Philski Posted February 15, 2014 Posted February 15, 2014 Does anyone know of a good, safe method to eradicate what appears to be quite an ingrained mould problem? I have had persistent mould issue with a desktop humidor for a few months now - frankly, I've been a bit lazy about it, brushed it off the cigars, opened it up to drop the humidity, and just hoped it would go away. The fitted analogue hygrometer can't be adjusted, so I have relied too heavily on a cheapo digital for a more accurate reading. Finally got off my arse this evening, did the salt test on the digital and it's a full 10 degrees out (too low), so the principal culprit would seem to be that my poor cigars have been sitting in around 75%. However, the actual humidifying device (wooden) also has visible mould on it, and I don't really want to continue using the humidor until I have made active steps towards eradicating it. I have heard people say that a very diluted solution of bleach would help, but my instincts just shout 'NO!' at that. Propylene glycol seems to help with prevention, but I'm beyond that point; isopropyl alcohol seems to be a more acceptable method to kill off the spores and to prevent a recurrence, but I just wonder whether anyone has tried anything else that has worked well? NB: it's a nice humidor which I'll only chuck out as a last resort; only one of the cigars has mould showing at the foot, and it's in its own separate ziplock pending final sentencing; about 75% of the sticks in this humidor are treasured vintages left over from long-finished boxes, mostly 10 - 15 years old+ - binning them would be sacrilege and worse than murder (to me)!
potpest Posted February 15, 2014 Posted February 15, 2014 i've heard ammonia is best to use to clean a humidor because of mold/beetles etc but not 100% on that....i'd chuck it and buy new sticks personally, but that's just me
CaptainQuintero Posted February 15, 2014 Posted February 15, 2014 What colour is it? Mould will only grow if it has the right conditions (heat and humidity) if you wipe away all the mould with a cloth and make sure either humidity or heat are kept low then it shouldn't return If it's blue or green etc then it's more of an issue, chuck any sticks with coloured mould then brush away the humidor and wipe down with diverging like cheap brandy or whiskey? Then get a xikar or caliber digital hygrometer and boveda humidity test packs (75%), it's daft to scrimp on those things and risk all the money you've invested in ruined cigars!
Philski Posted February 15, 2014 Author Posted February 15, 2014 What colour is it? White and safe-ish, hopefully... Brandy/whiskey are alcohol solutions that hadn't occurred to me, I like your style! One of my preferred pairings is an Islay malt, so my instincts like that. I suspect that there is no magic bullet for this particular problem. The main thing I want to preserve is some quite special sticks.
CaptainQuintero Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 White and safe-ish, hopefully... Brandy/whiskey are alcohol solutions that hadn't occurred to me, I like your style! One of my preferred pairings is an Islay malt, so my instincts like that. I suspect that there is no magic bullet for this particular problem. The main thing I want to preserve is some quite special sticks. Sounds ok! Maybe invest in lots of 60% beads to make sure you don't get into the danger limits during warm spots, tastier cigars too
Fosgate Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Hydrogen Peroxide and Alcohol or Simple Green makes a good antifungal spray as well.
PapaDisco Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 I've cleaned out a desktop with isopropyl before. Then multiple wipedowns with distilled water and lowered the humidity (target 65%) and got rid of a mold problem. I was aiming for 72% rH and my hygrometer was wrong of course, etc. My guess is that it's impossible to eliminate every spore, and even if you could there will be mold spores on the sticks you bring in. You have to get that high rH under control. Me, I ditched the green foam thingy and went with Boveda packs and inched it down to a 65% pack. Worked fine and the cigars smoke better I believe. Also, are there wide temperature variations in the room this humi is in? If the heat goes off overnight and the temperature drops it has the effect of raising rH.
Philski Posted February 16, 2014 Author Posted February 16, 2014 Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I'm not very up on beads but will search around for info; do they come contained in humidifier thingies? Ideally something I can fix to the lid with a magnet, to replace what I currently have. I'll get some isopropyl too, as I'm presuming that it will do its stuff and then evaporate without leaving any smelly residue, unlike whisky or brandy.
