Mold in coolidor / wineador

[Trigga]

Hey Everyone,

Been a while since I've posted here, but I've recently been encountering mold problems in my humidors. I have 2 thermoelectric wineadors that I've been storing my cigars in for the past 10 years. Neither of these wineadors are ever plugged in, so they essentially function as coolidors. I live in Chicago, and keep them in a basement. It usually stays around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, but gets slightly warmer in the summer, and slightly cooler in winter.

When I first got these wine coolers, I had them plugged in for a few months. I was having condensation issues, so, per @PigFish's recommendation, I've used them unplugged ever since. Again, basically just coolidors. This has worked fine for me until about the past year or 2. Now, I'm finding mold on various cigars, on dress boxes, and even on some wood boxes as well.

I have been using 65% heartfelt beads the entire time, and have been considering switching to Boveda 65% packs. There have been a few occasions during this 10 year period where I've had to change the beads, as they will become yellow, and rancid (that kind of 'sweet' smell you hear people talk about).

Another thing that I'm unsure of is if they NEED some kind of airflow? I know many people with coolidors find that it's not necessary, but I also see just as many posts calling for small computer fans inside so that the pockets of humidity don't stagnate. FYI, the drain plugs are all currently plugged up and covered.

Furthermore, I'm wondering if it's worth plugging in, and turning the wineadors back on again. I have another condominium property nearby. We keep this at a more stable 69 degrees Fahrenheit. Perhaps with the more mild ambient environment in the condo, they would do fine turned on. That way I would be able to not only keep them at slightly lower temps, but also get some airflow from the wineador built in fans running.

Thank you for the help!

[Head83]

Bringing up an old post but curious if you were able to figure this out? I have the exact same setup (winedor w/ heartfelt beads) for years. However, in the last year, I have also been noticing some slight mold. I took everything out and wiped down with alcohol to try and fix the issue but it slowly came back. I am thinking about switching to Bovedas from the beads next. Any info you can share in your quest to solve the problem would be helpful!

[qs210]

On 10/22/2025 at 8:05 PM, Head83 said:

Bringing up an old post but curious if you were able to figure this out? I have the exact same setup (winedor w/ heartfelt beads) for years. However, in the last year, I have also been noticing some slight mold. I took everything out and wiped down with alcohol to try and fix the issue but it slowly came back. I am thinking about switching to Bovedas from the beads next. Any info you can share in your quest to solve the problem would be helpful!

I had similar issues before I went the way of Raching. Deep clean with alcohol, and switching to Bovedas solved the problem for me.