advice on what to do when finding mold on cigars

soutso

Hi,
I have recently found white mold on a few of my cigars. It was only on the foot of the cigars so I cut off  a quarter inch off the foot. Over the course of a week I programmed my Cigar Oasis from 70 to 62, going down by one or two percentage points each day. My Daniel Marshall supplied hygrometer went from a reading of 70-71 to a consistent 69. I placed the infected and repaired sticks in a separate spot and have smoked most of them since. They were fine taste wise.

Two weeks on and I have now noticed two more with mold. One is in a tube and the other is bare and they were in different parts/spots in my humidor. The mold is very small, white and in the very early stage. On the wrapper this time. I have taken out my Cigar Oasis for 24 hours and the hygrometer still reads 69. My temp is consistently 22-24 degrees celsius. (I'm from Australia so it can get quite warm but never really more than 24 degrees celsius.)

I have removed the affected cigars and placed them in airtight bags. My question is what to do with my humidor and the good cigars. I have just bought 3 boxes of cigars that I will add. I expect to get them within a week and i want to ensure all is healthy. I have paid a lot of money and dont want to waste it.

I see much conflicting advice. To wipe down the humidor with alcohol and distilled water, leave it in the sun for a few days etc The Daniel Marshall humidor instructions clearly states to not wipe water on the cedar interior.

Other advice is to not clean the humidor as I caught the mold early and its only white. As long as I keep the humidity down I'll be ok etc Is this true?

I have just ordered some beads from Cigar Sciences 65%

Help!
Thanks
Help!

Rhamlin

Well the good news is you can still smoke those cigars. Hopefully you won't see any more mold. Check thru your sticks carefully especially those in tubes or cedar sleeves they tend to breed mold for some reason. I'd empty my humidor and make sure you don't have any in any corners or crevices. If you do you'll have to clean it, let it dry and reason. Hopefully you don't have mold in your Oasis unit. As far as seasoning I'm not a fan of the wipe down method because you can over do it easily.butas long as you find no mold inside the humi you are probably ok. It's a pain but as long as it's the white fluffy stuff not a major deal. I've had it twice over the years and it never spread.

soutso

Thanks a lot. Ive taken all the sticks out and cannot see anything, nor in the humidor.

I'll leave the Oasis out and wait for my Cigar Sciences beads.

Cheers

kuzi16

and calibrate your hygrometer.

ckrddsmke

Glad you did not find mold on the wood. Wiping it down with water or alcohol is not only bad for the cedar it voids your DM warranty. Placing any kind of fine wood cabinetry in the sun can cause fading and warping. I had a cigar oasis I got for my cabinet years ago and I got rid of it after a month.

Lee.mcglynn

DM still uses foam humidifiers! Replace the humidifier with beads or boveda!

ckrddsmke

It's funny same humidifiers that come with $49 humis except have the gold DM lettering.

jgibv

ckrddsmke:

Glad you did not find mold on the wood. Wiping it down with water or alcohol is not only bad for the cedar it voids your DM warranty. .....

Yep I would never recommend wiping down the wood with water or any other liquid, could warp the wood and cause bigger problems down the road.

IF you do find any spots on the cedar though, you *could* try lightly hand-sanding it.
Start with 150 grit and do a little at a time, wipe up the dust with an electrostatic cloth (like swiffer). Finish it with 220 grit to make it nice and smooth. That should do the trick.

Lee.mcglynn

ckrddsmke:

It's funny same humidifiers that come with $49 humis except have the gold DM lettering.

it a shame! He had a event at one of the local b&m's and showed up with a $4,000 humi made from old scotch barrels...it still had a foam humidifier in it!

ckrddsmke

But he does have the nice slotted cedar covers for them

soutso

Thanks for that.
Cheers

Patrickbrick

When was the last time you changed the refillable cartridge on the oasis? This can grow mold that can be spread via the fan. Cigars that have cedar wrappers etc can attract that. Not sure on your case but changing the water cartridge will prob do the trick.

soutso

That did enter my thoughts but I have decided to move onto the beads. They make too much sense. Taking a punt on Cigar Sciences humidity beads. They sound too good to be true but you'll only know by trying it I guess.

ckrddsmke

Let us know how they work. Their website make a lot of promises. It seems each type (Heartfelt, HCM etc.) claim their beads are different. Seems prices are all over the board too. I just bought two generic brand bags to try in my cabinet and we will see how they work. There are forum members who have been using them for years who are better qualified to comment on them. I took the foam out of my humidifiers and replaced it with Super Absorbent Polymer beads. I buy them dry at craft stores. A few dollars gets you a lifetime supply. They keep the RH steady at 65-67 in my wood humis. When I have overflow to the cooler I usually have to cut back on the quantity once it is seasoned. This article is informative on the pros and cons of each. Basically they both work better than foam. I have not used the Boveda packs which are highly recommended by some on the forum. Cost, for me, being the main factor. Apparently they can be recharged (the manufacturer smartly markets them as one time use) which would reduce the cost factor.


Dry Beads 1/4 teaspoon



Hydrated with distilled water about 1 1/2 cups



Made enough to fill 4 of these

Bob_Luken

ckrddsmke:

Let us know how they work. Their website make a lot of promises. It seems each type (Heartfelt, HCM etc.) claim their beads are different. Seems prices are all over the board too. I just bought two generic brand bags to try in my cabinet and we will see how they work. There are forum members who have been using them for years who are better qualified to comment on them. I took the foam out of my humidifiers and replaced it with Super Absorbent Polymer beads. I buy them dry at craft stores. A few dollars gets you a lifetime supply. They keep the RH steady at 65-67 in my wood humis. When I have overflow to the cooler I usually have to cut back on the quantity once it is seasoned. This article is informative on the pros and cons of each. Basically they both work better than foam. I have not used the Boveda packs which are highly recommended by some on the forum. Cost, for me, being the main factor. Apparently they can be recharged (the manufacturer smartly markets them as one time use) which would reduce the cost factor.


Dry Beads 1/4 teaspoon



Hydrated with distilled water about 1 1/2 cups



Made enough to fill 4 of these

I've been meaning to pick some of these up at the craft store someday myself. They are identical in appearance as some of the Humicare products. However I don't call them beads. I call them gel or at least call them gel-beads. Seems like heartfelt industries has appropriated the term beads for their silica product. And other silica products have followed their lead in using the term beads. I know some manufacturers have muddled the terminology too. For example "crystals" sometimes refers to gel and sometimes refers to silica products. I may not even be using the right terms myself. But I have noticed the terms getting confusing. Anything that starts out dry and swells up in distilled water to become wet and gel-like,.... I've decided to call it gel. LOL Just my way of clarifying things. LOL

ckrddsmke

The correct term is SAPS Lol. The craft stores carry the smaller diameter ones. You can get them in various diameters, crystal shapes and even ice cube shape and size (hydrated). The small one will become small enough to fit thru the slots. I found a source that sells them in 2-55 lb units. The four ounce package I bought should last several years so I don't think I need to bulk up. They are also used in cool ties, some of which are sent to the troops in hot climates.