DrunkenMonkey Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Here's where you can get the humidity bead system: http://www.cigarsciences.com
Weeklystogie Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Well for what it's worth I just ordered some 65% heartfelt beads and you can get them in bulk with mesh bags or prepacked in little sticks. Having a hard time keeping my humidity down with just boveda packs and had heard that adding the beads in dry or just slightly moistened should do the trick in absorbing excess humidity and keeping things at 65%. Hoping this does the trick.
OkieJoe Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Alcohol rub down, then direct sunlight. UV goes a long way. Joe
CaptainQuintero Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Well for what it's worth I just ordered some 65% heartfelt beads and you can get them in bulk with mesh bags or prepacked in little sticks. Having a hard time keeping my humidity down with just boveda packs and had heard that adding the beads in dry or just slightly moistened should do the trick in absorbing excess humidity and keeping things at 65%. Hoping this does the trick. They don't need wetting to activate, just chuck them in and leave for a month to adjust
Weeklystogie Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 They don't need wetting to activate, just chuck them in and leave for a month to adjust Thanks Captain
Philski Posted February 16, 2014 Author Posted February 16, 2014 Here's where you can get the humidity bead system: http://www.cigarsciences.com Thank you! That looks perfect - I like the fact that you can recharge it with distilled water, rather than buying new Boveda packs all the time. It will also fit the lid of the humidor better - for the Boveda pack holder thingy to fit my lid I would have had to remove the fitted hygrometer, which looks like it is glued on and might well have caused damage when I tried to remove it. Alcohol rub down, then direct sunlight. UV goes a long way. Joe I'm in the UK, so unfortunately UV is a rather rare commodity! I have just been reading up about isopropyl alcohol - is there a danger it might leave behind a smell/residue? And if so, is it just a case of waiting a while for it to dissipate? I think too many people have suggested using it for this to be an issue, but thought I should ask anyway... 1
CaptainQuintero Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 If it's white mould brushing away and a quick wipe with a lightly moist cloth/ hoover should be fine as long as you keep the mould encouraging temp and humidity away afterwards. What sort of amount of mould have you got? A few bits or layers and layers caking the walls etc lol
Orion21 Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Or you could just buy a new humidor and do it right from the beginning if this one is just not working out. This assumes your current humidor was not too expensive. 1
Philski Posted February 17, 2014 Author Posted February 17, 2014 If it's white mould brushing away and a quick wipe with a lightly moist cloth/ hoover should be fine as long as you keep the mould encouraging temp and humidity away afterwards. What sort of amount of mould have you got? A few bits or layers and layers caking the walls etc lol No, not caked in the stuff - but some staining to to the humidifier (it's wooden and >10 years old), but otherwise the humidor looks fairly sound. I'm perfectly happy to chuck out the wooden humidifier in favour of the Cigarsciences option. The mould has appeared primarily on the top 1-2 layers of cigars, so I would not categorize this as a disastrous outbreak, just a persistent one over the last year or so. Or you could just buy a new humidor and do it right from the beginning if this one is just not working out. This assumes your current humidor was not too expensive. The humidor was sort of free - part of a replacement claim when my entire collection was lifted wen I was burgled about 11 years ago. I like it, am fond of it, so will give it every chance - it's an attractive piece and have had it a while (=sentimental). Ho hum. Once I work out the best solution to kill the spores, I will give it its chance to get back to the straight and narrow!
Optic101 Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 I'm in the UK, so unfortunately UV is a rather rare commodity! Vote for the additional UV treatment. You can get high dose of UV light at these sun tan studios. No need to tell them why you'r there And get some beads to stabilize your humidity.
CaptainQuintero Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 You should be fine with a good brushing, Hoover then wipe with whiskey or brandy. Get your beads in and leave it sealed for a month without opening it then put your cigars back in after giving then a brush. Maybe keep the humi in a garage or other cold place for a while until things stabilise
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