Expert: James Yee - 12/18/2007

Question
QUESTION: I had mold on the dividers that are in top tray of my humidors.The dividers were very close to the regulators. (two humidors had mold). I found none on my cigars. I took the 4 dividers out of humidors, lightly cleaned with alcohol. Should I be worried about the cigars? Should I clean the whole humidor? I have about 100 opus-x in humidor. Humidors are Daniel Marshall


ANSWER: Hi George,

Mold spores can spread very quickly so it's best to clean your entire humidor now.  First move your cigars to a temporary storage container and store in the refrigerator.  If residual mold spores are present on your cigars, refrigerating the cigars will allow the mold to appear but slow down the growth so you have time to catch the mold early.

While the cigars are in the refrigerator, thoroughly clean out your humidor(s), wipe down the interior with alcohol and then rewipe with distilled water afterwards.

If mold forms on your cigars, gently wipe them down with alcohol and then distilled water and return them to the refrigerator.  If after a week, there is no mold on your cigars, they're safe to return to the humidors.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Should I do anything with the regulators? Is it common to get mold when humidity is under 70RH? and  should the humidors be re-seasoned?

Thank you, you are very kind.

Regards

George

Answer
Hi again George,

While you are cleaning your humidor(s), you can also place the humidification devices in another storage container and store it in the refrigerator to see if any mold appears.  If mold does appear on the humidification devices, you will need to either thoroughly sterilize the regulators or replace them altogether.  If your humidification devices have a foam core, you will need to replace them entirely as it is almost impossible to completely purge the mold spores from the porous aquafoam.

It's rare for mold to form in humidor environments that are less than 70%rh but it can happen; especially if the humidification devices are in tight corners or obstructed locations that prevent the humidity from effectively circulating inside the humidor.  Mold can also come from already-infected cigars or contaminated fingerprints.

It's also best to re-season your humidors after you have thoroughly cleaned them.

Regards,
James