Mold??

Joined Jun 2006
502 Posts | 0+
Chester, NJ
Well, for this holiday season, I recieved a new desktop humidor. I have since been letting it sit with a bowl of water, watching the humidity slowly raise up to a point where I can properly introduce some cigars. Monday when I got home, I checked on it and it was up to 68% and it was the same yesterday, so I decided that it was time. upon opening the box i noticed the bowl of DI water had mold spores in it. this is a bran new humi, and I am a little worried. I didn't introduce any sticks as of yet....any thoughts...?

I have had the same DI water for a good amount of time (9-10 months), but there is no mold in the gallon itself...I don't understand?
 
Sorry Kuzi,,, In my distilled water, I get the two and a half gallon contaner. I simply poor some vodka in the water. It is a inert spirit and gives of no flavor. but it does go a long way to limit mold
 
Barcochris said:
Sorry Kuzi,,, In my distilled water, I get the two and a half gallon contaner. I simply poor some vodka in the water. It is a inert spirit and gives of no flavor. but it does go a long way to limit mold

interesting!
How long have you been doing this?
 
about eight months, since I moved over to the polymers, and I guess to be exact it is more grain alcohol

what do you think CC no good? I thought it would be a good idea.
 
kuzi16 said:
Barcochris said:
I put three or four cap's of vodka in my water

???
:?
there is a question here... i just dont know what it is.

I know the question that you are thinking of - the answer is he immediately downs the remaining bottle and starts posting to the forum.
 
I would say it is a water issue taht could become a humi issue. To play it safe since it is new, I would take a fine piece of sand paper and lightly sand all interior surfaces of the box. Of course immediately remove the water also. Then I would start over. This could remove any mold spores that could be forming in the box. IMHO.
 
Alex Svenson said:
I would say it is a water issue taht could become a humi issue. To play it safe since it is new, I would take a fine piece of sand paper and lightly sand all interior surfaces of the box. Of course immediately remove the water also. Then I would start over. This could remove any mold spores that could be forming in the box. IMHO.

I'd let the box dry out before you sand it (if you sand it)
Removing the water is first step!

Barcochris said:
about eight months, since I moved over to the polymers, and I guess to be exact it is more grain alcohol

what do you think CC no good? I thought it would be a good idea.

Now that you say polymers - I've heard this before.
4-me it's all how it tastes.
If you can't taste it it then it's working!
 
Well, I've taken the water out, and I looked in the gallon of water last night when I got home. It turns out that there were some floating items in the gallon of DI water that I had. Needless to say I've dumped the gallon and will pick up another today on the way home. I don't know if i'm going to sand it, I'm going to let it sit empty and open for about a week and see if anything starts to grow or what not and take it from there...
 
Use some propolene glycol in a 50/50 mix when you go to humidify your box. It acts to inhibit the mold growth and will help regulate your humidity. It can be found at most cigar stores or at your local pharmacy.
 
I was in a store in Vegas and saw some of there stock that had mold on it. It was a walk in humi. What could be the cause of that?

PS- Sorry for my new-ness
 
It could be that they used a misting type. If you keep an eye on them or use good controls they're fine, but they pump out a lot of moisture quickly. Or it could be that they didn't use distilled water. Tap water can breed mold faster than distilled will.
 
capino said:
I was in a store in Vegas and saw some of there stock that had mold on it. It was a walk in humi. What could be the cause of that?

PS- Sorry for my new-ness

Too High an RH!
 
On a similar note, I was in a stores walk in and he was keeping it down around 60 degrees on purpose. I wonder if he had a mold problem in the past and was trying to prevent it from happening again. Anyone have and idea why they would keep it so low.
 
kuzi16 said:
beatles like to hatch around 75*

If it was in Yuma, AZ - it's common knowledge that Barcochris likes to wear shorts around 75 - so they keep it cold to protect our eyesight.
 
laxjb1 said:
On a similar note, I was in a stores walk in and he was keeping it down around 60 degrees on purpose. I wonder if he had a mold problem in the past and was trying to prevent it from happening again. Anyone have and idea why they would keep it so low.

I store at 62% - 60 is a little low :wink: but not crazy!