Black mold in the humidor?
Recently purchased a used humidor on ebay on a whim (lesson learned!) When I received it, I saw 3 visible black patches, and a particularly large one on the corner. (3rd patch not pictured as I couldn't get it to transfer to my computer.) Quite sure it's been over-humidified because I saw very small patches of fuzzy green mold on slits of the tray but figure it could be sanded off and removed very easily, or even not used at all should it come to it. However, my concern are the black patches found in the humidor; upon recently reading on the dangers of black mold, I figure the humidor may be a lost cause if it's the case.
I've never seen black mold in an humidor before, and the pictures that do come up in searches are very very small black dots dotted in the cedar; admittedly different from the large black patches seen in this humidor. But I figure the difference stems from in the amount of time that passed in improper humidification. There is no fuzz as I can see but it has ingrained itself in the wood. And everyday since I've received it, I've been wiping it down with alcohol pads and distilled water once a day, and found no black residue on the cloths at any time. All 3 black patches are similar in close inspection; the large one being the darkest of the 3-- going darker towards the corners like the one found on the lid. The one not shown is the smallest and lightest of the three and is found near the middle of the humidor away from the corners and sides.
Anyway, here are some photos:
Bottom corner, large patch
Lid Corner, small patch
So is this black mold? What are your opinions? Imo, I think it is as I can't think of an explanation that explains a black discoloration that isn't mold. The seller argues that the black stains either came naturally from humidification or from the bloom of his cigars (lol). But I have not read anything yet about black discoloring, or any discoloring (outside of the cedar looking 'wet' from long term humidification) in humidors. Are there instances of discoloring that occurs that is not mold? If so, is it generally considered safe? I should note, there are no visible signs of glue or nails where the black patches are seen. Can the bloom of cigars stain the cedar in humidor? If so, to such a dark, black color?
I hardly believe the bloom argument, as bloom is white. But regardless, I'd like some more opinions and info. I know that perhaps many of you would suggest to just toss it... and I normally would but I'd like to recover most of what I paid and having more info and evidence to reference would help. Anyways, I appreciate any info and help. Thanks!
I've never seen black mold in an humidor before, and the pictures that do come up in searches are very very small black dots dotted in the cedar; admittedly different from the large black patches seen in this humidor. But I figure the difference stems from in the amount of time that passed in improper humidification. There is no fuzz as I can see but it has ingrained itself in the wood. And everyday since I've received it, I've been wiping it down with alcohol pads and distilled water once a day, and found no black residue on the cloths at any time. All 3 black patches are similar in close inspection; the large one being the darkest of the 3-- going darker towards the corners like the one found on the lid. The one not shown is the smallest and lightest of the three and is found near the middle of the humidor away from the corners and sides.
Anyway, here are some photos:
Bottom corner, large patch
Lid Corner, small patch
So is this black mold? What are your opinions? Imo, I think it is as I can't think of an explanation that explains a black discoloration that isn't mold. The seller argues that the black stains either came naturally from humidification or from the bloom of his cigars (lol). But I have not read anything yet about black discoloring, or any discoloring (outside of the cedar looking 'wet' from long term humidification) in humidors. Are there instances of discoloring that occurs that is not mold? If so, is it generally considered safe? I should note, there are no visible signs of glue or nails where the black patches are seen. Can the bloom of cigars stain the cedar in humidor? If so, to such a dark, black color?
I hardly believe the bloom argument, as bloom is white. But regardless, I'd like some more opinions and info. I know that perhaps many of you would suggest to just toss it... and I normally would but I'd like to recover most of what I paid and having more info and evidence to reference would help. Anyways, I appreciate any info and help. Thanks!
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Comments
If you soak those black patches in bleach and they do not disappear, it's not mold.
EDIT: I used this method to salvage a humidor that had mold only on the surface of the wood inside it. I would not have tried to save the humidor if there were any evidence that the mold has penetrated into the wood.
How much did you pay? If it was cheap, I would junk it. Not only could this crap get to your sticks stored in it, it could create serious health problems.... IF it is black mold. I certainly would not use any humidification device that came with it!!! It's a roll of the dice.
Perhaps someone else here has seen this occur in humidors? I have not and can't imagine that it can (under normal circumstances) - could be wrong. To me it looks like this sucker was swamped in a basement and never dried out. Perhaps you have a relic from a hurricane! Sorry!!!!
So, it came from ebay? Did you alert the seller? Because that does not belong for sell... As mentioned, it is a health risk, and at best will ruin your cigars if left unattended. Bleach and stuff may work, but I'd contact the seller FIRST! Maybe they just didn't know anything about humidors... but if they were a cigar guy who supposedly knew better than to sell a moldy humidor, I'd be all over that. Email, call, complain,...
