New to cigars, Getting Mold?

Thezza

Hi everyone,

Joined the cigar world this year (4 months in!) I got myself a small humidor and seasoned it with Habano Care - Premium Cigar Humidor Solution.

I've been using the  Cigar Oasis Caliber IV Digital Hygromter and able to maintain 79 degrees Fahrenheit (now it's hot in summer) @ 65% humidty. I didn't re calibrate it as apparently these are calibrated out of the box.

Since then however a couple of my cigars have grown mold. Not sure what else i can do?

I've been keeping the cigars inside the humidor in the tubes or plastic they came with. It seems to wipe off completely but everything i read on the web tells me this is mold/mould.

Any help would be really appreciated!

Here's an example of one

I wiped this gently and it all came off for the most part

Here's another example of smaller / finer spots

Humidor where they're kept

silvermouse

Yes, mold. Quarantine those. You are storing the cigars at too high a temperature.

deadman

Was the mold only on the ones in the tubes? 

deadman

As long as it’s not on the foot where you light it; wipe it of and smoke them. 

miller65rod

It's a tubed Cuban. They seem to be prone to mold. Just wipe it and monitor. No mold on the foot it is still good to smoke. Like Edward said your temp is way to high. Your lucky beetles haven't popped up yet. If the humidity was higher they would be hatching.

The main culprit is likely the cedar sleeve. It seems the cedar sleeves are a mold producer. I have some old RYJ Cedro Deluxe No. 1's from 1997 and I remove the cedar periodically to check for mold. I have many tubo's that have all been wiped down and no more mold. One good cleaning and it never reappeared.

I suggest putting the cigar in a zip lock bagging out of the tube and then cleaning the inside of the tube and remove the cedar as well. Check it for mold. Once all is clean and gone put the cedar back in the tube and monitor. If no more mold appears then carry on. The vendor was likely the culprit in the first place. They don't have the best storage condition at times. Too them though that is "Plume"

Regardless you need to get that temp down around 70.

deadman

Always open and inspect tubed cigars or ones that come in a cedar sleeve. My Bolivars I just got had a little starting on them. 

I leave mine out of the tubes. If you don’t want to take them out then at least leave the caps off them.

jlmarta

And, according to an article I read in a coffee table book about cigars, tobacco beetles are dormant below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temp rises above that they begin to move around looking for mates. I guess you know where that can lead. 

I once smoked a cigar that had a few beetles in it. I hadn’t noticed any sign of them until they began crawling out the end of the stick. One by one, I picked each off with the tip of my pocket knife blade as each appeared and crushed them between my finger and thumb. As I said, there were only a few so why toss an otherwise good stick because of that?

Bob_Luken

I'm guessing Australia? You say it's summertime? Gotta lower the temperature and double-check the hygrometer to make sure 65% reading is accurate. Higher RH (relative humidity) is more prone to mold as well as higher temperatures. From the looks of that hygrometer I wonder if it can be calibrated manually. If it's reading 65% but your humidor is actually higher % then mold is more easily grown. And, Do everything you can to place your humidor away from sunlight and also in the coolest place possible but not in the direct airflow of heating or cooling vents as this would eventually contribute to drying of your humidor. Maybe even keep it in a drawer or closet depending on which would be coolest option.  Also, Some who live in houses that are not kept very cool in hot weather sometimes choose to store cigars in thermometric wine coolers. That way you could keep cigars at a constant, cooler temperature.  Good luck and keep us posted.   

Yakster

Air holds more moisture at the same RH with increased temps so if you can't lower the temp, you can use lower humidity Boveda packs and follow the good advice already given.

TNBigfoot68

Cooler temp, don't get discouraged. Great advice given already. Welcome to the forum. 

Thezza

Thank you everyone! Really appreciate the advice. 

I have some responses below

deadman said:

Was the mold only on the ones in the tubes? 

Yep only on those in tubes

miller65rod said:

It's a tubed Cuban. They seem to be prone to mold. Just wipe it and monitor. No mold on the foot it is still good to smoke. Like Edward said your temp is way to high. Your lucky beetles haven't popped up yet. If the humidity was higher they would be hatching.

The main culprit is likely the cedar sleeve. It seems the cedar sleeves are a mold producer. I have some old RYJ Cedro Deluxe No. 1's from 1997 and I remove the cedar periodically to check for mold. I have many tubo's that have all been wiped down and no more mold. One good cleaning and it never reappeared.

I suggest putting the cigar in a zip lock bagging out of the tube and then cleaning the inside of the tube and remove the cedar as well. Check it for mold. Once all is clean and gone put the cedar back in the tube and monitor. If no more mold appears then carry on. The vendor was likely the culprit in the first place. They don't have the best storage condition at times. Too them though that is "Plume"

Regardless you need to get that temp down around 70.

I've taken them out, wiped the tube and the cedar as well. Do you re use the same cedar even if it had some mold on it? 

To be honest i never even opened them to check them at the store, just put them straight into my humidor!

Bob_Luken said:

I'm guessing Australia? You say it's summertime? Gotta lower the temperature and double-check the hygrometer to make sure 65% reading is accurate. Higher RH (relative humidity) is more prone to mold as well as higher temperatures. From the looks of that hygrometer I wonder if it can be calibrated manually. If it's reading 65% but your humidor is actually higher % then mold is more easily grown. And, Do everything you can to place your humidor away from sunlight and also in the coolest place possible but not in the direct airflow of heating or cooling vents as this would eventually contribute to drying of your humidor. Maybe even keep it in a drawer or closet depending on which would be coolest option.  Also, Some who live in houses that are not kept very cool in hot weather sometimes choose to store cigars in thermometric wine coolers. That way you could keep cigars at a constant, cooler temperature.  Good luck and keep us posted.   

Yep Australia, I live in a small apartment. I keep the humidor in a cupboard but there's not much else i can do to keep it cool outside of leaving the air con on all day.

silvermouse

@Thezza,
throw away the cedar sleeves. The only time I've had mold has been on sleeved cigars, even ones in cellos. The suggestion of dropping the humidity a bit is a good one.