[Akady]

I was wondering if anyone else has issues with mold in their humidors? and if so how to get rid of it.

[cybrok]

I found this:

Your humidor can definitely be saved. To remove the mold from your humidor, what you need to do first is remove all the mold-infected cigars (check all your cigars in tubes and cellophane as well) and relocate your unharmed cigars to a temporary storage container such as another humidor, travel humidor, (clean) Tupperware container or humi-pouch. Next, gently brush out and vacuum any mold particles inside your humidor. If your humidor has compartments, trays or drawers, be sure to thoroughly vacuum every hidden crevice to remove any residual mold spores. Once your humidor has been thoroughly vacuumed, take a brand new and clean sponge and gently wipe the entire humidor interior down with a tiny bit of isopropyl alcohol. Don't use too much as alcohol can ruin your humidor. (However, in a situation like this, you need to clean your humidor thoroughly and ensure that it's free of mold so you'll have to use alcohol.) Replace or disinfect your humidifiers thoroughly (replacing them entirely is often the best option) and let your humidor sit on its own for a week with a fully charged humidifier. After a week, check if any mold has come back. If there's no mold, you can safely return all the uninfected cigars back to the humidor.

If think you can salvage your moldy cigars, wipe them down with a paper towel and some distilled water (Note: wipe them down LIGHTLY and don't use too much water. Wipe gently enough to remove all the mold and not make your cigars soggy from the water) Store the cigars in a clean (ie: brand new) plastic tupperware container in the fridge (not freezer) and let them sit several days. The cold air will slow down any mold growth but still give it a chance to appear if any spores remain.) If after a week you don't see any new mold, take the container out of the refrigerator and return the cigars to your humidor. Allow the cigars to sit in your humidor for at least another week before you smoke them.

I also saw that the mold can be there because normal water was used. Do you use only distilled water or tap water as well?

Or maybe you had a contaminated cigar.

[Akady]

i used normal water....

[cybrok]

Then do the above and start using distilled water

PITA to produce yourself, I guess you could find some in about any lab, even school labs. They have machines to do this.

[Akady]

Trying to distill some as we speak, if it works, then on to the alcohol

[MagiAndrew]

You can also use a humidifying solution that not only resists mold, but helps to keep your cigars at optimum humidity. You can find it at most any cigar merchants under a variety of brands, but it's all basically a 50/50 propylene glycol/distilled water solution. I usually fill my humidifiers with that every third time I fill them. The other times it's distilled water only.

The article posted mentioned trying to salvage the moldy cigars. This probably won't work. It's best to just get rid of them.

HOWEVER, is the "mold" only on the cigars or the humidor as well. If the mold is white and easily brushed off the cigars it is not mold, but "bloom." This is actually desirable and indicates a properly aged cigar. Because you were using tap water, you most likely have mold. Just be sure that before you toss those cigars and use alcohol in your humidor that it's not bloom.

Good luck.

-Andrew

[stogieshumidors]

Originally Posted by MagiAndrew

You can also use a humidifying solution that not only resists mold, but helps to keep your cigars at optimum humidity. You can find it at most any cigar merchants under a variety of brands, but it's all basically a 50/50 propylene glycol/distilled water solution. I usually fill my humidifiers with that every third time I fill them. The other times it's distilled water only.

The article posted mentioned trying to salvage the moldy cigars. This probably won't work. It's best to just get rid of them.

HOWEVER, is the "mold" only on the cigars or the humidor as well. If the mold is white and easily brushed off the cigars it is not mold, but "bloom." This is actually desirable and indicates a properly aged cigar. Because you were using tap water, you most likely have mold. Just be sure that before you toss those cigars and use alcohol in your humidor that it's not bloom.

Good luck.

-Andrew

Completely agree with Andrew here. One question that needs to be answered as well to be sure that you can actually save the humidor itself is whether or not if the humidor is lined with standard spanish cedar wood. The fact that you had mold in the first place with a humidor with spanish cedar wood would be a bit surprising, as the chances that the mold had the time to grow within the humidor is odd as it naturally acts as a repellent against it.

However, through time and without proper moisture in the humidor, it can occur. As stated above, immediately remove the mold, and isolate the cigars away from those that do, as it can QUICKLY spread to the rest of the cigars.

Two more recommendations if you're looking to save the humidor is to:

1) After wiping down the humidor with the 50/50 solution, keep the humidor closed WITHOUT the cigars for about 24hrs as it gives time and an ideal atmosphere for the solution to set into the spanish cedar, and not the cigars. During this process you can keep your cigars in the fridge (only do this for short periods of time)

2) Make sure that the humidifier within the humidor is constantly monitored. After filling the humidifier, its custom to refill the humidifier every 30-45 days depending on the size.

If you want more instructions, you can go here where there is a wealth of information:
Help*-*Humidors Cigar Humidor Accessories StogiesHumidors.com
Hope this helps.

[Whiskers]

Originally Posted by Akady

I was wondering if anyone else has issues with mold in their humidors? and if so how to get rid of it.

What color is the mold?

Green ?
Blue?
White?

Why do you think you have mold in your humidor ?

[cannonfodder]

Sorry about the bad photos, phone and all, but here is bloom on a couple of well aged Gurkha's, light, almost powdery on the wrapper. Touch it and it will all but disappear.

[Huskysibe]

Could be plume, thats the sign of a well aged cigar. Mold on the other hand would be bad to have.

[jdoug68]

sure looks like bloom to me. But mine comes on the ends more not in the band area. What is your humidity and temp rates??? Do you open it alot? Do you have 50 sticks in a 300 box?

[cannonfodder]

It is plume, typically it manifests at the ends and slowly blooms further up the stick in small white blotches. Mold grows in large colonies and would consume a stick in its entirety as well as spread to other sticks, bloom does not. I have a 150 count humi that is packed, humidity is between 65 and 70 percent with a constant 68 degrees. They are in my office, I happen to be the IT manager so my office is part of the computer room, constant temperature and humidity, life is good. I have a new 400 count humi scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. A week of seasoning and I can pack it up. I have a good 300 sticks in a couple of storage containers, it will be nice to get one home for them all. It gets opened once or twice a day to pull a stick for sacrifice to the fire gods, or to refill and rotate stock.

[captp]

Originally Posted by Akady

Trying to distill some as we speak, if it works, then on to the alcohol

Considering that distilled water costs about $1.00 a gallon tringto distill your own is really a waste of time, unless you have the proper equipment to do it at home, not something I expect to find in the typical kitchen, or smoking room.

[SteveS]

I believe what cannonfodder's photos show is mold. Bloom tends to form evenly over the surface of the wrapper, while mold forms in patches. The white variety his photos show is innocuous in that it wipes off the wrapper easily and doesn't affect the flavor of the cigar (unlike blue/green varieties), but I still believe it's mold.

Edit: Here are two links comparing mold and bloom: site 1 and site 2.

[cannonfodder]

Hmm, interesting. I will have to give them a closer look but the white is not really fuzzy like a small mold patch, it also has not spread like a mold would but none the less I will remove the two questionable sticks and destroy them with a slow fire. None of my other cigars exhibit the same appearance. My new humi arrived a few days ago, got it stabilized and loaded it today. I have a Hydra electronic humidifier on order for the big box, 400 count chest. Lots of room to grow now, guess I need to order a couple more boxes.