Adding lime wash to the bales???

Has anyone ever heard anything about the pros and cons of adding a lime wash to the bales prior to using them?

I am specially thinking about reducing the risk of mold and rot.

I’m picturing a light dip or spray that would soak into the outer couple of inches on all sides.

Would the limewash add moisture to the bales?  

When we make hay and straw, most of the drying is done by tedding.  I would worry about anything that adds moisture to the bailed straw.  

But I haven't built a straw-bale house.  I'm just drawing a conclusion from what I know of agricultural hay and straw that moisture plus storage = very bad.  Dry staw plus storage = very good.  

I would pretty much guarantee that a limewash dip would be bad, as you would be getting some moisture deep into the bales at some points. Spraying it onto the surface might be okay, but I would not do it before building your structure. If properly stacked and butted, the inner surfaces of bales will never again be exposed to atmospheric moisture and don't need protecting any more than the interior of the bales.

For limewash on the outer surfaces of the finished bale walls, you would need the opinion of an experienced strawbale builder on advisability and best methods.

Ranson,
Thank you for the response. I too have lots of experience with wet hay bales. Years of feeding livestock gave me more than I would like. That is actually a major reason for me asking about adding lime to the bales in some way. I know a lime wash (white wash) helps to prevent mold growth so it made me wonder about some way of applying it to the bales before plastering them. That way you might reduce the risk of mold caused by internal condensation during the cold winter months.

Glenn,

My gut tells me that you are right about a dip adding too much moisture to the bales. I don’t know how to add enough for good effect without moisture soaking into the center during the drying phase.

I was picturing spraying the bales as possibly the easiest method. I just don’t know if that would get enough lime into the straw for it to be effective. That is why I was wondering about spraying all sides of the bales and not just the exposed surfaces of the finished walls. I just don’t have enough experience to guess.

One of the things I really like about Hempcrete is it’s lime based resistance to mold. If I could get some of that and the insulation value, plus ease of stacking bales, I would be very happy.