answer 3

Ultimately, the best solution is to replace the cupboards.  If that is not an option, first remove as much of the green fungus as you can, then get some rubbing alcohol [isopropyl alcohol 70%] and saturate the area thoroughly.  Let it air dry.  Saturate a second time, and again let it air dry.  You may have to repeat this procedure from time to time, but the alcohol will kill off a big percentage of spores on the surface and keep the fungus from growing back quite so fast.

Answer 4

Bleach kills fungus spores, have you tried cleaning it with 1 part bleach and 10 parts water?

Answer 5

The fungus is coming from the cupboard, not the wall.  Particle board is quite porous.  I'd recommend spraying it with chlorine bleach, NOT mixed with water.  That's the most certain way to kill any fungus spores on the surface.  That's going to produce a very strong chlorine smell in your kitchen, so open all your windows.  

Once you have killed the fungus, paint the cupboards on all exposed surfaces to make certain that the fungus is sealed away from any moisture in the air.  Use at least 2 coats of paint.  

If there's no fungus presently showing on your cupboards, paint them now so you can avoid the whole problem of trying to kill the fungus later.