Expert: M J Robbins - 4/7/2010

Question
i recently bought a humidor after the last time i seasoned it with distilled water , seems like there is pinhole  size black spots all around the humidor and the trays,is it normal for cedar to have these spots or is this mold starting to grow,they seem to be part of the wood and dont wipe off also im getting the same color aroung the areas where the nails are that hold everything together.

Answer
Take everything out of the box and put them in a Zip lock bag they should last a week. Throw away the humidity device.
Take a clean cloth and an old tooth brush + rubbing alcohol. Now wipe down the whole box with rubbing alcohol and scrub the corners and nails with the tooth brush. Sometimes with this type of infection it takes several times over a few days to kill all the mold. If it does not disappear completely or if it returns soon then a new box is necessary.
Leave the box open to air out for 2 days and order a new humidity device.
You only wipe down a box once to start. If the new humidity device is sized properly you do not need to wipe down the box which is always dangerous.
Put a Boveda packet in to protect against mold and bring up humidity instead of wiping down a humidor.

If any cigar shows signs of mold wipe it down also and leave it out to dry for a few hours.
Black mold is the most dangerous and hard to get rid of.

Mike