Holy Moldy!

I opened my 25-count desktop humidor and found the humidifier case had fallen to the bottom of the humidor and mold was growing. What can I do to fix this? Is the humidor a loss?

Posted: December 10, 2012

Submitted via CigarAficionado.com

The humidor can be revived, but you have a little bit of work ahead of you.

It's unusual for mold to attach itself to anything inside a humidor besides your cigars, but here's what to do:

Take a dry cloth or sponge and wipe the inside walls, beneath the lid and the bottom of the humidor. Then leave the lid open for no more than a few hours. Mold is caused by excess humidity, and the open lid will remove the added moisture that has built up in the humidor.

After a thorough wiping (remember, never use soaps, sprays or any scented material when cleaning your humidor), consider how the mold originally formed, attacking not only your cigars but your humidor. Since mold needs heat to form, move your box to a cooler place. If summer time temperatures make your home too hot, place your humidor in a closet, or the coolest possible location. (Don't store the humidor in a refrigerator, which will impede the humidification process.) It's extremely important to keep your cigars out of the heat—besides mold, a tobacco beetle outbreak is possible, which can be even more harmful for your smokes.

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