Expert: M J Robbins - 12/20/2011

Question
Hi, I manage a walk-in humidor for a large Fine Wine and Liquor company. I've smoked cigars for over 7 years and maintained my own small humidors at home so I have some experience in the area.

However, lately I have been noticing a moldy smell coming from the humidor. The humidor is probably a 15'x 10' room, it has both an intake and vents for an out-take ventilation. The cigars are fine, the humidity is around 72-75% and the temp is around 69degrees. THe humidor is kept at that range with three Essick Air 7VH12 400 humidifiers. The humidifiers are maintained by me using the antibac solution, I change the filters once a month because I have to use standard tap water even though the filters are rated at 2-3 months. The company won't spring for distilled water so I need to try to figure out how to fix the problem.

I keep the intake and out open to allow for fresh air, however I have wondered if its the central ac that is causing the problem. But I don't really smell the odor coming from the ac. I can't really move the cigars out of the humidor because there are so many. Any ideas would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Answer
Nice to have a real thought provoking question every now and then.

First the problem -
Standard tap water? The smell of chlorine, minerals and bacteria are not a good mix with cigars.
The bacteria and minerals in tap water are surprisingly good for humans – not for cigars.
Use filtered water at least please.
Lower the humidity to 70% - humidity breeds mold.
A few small fans in the corners moving air all the time helps keep mold growth down.

Pull the filters out and smell them.
Turn off all the humidity devices and turn them on one at a time to perhaps find if one is the culprit. But to be sure I would take the humidity devices out and use alcohol to clean them in and out. Look under and around the devices for any leaks that caused mold growth.
Alcohol bottles are cheap; go spend $10 on several bottles. Always air everything out good afterwards.

Move all the cigar boxes around and check every nook and cranny for some mold growth.
Perhaps there is a water leak in the system somewhere and mold is growing. You can't use bleach but a tooth brush and rubbing alcohol is best. If you find the culprit spot repeated treatment is probably necessary keep rubbing it every day with alcohol and a brush. Some box might have got wet and the mold is growing under it - move them all. Examine all the cigars as sometimes the companies send them out too wet and they grow mold. Tubed cigars, Cuban cigars, artificially colored cigars like La Gloria Cubana series R maduro are culprits.

So now you have cleaned the RH devices
Checked every cigar and moved every box of cigars looking carefully for mold.
Cleaned it all where necessary.
Check the roof line for a leak in the roof.
If the air-conditioning is on the roof it could be leaking also.

Now open the doors and turn a fan on to bring in fresh air for an hour.
Close everything up turn on the devices with clean water please.

I once brought in a cardboard box with some extra stuff, placed it on a shelve in the humidor and the bottom of the box was a little damp. I moved it some months later and there was a whole sheet of white mold. I poured alcohol on the shelve, rubbed it with a cloth, scrubbed the nooks and crannies with a tooth brush, opened up the doors to the humidor, put a fan right on it to dry quickly and it was done and gone in an hour.
Another time there was a little leak in the roof and some mold occurred in the cedar on the roof in a corner. Black mold is the worst and I rubbed it every day for a week to clear it. Luckily it was only the size of you thumb nail.
The refrigeration line leaked just a little bit, I noticed a few drops of water and I found one box on the bottom of a shelve soaked through. When I opened the box the cigars were all soft mushy and moldy.

Good luck

Report back with the results


Mike

Addition
If you cannot find it bring in someone else to look and smell around also. Like the lost keys in your house, you ask your wife where they are and she says "right there on the counter" you just missed them for what ever the reason. If you do not want to mention it to anyone else at work bring in a friend to check it out. Take your time and be thorough.