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I've been building for just over a year in sunny southeast Alaska (its raining and 40 degrees) and have been using a bundle of Bamboo I got over a year ago.  From the first rod on and every time I split another culm, I  notice black mold for the first few nodes in the pith and fibers.  The bamboo is dry, stored in a heated shop, and the mold does not appear to be growing, but it is rather unsightly.  Do I just flame every blank... or soak 'em in Clorox?... is this common and is there a solution?   (Jon Lyman)

Mold is rather common in bamboo.  Seems like one dealer has struggled with the mold problem since first getting into the Tonkin trade.  The debate about its affects on the finished rod are long and lengthy, and to my knowledge have never been definitively settled through scientific testing.  If you search far enough back through the List Archives you will find that the debate about mold has prompted some of this List's strongest feelings and harshest words.

Here's my personal opinion, and it's just that... if the mold is one the inner pith surfaces only, it has no affect at all.  If the mold penetrates beyond the pith and into the power fibers the bamboo may still be okay.  If the mold begins at the pith, and goes all the way through to the enamel, that culm will not make a good rod.

As I say, that's just my opinion.  I once made a rod from moldy cane, and it was much more wimpy than the taper should have dictated. Other rod makers have shared similar experiences with me.

Wish I could be more definitive.  (Harry Boyd)

Is the black you are seeing at the  nodes mold or just trapped dirt?  As the bamboo shot grows, the portion above each node is slightly smaller and leaves a very fine ledge all of the way around.  This ledge will collect water and dirt.   As the culm grows, this dirt is trapped below the enamel. Filing the enamel down at the nodes on a culm will usually reveal a black line below the surface.  Slightly more filing will eliminate it.  Could this be what you are seeing?  (John Sabina)

I have some bamboo come in that has a white powdery mold on the enamel.  It is not on the inside of the culms.  So what have ya'll been doing?  I don't want to use a mildew killer that I have to rinse off.  I'm thinking just a rag soaked in isopropyl alcohol or maybe some light clorox, or maybe a mixture of both.  The clorox could work its way into the enamel maybe???  So I'm hoping maybe this isn't a big deal at all.  Cane looks great except for that. (Rick Crenshaw)

I just put on a pair of work gloves and wipe down the culm with a dry rag.  A microfiber one works very well.  (Tim Anderson)

Two of my students and I received a shipment from Andy just before CRR. All of the culms had the mold on the enamel. Wanda came up with the idea of wiping them down with Clorox disinfecting wet wipes. It worked like a charm and was easy. I have been keeping a close eye on the poles and none of the mold has returned. (Lou Barbaro)

Lou B said Wanda came up with the idea of Clorox disinfectant wipes.  I went with that. EASY to do.  Target had them on sale 3 packs for 4.49.   I went through 1 and a 1/2 packages for 30 culms.  Used one to two per culm.  I was going to let it dry and redo, but it looked good, so up to the attic they went after one wipe down. (Rick Crenshaw)

Been using lemon juice on any mold I have had for 40 years Tipi canvas, Culm’s Sheetrock you name it lemon has done it every time. Use Clorox if you want to disinfect, or maybe fix bad water! (Ron Rees)

It's unlikely you could hurt them. After the culms are floated down river they're heated over a fire and bent into something like straight then scrubbed clean in the river with gravel.At this stage the main thing is to try not to make them too wet when cleaning them (maybe just a pot scrubber and detergent) though even that may not matter too much considering some people wet plane the strips anyhow.  (Tony Young)

Just wipe it off with a dry cloth.I have had similar and checked it under oil immersion microscope, and in my case it was particulate material rather than a biological contaminant. (Peter McKean)

OK... Seems I should have read Andy's blog!  It is mold.  It is easy to remove.  It is not into the enamel.  Sorry if I alarmed anyone.  Read about it: bamboobroker.com (Rick Crenshaw)

I noticed a similar thing on the last bundles I received early this spring.  I just assumed it was mag chloride from the roads.... I picked them up and brought them home in a terrible blizzard.  A couple of days later when the snow melted and the sun returned I just laid the culms out and wiped them down with water.  They needed to be wiped and not just sprayed. (Gary Young)

Ran into a strange culm. I've probably split well over a hundred in the past 30 years and this is a new one to me. 

The cane looked like this: 

• exterior - was clean and the colour was the same from end to end.
• interior - the pith area between some of the nodes was black. Not charring exactly but black. There would be a black area and then a nodal area missed then another. About 3 down the length of the 12' culm.
• planing was tougher in the black area. Kinda reminded me of having inclusions of sand but nothing was visible.
• planed end showed no spotting or crap.
• as the pith area was planed away, the planing took less effort. 

Ideas what it might have been? (Don Anderson)

I am not sure what you got there. After you split into strips, I would take a strip that is at least down to 1/4-inch-wide and give it a severe bending test to see how brittle it is. Maybe after 30 years it is just your turn for special culm. (Lew Boyko)

I had one like that several years back.  Same thing once blackened pith was removed it planed easier.  I thought it was just mold. I did flex the split strips before I invested too much time into it & it was okay.  I made an 8'9" Garrison 3 piece # 221.  That rod is fine & I have caught several salmon & steelhead on it.  (Bret Reiter)

Like Bret, I have had some that was dark gray to black which I chalked up to mold.  It has worked okay in rods after removing it through rough bevelling and planing. (Harry Boyd)

Ditto.  (Tim Anderson)