Combine moisture, warm air and wood, and you have the perfect recipe for mold. Especially in the hot and humid summer months, pallet manufacturers and pallet users must be extra cautious about the conditions pallets are exposed to. The food and pharmaceutical companies in particular need to be on the alert for mold in their pallets. And let’s be honest, no one likes the stuff.
Pallets, in many respects, are the silent workhorses of the unit load movement. No one wants to think about them, but pallets are necessary to safely ship goods. To stave off mold growth, make sure that your pallet provider is putting the proper measures in place to prevent it. You too, can take some simple steps in order to keep your pallet inventory mold-free. The steps to mold prevention include using the right type of wood, keeping pallets dry, maintaining the air movement in their storage space and rotating your stock.
The Pallet Manufacturer’s Role in Mold Prevention
The most important thing to remember is that mold grows in moist conditions. Taking action to limit moisture is the best way to protect pallets from mold. For pallet customers where mold is a particular concern, ensure that your pallet provider is using kiln dried southern yellow pine as opposed to green hardwood during pallet production. Green hardwood has a high moisture content and is more likely to have issues with mold. In addition, all lumber should be kept undercover, even during shipment. Tarps can go a long way towards keeping precipitation and moisture from penetrating wood. Once lumber is cut, it should be kept in an area with air movement.
After pallets are manufactured, they are still susceptible to mold growth. Pallet providers and users with large inventories should rotate their stock regularly and put a system in place to ensure that the first in is the first out. During shipment, maintaining airflow is critical to preventing mold growth. The inside of a truck can easily become a huge oven, and mold will appear in these conditions in as little as three hours. Fans that keep the air from turning stagnate and that push air over the pallets, can prevent mold growth. Opening trailer doors prior to use of pallets is also very helpful.
Your Pallet Inventory
If a pallet shipment arrives to you moldy, you have the option of refusing that order. But if you receive an order of pallets, and later find mold, then you have no recourse but to dispose of them and order more pallets. In order to prevent this expense, you too can utilize a few of the steps above:
- Keep your pallets inside, protected from the elements.
- Rotate your pallet stock. First in, first out.
- Maintain air circulation in your warehouses and shipping containers as best as you can.
Mold can be a really big problem for both pallet manufacturers and pallet users, especially in the hot and humid summer months. There are, however, ways to prevent mold from growing. First, choose a pallet provider who demonstrates awareness of mold prevention. Second, use the three tips mentioned above to prevent mold from invading your existing pallet inventory.
