white mold??

Joined Aug 2004
2K Posts | 0+
Chicago Born/Raised. Hollywood CA Resident
Anyone seen mold like this?
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It's pretty dense and white...I'm just going to wipe it off, let it set a while at a lower RH then smoke it!!
 
Yes...years ago I had a whole box of Indian Tabac Boxers get attacked by a mold that looked like that. I was storing them in an airtight plastic box, nofresh air, no hygrometer, probably too humid and too warm.
 
It was from a friend who insists, even still, to keep the RH at about 75% :shock:

I keep saying 65, 65, 65!!!!

Oh well, at least it's salvageable... :thumbsup:
 
You'll see that sometimes even at 70% humidity. I would just gently wipe them down with a soft cloth. They're fine.
 
Sorry to hear this bro. Are you sure it's not bloom/plum? that would be a good thing :) !
 
there isn't a bit of shine or crystal trace that I could see, just white fuzz...
I'll smoke it either way... :wink:
 
White mold no problem, wipe it off, smoke it. Blue mold bad, toss it in the garden, expensive mulch.
 
NMCowboy's right. Not that I haven't smoked a cigar or two with the blue mold. :wink: Shame to let that much money go into the garden. I've only seen that happen to one or two cigars in my possession though. That's probably because I left the Church of The Seventy Percenters a long time ago. I've got a couple of humidors that have been struggling to maintain 50% for three months, another with a problem getting to 55% and another that has a problem staying at 60% during the winter.

Let's see a show of hands. How many people out there REALLY want to tell me ANY of those cigars are RUINED?

Good, even with my failing eyesight, I didn't think I saw any. The only thing those cigars will have done is age about six or more months instead of three, but not ruined. And a lot less worry about mold and beetles.
 
Dang...I had a little white mold and I tossed $$$$ worth of cigars. I am currently keeping my humidor at 56-59, it will go up a little as Spring comes.
 
Ravyn, I don't know the genous name for blue mold but it is toxic and can cause serious health problems smoking it.
 
Basically, there are four stages of mold. "Plume," sometimes referred to as "Bloom" is actually a precursor to mold. It is part of the aging process, especially with certain kinds of tobacco, and is considered a "good thing" by cigar connoisseurs.

If a cigar with a lot of "bloom" on it is allowed to age at humidity levels that eventually get out of control, it actually becomes "white mold" or morphs into an agent representative of "decay." When the "white mold" becomes "blue mold" it is in the final stage of decay at which point it probably has already spread to other cigars. Blue mold will cause the complete disintegration of the structural integrity of the cigar it first grew on, literally eating away the cigar by a process of overmoisturization. Once your cigars become this wet, it is true, they should be thrown out.

So, while one should not be alarmed at seeing "bloom," take note of the cigar(s) that you see it on and do not allow the humidity to get out of hand in that humidor. Your cigars will be just fine.

Last but not least, although I did smoke one or two cigars with blue mold on them, it's only because I'm such a ridiculous jackass about not wasting stuff. Intellectual white college educated Northeasterners refer to it as "anal" but I have a philosophically academic disagreement with that phrase and hate the "Seinfeldians" who use it. I say "hate" with all due respect and love, of course.

Back to cigars. Keep them well, "love" them, regard them as something that requires your "care" and "attention" and not something you just bring home, toss in a box and smoke whenever you feel like a smoking stick, not caring about the taste. Being good to your cigars isn't "rocket science" nor should you regard it as a chore. Checking on your cigars, learning about your individual humidors' behavior, learning about different tobaccos, smoking different cigars, exploring your own palate's preferences and sharing your cigars and experiences with others is a worthwhile and fun hobby.
 
Ah...
ya learn something new everyday. I was actually going to ask a question about the "plume" that I saw on some cigars in the walk in humador where I buy some cigars.
Now, the plume is good on cigars that are aging...does this mean I have to watch them more? Are they going to become a problem if I don't keep an eye on them?