Humidifier growing mold

[wb1948]

I just checked in, and am ready to make my first post. I searched a while for this exact problem, and found nothing that assisted me. I woke up this morning and checked on my cigars to find "white tiny hairs" growing out of one of my three credo's. The amount is pretty extensive I would say. I am guesing this is a classic case of mold, my RH was 72% (I try to keep it around 64-68%). FYI, I have a digital hygrometer. Anyways, I can't find the white mold any where else in the humidor, and was wondering if I need to be concerned about contamination of my cigars. I immediately removed the credo(got the RH down too), but are my cigars still at risk?

Thanks a lot, appreciate it.

William

 

[jstrat]

Get rid of the credo and switch to beads. Problem solved!

 

[BlindedByScience]

Get rid of the credo and switch to beads. Problem solved!

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QFT. Viper will hook you up.... :thumbs:

If it were me, I'd leave it open for 30-40 mins a day for a few days, just to make damn sure the humidity isn't too high.

Good Luck - B.B.S.

 

[wb1948]

Get rid of the credo and switch to beads. Problem solved!

[snapback]284770[/snapback]​

I do have beads, bought like a half pound. But they just couldn't keep the humidity up in my old humidor, so I moved back to credo's. The beads would dry out real quick, and max RH was like 59%. What could be the problem? Also, I did not like how I had to come up with my own solution for storing the beads in the humidor. I tried the sticks, but like I said previously wasn't enough to keep up RH in my 100 count.

 

[jstrat]

Get rid of the credo and switch to beads. Problem solved!

[snapback]284770[/snapback]​

I do have beads, bought like a half pound. But they just couldn't keep the humidity up in my old humidor, so I moved back to credo's. The beads would dry out real quick, and max RH was like 59%. What could be the problem? Also, I did not like how I had to come up with my own solution for storing the beads in the humidor. I tried the sticks, but like I said previously wasn't enough to keep up RH in my 100 count.

[snapback]284773[/snapback]​

Sounds like your humi may have a bad seal. I've got beads in all of my humidors and no issues with the beads drying out. If you don't like the tubes, just put the beads in a small dish or pantyhose. Viper also sells the mesh bags.

 

[Sunward]

you may want to keep your RH lower (60%)for a while. yes your cigars are at risk, but if you examine them, and find no spots, you might have made it unscathed.

tossing the Creedo was a great idea. the PG solution may be contaminated too, toss it and replace with new stuff, along with any funnels/containers too. I store mine in plastic cough syrup bottles (brand new ones) from the pharmacy.

a preventative measure would be, to remove the cigars, and use UV light to kill anything. mold likes dark, damp, and acidic environments. i wouldnt be surpised if the odd spore is still around.

btw... welcome to CP! from the frozen north

 

[jstrat]

Good advice from Sunward. Also, if you haven't already, calibrate your hygrometer. Do a search for "salt test" for details.

Edited b/c I can't spell.

 

[emodx]

Get rid of the credo and switch to beads. Problem solved!

[snapback]284770[/snapback]​

I do have beads, bought like a half pound. But they just couldn't keep the humidity up in my old humidor, so I moved back to credo's. The beads would dry out real quick, and max RH was like 59%. What could be the problem? Also, I did not like how I had to come up with my own solution for storing the beads in the humidor. I tried the sticks, but like I said previously wasn't enough to keep up RH in my 100 count.

[snapback]284773[/snapback]​

I think your hygrometer is way low. Mold takes a long time to grow in a credo that is at %70. I am guessing your hygro is low by %6-8. This would explain why the beads are measuring low, and you are growing mold in a credo.

Emo

 

[wb1948]

That is interesting because I did the calibration test with it and it was perfect. But that would make since why the 65% beads were only keeping the RH on the Hygrometer around 57%. I will try to lower the RH to around 60% to be safe.

 

[CalixEros]

I don't even use a hygrometer anymore. I have plenty of beads, keep a good mix of clear and white, and monitor my cigars by feel. I have more trust in the beads than a hygrometer, even if I just calibrated it.

