How to get mold out of a humidifier

brettman

I've read alot about cigar mold, but this is a pretty interesting case. I got a new humidifier last week for my humidor, it's just your standard soak-with-water humidifier, and I popped it right on in using distilled water. Two days later I spot tiny mold fuzzies on parts of the green spongey material. There is no mold anywhere else in the humidifier or on the cigars as of this writting (a week after first spotting it). The humidity was a constant around 71% with a temp. of about 70-71. My thought is that the warehouse this humidifier came from (not CCOM) wasn't kept so well and some sporey bastards snuck into the humidifier. My question now isn't so much as to how this happened, but how to make sure I get rid of all living mold spores in the humidifier. Obviously, I don't want to use any chemicals on it as that will ruin the cigars once I put it back in. So far, my course of action has been to dry out the humidifier and stick it in the freezer for a couple of days (although I'm not certain freezing temps kill spores). Any suggestions?

iminaquagmire

I don't know about mold in the freezer but I'd imagine its like beetles in that you can't get the average freezer cold enough. I don't trust PG humidifiers (I assume you put polypropylene glycol in with the distilled water) as far as I can throw them. I'd replace the humidifier and not worry about it. Short of dipping your cigars in bleach, there's not much you can do about it. Just keep an eye on things. IMO, and please nobody take offense to this, people obsess over this stuff too much. Cigars are for relaxing. When you obsess over them, there's no point anymore. Granted I built a temperature and humidity controlled environment for mine, but I don't hover over the hygrometer like some people do. I can tell whether a cigar is too moist or too dry just by feel and sound. If its off, it goes in the humidor for awhile until its good.

j0z3r

Suggestion: Throw away the puck and pick up some beads. There are probably some ways you can deal with the mold, white vinegar comes to mind, but really those type of humidifiers are crap, better than nothing but that's about it.

phobicsquirrel

I used a rag with distilled water (well shop towel) and wiped down all the areas in my humi, then let it sit open for about a week, then re-wiped again and let it sit once again. Then I seasoned it once more, then put in beads and so far everything is good. I does depend on the amount of mold I'm sure, but I only had it around the bottom where the old sponge humi was..

kuzi16

j0z3r:

Suggestion: Throw away the puck and pick up some beads. There are probably some ways you can deal with the mold, white vinegar comes to mind, but really those type of humidifiers are crap, better than nothing but that's about it.

thats what id do if i still had one of those foam deals. those things suck.

madurofan

kuzi16:

j0z3r:

Suggestion: Throw away the puck and pick up some beads. There are probably some ways you can deal with the mold, white vinegar comes to mind, but really those type of humidifiers are crap, better than nothing but that's about it.

thats what id do if i still had one of those foam deals. those things suck.

Or if you have $100 buy a cigar oasis

jihiggs

take the green foam out, get it real wet and put it in the microwave for a couple min. I have never tried this but I am pretty sure it will kill 99% of the mold, I dont know if the foam will survive though, but thats how I disinfect my dish sponge. but seriously dude, throw it away, those things are crap.

urbino

You could also try gamma rays, if you have a source handy. I usually buy mine at Radio Shack.

j0z3r

urbino:

You could also try gamma rays, if you have a source handy. I usually buy mine at Radio Shack.

Good for cockroaches too!

brettman

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. The overwhelming consensus seems to be to throw out the humidifier. I was actually already decided on this, it's just that I've been especially lazy lately :-)

jaytothen

My foam credo's did this too using Distilled Water that had been opened for awhile. I guess once opened, those gallons eventually start collecting dirt and dust, along with bacteria and such. I just air dried them for about a week in the sun then used PG solution afterwards. No more mold. I do agree with everyone saying to toss them. They are okay, but the little jars of gel are great and so cheap, there really isn't a reason to not use them. Depending on the size of your humidor, just throw a couple small ones on each level.