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Cigar mould at 20C and 69%

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Hi guys,
I've had some cigars mould over the last couple of years. Usually 1 or 2 a year will develop early signs of mould. Today I went to rotate my cigars and found that 5 had signs of mould. What's confusing to me is that I'm storing the cigars at around 20C (68F) +/- 1 degree and a pretty steady RH of 69% with boveda packs. I've read that mould only forms at higher RH and temperatures.
My main questions are,
1. Is this normal?
2. Is there anything I can do to stop this?
3. Should I do a deep clean of my humidor?
4. What humidity should I be storing at? Maybe 65% is safer?

Maybe in the summer when it's warmer 65 would be safer, and in the winter, go to 69 or even 72%.

Thanks,
 
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I agree with the lower Rh and a lower temp wouldn't necessarily hurt things. I also think you should separate them from the rest of your stash, maybe in a plastic bag with their own Boveda pack. Something else to consider is If they have only recently been placed into storage they may have been wet going in.
 
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What are you storing them in?
They are in an Adorini humidor, in the basement.


At that temperature I would go to 65%. JMTC.
Ok I'll give that a try. I always thought that I wanted to keep them at a higher RH when the storage temperature was lower?

I agree with the lower Rh and a lower temp wouldn't necessarily hurt things. I also think you should separate them from the rest of your stash, maybe in a plastic bag with their own Boveda pack. Something else to consider is If they have only recently been placed into storage they may have been wet going in.
Yeah good idea. I'll put them in a tupperdor I'm not using. I don't think they were wet when going in, but could have been. The 5 that got mould were all in the same area of the upper rack. Some are at least 2 years old. Checked the ones in the lower area and they all looked fine. Some of those have been in there for 3+ years.


Any tips on cleaning? Should I wipe down the cedar?
 
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If you are talking about the entire humidor I probably wouldn't. If you are talking about a small portion of the humidor that can be removed then maybe so. I hear of people wiping everything down with rubbing alcohol and then letting it air out but all I've ever done is wipe down with distilled water, let dry really well and wipe again with a dry clean cloth. You have to remember that mold is everywhere. It's not a question of getting rid of it, just stopping or greatly slowing it's growth.
 
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You have to remember that mold is everywhere. It's not a question of getting rid of it, just stopping or greatly slowing it's growth.
Yeah that's very true. The spores are all over the place and are likely on nearly every single cigar we get. The right conditions are it can explode. I believe that quantity of spores does also play a part. I'll try removing the tray and treating it on it's own with some distilled water. Then return with rubbing alcohol if it returns. Thanks.
 
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