Mold Alert!!! HELP

[KB24]

'Fellas,

I went to grab a few sticks for my weekend at the lake house in Tahoe and discovered mold had taken over a box of Monte #4's and a box of ELdM Lunch Club's. I immediatly took them out of the coolidor and then searched every other box to check. I didn't find any other ruined boxes but it almost brought me to tears. I will be placing an order as soon as possible to Bob Staebal. I know I have read here before what to do when mold appears but can someone please tell me what the hell to do so I can save the rest of my collection. Is every cigar in the boxes with mold ruined or only the ones with mold on them? Does mold in a couple boxes mean more mold in others if changes aren't made right away? I took all the boxes out of the coolidor and left them out in my room for the weekend bc I am going to be away for a few days. I made sure to leave the A/C on 68 deg for the whole weekend. Can you tell I am in panic mode. HELP!!!!

-Patrick

[Sandman]

Alright, first calm down everything is going to be fine. Usually mold can just be wiped off the affected cigars and put down to rest in a lower humidity and temperature environment. How bad is the mold in the affected boxes? The other boxes will be fine but check to make sure there are no signs of mold for the next couple of weeks. Get your temp and humidity down in the humi and you should be fine.

[nugget]

In my view Sandman is right as I think surface mold is a sign of good aging. If however it has penetrated through the cigar I think they could be F*@#ed. A friend had the same problem a while back and found they all ended up in the junk. I think it depends on the flavor, even if mold is present, smoke a couple and see if the flavor has spoiled. If so, I think you can never bring them back to their former glory. In the future make sure they have plenty of circulation and you should even take them out of their boxes for an hour or two once in a while.

That's my two cents.

Good luck mate, hope it works out for you.

:crying:

[VigorishSLC]

» I think surface mold is a sign of good

» aging. If however it has penetrated through the cigar I think they could

» be F*@#ed.

Mold anywhere on your sticks is certainly not an indicator of good aging. That said, if it is not too bad and confined to the surface of the stick, you may be able to air them out for a few days and then brush the offending substances off with little consequence. If the mold has permeated the stick, you're toast.

[Mark Twain]

» In my view Sandman is right as I think surface mold is a sign of good

» aging.

I think you're confusing mold with plume. There's a big difference between the two, trust me.

What type of mold are we talking about? White fuzzy mold or green blackish mold? If it's the white and fuzzy kind then don't panic. You want to isolate the infected boxes of cigars from the rest of your collection. Clean the infected cigars as best as you can and return them to their boxes. Then put each box in a sealed ziplock bag and set them away from your other sticks.

Check your humidity and temp. levels. Mold spreads through spores in the air. It may be a good idea to clean the inside of your coolidor.

[ccsmoker]

» » In my view Sandman is right as I think surface mold is a sign of good

» » aging.

»

» I think you're confusing mold with plume. There's a big difference between

» the two, trust me.

»

» What type of mold are we talking about? White fuzzy mold or green blackish

» mold? If it's the white and fuzzy kind then don't panic. You want to

» isolate the infected boxes of cigars from the rest of your collection.

» Clean the infected cigars as best as you can and return them to their

» boxes. Then put each box in a sealed ziplock bag and set them away from

» your other sticks.

»

» Check your humidity and temp. levels. Mold spreads through spores in the

» air. It may be a good idea to clean the inside of your coolidor.

You are absotuly correct mold is spread in by spores.Clean off the cigars and wash out the cooler.I had a problem like that I took the cooler outside wiped it down with vinager and rinsed out with water.

Left it outside to air dry good as new.Good luck and keep the humidity down...

[bassman]

If your "mold" is white & dry, leave your sticks in the sunlight for a few hours & then wipe it off. It should come off with no problem. If not white & removable :crying:

[El Presidente]

Not the end of the world Patrick.

Post a macro photograph if you can.

If the mold is on the surface wrapper, remove the box and drybox the cigars for a few days and then wipe off. Take carefull note at the foot of the cigar and see if there is any evidence of mold there. If mold is apparent on the foot of the cigar (filler) then the problem is a little more serious.

Were the cigars affected closest to the humidifier?

[KB24]

» Not the end of the world Patrick.

»

» Post a macro photograph if you can.

»

» If the mold is on the surface wrapper, remove the box and drybox the

» cigars for a few days and then wipe off. Take carefull note at the foot of

» the cigar and see if there is any evidence of mold there. If mold is

» apparent on the foot of the cigar (filler) then the problem is a little

» more serious.

»

» Were the cigars affected closest to the humidifier?

El Pres,

I am on Vacation away from the cigars right now but will be back Tuesday. I rememebr the mold just being on the wrapper of the cigars though. What does drybox mean? I will take some pics and everything Tuesday night and post them on this thread. Thanks evryone for the coninued help!!

[Taino]

If you have a coolidor, get yourself a bunch of 65% Rh beads and put them inside. That should be enough.

Incipient mold it's not necessarily the end of your cigars, like other here said. Take it of with your hands and smoke a couple of cigars to find out.

If they taste like crap, they are, if not you are lucky and use some beads!;-)