I keep my cabinet at between 65%RH - 70%RH depending on how things are smoking. Over the past 8 months or so the cabinet has been kept at 69%RH and about 69 degF. I was doing an inspection today and found 2 boxes with sporadic mold. It just 'wipes' off.

It is my understanding that your Habanos are in danger of mold above 85% RH, so I don't know how this happened. If some of your Habanos DO have mold, what are the dangers and remedies?

Also, is there any health risk to smoking cigars that have mold (even after wiping off)? Does it have an impact on flavor?

although i have no real experience with advance stages of plume, you might with your aristocrate. my small humi only lets me keep a short time of smoke.

it might be advance stages of plume. . .saw this on the vigilant humidor site.

"Bloom (often called plume) is the slow rising of essential oils to the surface of the cigar. It first appears as tiny crystals and will eventually make the cigar appear dusty. A more advance bloom gives an opaque white look to the entire cigar. Bloom isn't harmful to cigars. It's an indication that the cigar has been maintained at a 70+% RH for a long period of time. Many smokers prefer a cigar in the bloom state.

Mold is a fungus. It appears on the surface of cigars when the relative humidity in your humidor exceeds 80%. It looks like blue/gray fuzzy patches on the surface of the wrapper and will spread by producing spores. If mold appears, you should remove the affected cigars and check for any mold on the wood of your humidor. It's important to separate the affected cigars immediately and to wipe down the interior lining of your humidor with isopropyl or denatured alcohol. This will kill mold and may leave slight stains on your humidor's interior wood. Click here to see photos of mold.

Gently wipe the mold off of your cigars and leave them at room humidity for 36 hours, then place them back into your humidor (obviously after addressing the moisture problem that caused the mold in the first place). Check these cigars every few days to ensure that mold growth has stopped. Some people recommend more drastic measures such as placing your cigars in the freezer to kill the mold. Try our method first before going to such extremes. If your problem continues, you may need a new humidor."

Anyone know if ingesting the mold is toxic?

I'm confused about the facts of the case.

You said it "wipes off." Mold does not "wipe off" without leaving a stain. Plume wipes off without leaving a stain.

If it is mold, you shouldn't smoke the cigars. Unless you like mold. Are you allergic to mold? That might make a difference as well.

I didn't realize you posted on several forums. I answered the CW post. Same info as Bomber. Photos of mold
http://cigarhumidors.vigilantinc.com/mold.htm

I've had a brief outbreak. Wiped off and no damage. Humidity was out of hand, it also created a mite problem. Had to freeze the buggers. Never let your smokes get over 72%.

edit* I had to freeze for the mite problem NOT the mold.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sheik Ur Bootie,

the beginning stages of mold (white) do wipe off, and is not harmful to you. white mold, depending on how long it's been on your cigar, will not stain it. simply wipe it off and smoke it. it shouldn't affect the taste. green mold is a different story. it can be toxic to the human body, and although in the beginning stages, will wipe off, it will also leaves a stain. it will also affect the taste to some degree..
Black mold is the worst. if you've got this on your cigar, then throw it away. and if black mold is on your humidor, you might as well throw that away too.

I've had cigars with mold on them, but if you take them out and wipe them off, let them get somewhat drier (I'm talking down to 55%, not 30%) and give them some time, it should go away. Leave them for a year and the taste should be gone as well.

By the way, your humidity doesn't have to be too high in your whole humidor to get mold: if your cigars are really packed in, there may not be enough air circulation, and so the cigars nearest the humidification device will be much more humid than the others. That means that you may have a hygrometer reading of 62% at the top, but be sitting at 75% and moldy at the bottom...

Is someone pulling somebody's leg here?

Anyone know if 7 days at 0 degF will kill the mold?

No it won't kill the mold but will leave them smacking of pizza crust & mushrooms.

LMAO....shortsqueeze, this is called "you made your bed, now lie in it"....priceless....lol..

Helpful, thanks a million!

You're pathetic whoever you are using Jerry's sign-on.

By the way, WHO ARE YOU?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: shortsqueeze,

Hilarious!

quote:

Originally posted by shortsqueeze:
Anyone know if ingesting the mold is toxic?

Moderate to large amounts of mold ingestion can lead to the breakdown of cells in the dermis and epidermis. In layman's terms, it can create the condition called "thin skin". This condition can lead the ingester to become paranoid and very easily agitated. It can also cause him to lash out at those that he, in his mind, feels are "out to get him". If I were you, I'd stay away from those moldy cigars...even though it sounds like plume(bloom) instead.

Isn't plume one of those knowledgeable posters who used to post here?
Anyway, everything & anything you want to know (or don't want to know) about cigar mold is contained in this thread.

Spreelaw--That's the best description of this type of mold I've ever seen. LOL

SS,
Although I'm sure that you can easily tell the difference between plume and mold, the Sheik's link is a very good graphic of mold. As someone said, make sure that you separate them from your other cigars as the stuff will spread. Dry them out a bit, set them aside, and they should smoke just fine.

As for a few of the other comments, it don't mean nothin because they probably don't know nothin.

Descibe irony.... A place in cyber-space called the Havana Room where none of the moderators have actually ever even been to Cuba. Go figure ???????

Geezus, of course mold wipes off. SS, mold can come from a number of places, not strictly from cigars. I find that certain shippers can grow mold in an airmail package in a week and a half.
None I use anymore. But it can come from the air exchange when you open your cabinet. Getting it to GROW is the part that's hard. You need to get that temp up and have high humidity. Give all your boxes and all-around sniff and wipe them with a warm damp cloth and then dry them all well and maybe wipe down the inside of your storage device. And keep you humidity low. And remember, no matter what these plume apologists have to say, mold and mildew do not smell like plume, so if you gotz the dank, you gots the mold. And did u say that the BOXES had mold or the cigars in 2 boxes had mold?

The cigars ... about 8 or so in two separate boxes. I checked the other 20 or so boxes and all are in tip top shape, pluming nicely. I do open the cabinet often and circulate the air, and the humidor is pretty much 68/68 in every corner of the cabinet, I've checked.

The cigars in the two infected boxes (which also have nice plume in addition to the mold, and I do know the difference), one was from Havana directly, brought back in my own hands. Everything was cool until now. Before I found the mold, I had opened that particular box about 3 months ago. Plus they were RyJ Churchills, tightly packed.

I think from now on, not only am I going to open the door EVERY day to circulate the ambient air with the air inside the cabinet, but I'm going to try to expose each and every box to the ambient air weekly, as before many boxes remained untouched for months at a time.