 

[Ekans]

I don't even use a hygrometer anymore. I have plenty of beads, keep a good mix of clear and white, and monitor my cigars by feel. I have more trust in the beads than a hygrometer, even if I just calibrated it.

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lol, I have four hygrometers (range between 63%-66%) in my humi, but that's just because I have 'em. I trust Vipers beads more than any of these

 

[emodx]

I have 1 hygrometer, a cheap analog one. I have Climmax beads un my fridgedor and a small %70 humipack in my desktop. Every couple of months I check the accuracy of the hygro. And then I alternate a week in one then a week in the other. I am more worried about trends than day to day accuracy. Again, mold should not grow quickly in a 50/50 credo unless the temp is pretty warm.

Emo

 

[Pyre]

You might want to recharge your credo with PC solution. That stuff is supposed to help prevent mold. But yeah, like others have already said, beads are the way to go.

Also, this might be debatable, but I think 72% is way too high. Even for aging, I would be very cautious with anything over 69%.

 

[wb1948]

Ok I am making the switch back to beads. Just put some heartfelts in there, how long do you think it will take for it stabilize at 65%?

Another thing, I think the reasoning I wasn't having success with beads originally was because I would use 50/50 solution with them. I have now realized that can cause them to lose their ability to absorb, which might have been the problem. Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[wb1948]

Hmmm... Last night it was up to 60% then I woke up this morning and back to 58%. Is this normal? I am guessing the system has to stabilize. How long does this usually take?

 

[Wurm]

How dry was the wood of your Humi? It can take upto weeks for it to finally get stable.

 

[wb1948]

How dry was the wood of your Humi? It can take upto weeks for it to finally get stable.

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I am not sure, but the humidity has been above 65% for a few weeks now. Just recently it got too high.

 

[wb1948]

After about a week it still in the 56-59% range. I have a cup that is about 3 inches in diameter and the beads are about an .75-1 inch deep. The clear to white ratio is about 80/20. It is a hundred count humidor with about 40 cigars inside. Based on this information alone, what would you speculate my RH to be assuming my humidifier has no leaks and the system is stabilized?

I am not investigating the idea that my digital hygrometer is off about 6-7%. A while ago I tested it using this method
-teaspoon of table salt in shallow dish and enough water to make it damp
-dish and hygrometer in zip lock bag next to each other
-seal bag and let sit for 6 hours
It settled out at 75% and stayed there the entire time. This would lead me to believe my hygrometer is functioning properly. But then why do 65% beads only keep my humidodo in the upper 50 range?

 

[centurycigar]

This advice was given to me by Viper regarding salt testing:

"It is recommended that you go for 24-48 hours when this test is done. The reason for that is it takes a while for the salt to actually regulate the moisture to the proper level.If after 24-48 hours your hygro reads 75% you have one of the few accurate out of the box."

I did this and both my hygrometers were off by a couple percentage points. I would recommend doing it again, IMHO.

 

[seadub]

Get rid of the credo and switch to beads. Problem solved!

[snapback]284770[/snapback]​

I do have beads, bought like a half pound. But they just couldn't keep the humidity up in my old humidor, so I moved back to credo's. The beads would dry out real quick, and max RH was like 59%. What could be the problem? Also, I did not like how I had to come up with my own solution for storing the beads in the humidor. I tried the sticks, but like I said previously wasn't enough to keep up RH in my 100 count.

[snapback]284773[/snapback]​

If the amount of beads your using isn't doing the job, then maybe you should try adding another stick (or some amount of beads) to get the RH up to the desired level.

And as others have pointed out... you could have other issues like a bad seal on your humidor.

I've also salt tested my digital hygrometers and then tested them with a Boveda pack (also available from Viper) and I found that my performance of the salt test wasn't so great. The Humidipak's actually showed me that my hygrometers aren't as off as I thought they were when I did the salt test.

good luck, dude.