The problems that are caused by wet wood

Wood is a unique and interesting material. Wood is a natural substrate that is ideal for making various household products. Wood is obtained from trees that are natural and friendly to human health and the environment. But the fact is, handling the wood is also not so easy. To produce good wood products from wood, the wood needs to be processed properly. One of the most important things is the moisture content of the wood. The wood needs to be dried until it meets a certain standard before going to the woodworking process.

The ideal wood moisture content of wood is the moisture content in balance with air humidity at the place where wood products will be used. For example, if we want to make furniture products that are going to be used in New York, then we should see the average humidity data in New York; it is averagely 56% to 72% (data is taken from CityRating.com). From these data, then, we go to find data of the wood moisture content in accordance with the air humidity (see chart wood moisture content vs. air humidity). From this chart we find the ideal moisture content of wood is about 10% to 14%. So the standard moisture content of the wood that is used to make the furniture should be in the range of 10% to 14%. 
 

The drying process of the wood may be considered a difficult and costly process, but it is a very critical thing in the woodworking industry. The wet wood is a high risk to emerge with many problems that may become very expensive to be fixed if it happens. 

Here are the problems that can occur due to the wet wood.

• Wood is cracked, warped, bent, and other dimensional problems.

Wet wood will always release its water to balance its moisture content with the air humidity in the environment. When the timbers release the water, he will shrink, and the depreciation of the wood is not balanced on every side. The shrinkage is varying according to the grain direction and the density of the wood. If a product has been built, this phenomenon will create a serious problem since it will lead to construction problems like crack, warped, bent, changes shape, etc. 

the wood cracked because of the wood movement

• The fungi problem on wood.

The wet wood also has a high risk of getting the problem with fungi. The wet wood could be an ideal medium for the growth of fungi. There are many fungal spores floating in the air; if it finds the suitable media, it will grow in there. The fungi in the wood could be emerging in many models, depending on the species of the wood and fungus. The fungi may show as a dark or blue stain that will ruin the wood color, or they can appear as fungal growth in the wood. Some fungi can even penetrate the layer of finishing and still appear even if the timber has been finished. 

 the fungi in the wood

• The finishing problem.

The water in the wet timber will still try to exit from the wood. If we do finishing on the wet wood, the water vapor could be trapped in the finishing layer. The water in the finishing layer will disrupt the appearance of the finishing. The water vapor could make a cloudy look and reduce the clarity of the finishing. When the furniture is placed in the cold place, the water in the finishing layer could freeze and make a heavy cloudy look in the finishing.
The water vapors in the finishing layer will also affect the strength of the finishing because they make the imperfect bonding in the finishing layer.

For finishing processes that use water-based finishing material, the problems caused by wet wood are more. The water in the wood will release and affect the water released from the finishing materials. It makes the drying process become longer and difficult and finally will make some more finishing problems.  

The problem caused by the wet wood can only be solved by drying the wood until it meets the standard moisture content. If the furniture is already built and finished, it means that we have to wash the finish, let it dry, fix the construction problem, and refinish it. It will be a high-cost process, since there is a loss of materials, time, and energy. Since then, the use of wet wood should be avoided in furniture making. It is much better to wait until the wood is dry and stable when we start using it in the production process.