If you can return it, I would. (even though you've had it for a few days it sounds like)
I'm in the process of ebay's buyer protection for a return. Seller listed it in "PERFECT condition" (what!) and is being resistant on my claim the item wasn't as described but regardless, I think the case would lean in my favor. I paid around $90 for it, the seal on humidor was tight, no warping, and the only damage to the wood are the visible black mold patches and the musty odor the cedar lining gave off. I'm not sure how long the humidor was improperly kept but I could tell the original owner over humidified and neglected the humidor for quite a while; there's no even seasoning on the humidor tray, it looked like a cup of water was spilled over it-- one half looking damp/well seasoned, and the other half much dryer. Black mold is something I wouldn't screw around with seriously, too risky like it was mentioned here. But worst case scenario if I don't get my money back, I'll bleach it, throw a puck and buck cigs in there for science. Wouldn't smoke them but I'd see if a humidor could be saved from black mold. And for another reference, CDC recommends 1c bleach to 1 gal water for mold removal.
*Edit* @edelrionyc Read some posts about that happening to other people too. Glad it's not mold! In this case the black patches aren't near any visible nails. There's also a 3rd small black patch not pictured that's in the middle of the humidor far from the walls as well.
Anyways just to confirm, there is nothing other than mold that could cause black stains to form in a humidor correct?
Welcome. Best of luck to you.
I am actually surprised it is not warped, as it sounds like it was absolutely soaked byyhe previous owner. Black could be water damage? But Id be willing to bet mold would re-appear (as you described some fuzzies on the tray as well).
musty odor is definitely a bad sign (unless you want cigas that taste like old socks). I really hope you can return that thing! Good luck!!
I salvaged a moldy humidor a few years back that had been sitting unused in my basement for 10 years or so and decided to use the bleach solution instead of alcohol. The smell evaporated and the wood ended up looking pristine. Still have the humidor and it works fine.
My theory is that the Spanish Cedar board this humi was made from was on the shelf for a while and it turned silver, just like untreated cedar shingles on a house do. When the woodworker ran it through the planer to clean it up and get it ready for working that little corner of the board didn't get planed all the way through the silver.
Now, it is true that the silver on older, seasoned wood is mold, but I've never experienced nor heard of this type of mold spreading. You could probably bleach it off or sand it off fairly easily. Is it bad for your cigars? I don't know, but that is my theory on what it is and how it got there.
Hard to know if what dosto is dealing with is actually black mold though. I would think that something would come off when he was rubbing it with alcohol pads etc. Unless the previous seller tried to clean it up before he sold it and didn't get it all.
Bleaching all of the interior wood should fix the musty smell, but it will lose some of it's nice cedar smell too. If for any reason you're not satisfied with the results dosto, don't waste any sticks in it. Get a cooler! :-)
Oh, let us know how this all turns out for you and welcome to the forum.
use a scrub brush and clean up as your scrubbing reapplying the bleach mix,
once done wipe down the humi with a bleach soak rag, let it air out for a 5-7 days
after its dried and aired out, do it all over again making sure you hit the main spots and rewiping down the humi with the bleach,
again let it dry out for 5-7 days if you have small fan use it to vent the humi, close lid let stand for 3-5 days checking for any bleach smells,
if you smell any let the humi air out for another 5-10 days, once its been aired out, reseason and cont. to check for any bleach smells,after reasoning let humi sit empty but being humidified for another 7-10 days
your making sure the bleach has disapated and watching for any mold,
might even consider a mold test kit if your extremely worried,
to be honest this will take about a month before you will be able to use it,if you can return it? then send it back,
you can save it but it will be time consuming, your trying to save and recreate a med/high humidity enviroment for your cigars, but it also supports mold, sort of a catch 22
from the wood frames to the dry walls,worked fine for me, but in your humis case its not worth it to time consuming
I believe, if I'm reading it correctly, that Lee is referring to wood and sheetrock that have mold penetration throughout. He is absolutely correct that spraying the surface in that situation won't work, it needs to be removed.
Or if chlorine bleach does the job on the surface but can't get inside, then how about sealing the box inside an airtight container with a pan of raw bleach and leave it set so the gas has time to permeate?
Just spitballin here. No idea what I'm talking about.
Easy enough to test results with a twenty buck bundle of Quorums or some such.
What does White Owl use in their cigar paper to make those things last thirty years without any attention whatever? Maybe some of that.
Which makes me think: Maybe a librarian has the answer. Quite possible they have the same problem from time to time.