Storing Habano's

[Nickerson]

Not sure how you had these stored and what you used for humidification but when I started out I had this happen. Here was my set up...

300 count humidor with 1 tray and space for boxes underneath.
rectangle humidifiers (2) filled with distilled water only.
The humidifiers would not stay stuck to the lid so I placed them on a box under the tray.
RH was 68%

I got mold on two cigars sitting on the tray right above one of the rectangles.

Lessons learned:

Never use the foam rectangles without a 50/50 solution of distilled water and propylene glycol.

Switch to Heartfelt beads or Boveda packs. Chuck those piece of crap rectangles.

Leave adequate headspace between your humidfication device and the trays above. (Does not apply to Boveda packs, you can use those anywhere)

Hope this helps. If none of this applies to your situation, well then, move along...nothing to see here!:smokingme

RW

I use the rectangles with beads in them. I chucked that cheap green floral foam crap. It's funny because both of my recent cigars which had mold were sitting right above the humidifiers on the shelf above it.

I got a 300 count humidor as well.

 

[Zen Cigar Man]

Yeah, i like 'em dry. 62-64 for me.

 

[JNT]

I use crystals that are rated for 70%, but my humi is to big, and generally it ends up sitting between 62-65

 

[PLUSH]

mine are keep between 62 - 65

 

[maverickdrinker]

62 to 65 for me as well

 

[agentdaffy007]

62% for my Arnold desk humidor to smoke right away.
65% for my Siglo humidor that i will smoke within years to come.
67% in my coolerdor for long term aging.

 

[ciggy]

This is almost EXACTLY what I do...... the rest for me, though are 67-69... I don't like to hit that 70 number.

It sounds to me like your hygrometer might need calibration if you're getting mold at 67-68..... the VAST majority of molds need humidity levels at 70 and above to grow...

Jim knows his Chit...I'd listen to what he says!
I have the Heartfelt Beads in my Humi's so mine rest at 65%...but I'm trusting the beads to maintain that.

 

[NCost]

Sounds like it might not have been mold, rather it could have been bloom. If you wipe it off and it leaves no wrapper discoloration, then it's bloom and nothing to much to worry about. Mold will leave discoloration and more reason to be worried. The naked eye can't distinguish between the two, do the wipe test.

Bloom/plume is typically dust-like in appearance. It’s often off-white or grey in colour, very light in texture and brushes off easily, just like dust. Mold on the other hand, is often thick and fuzzy and appears in patches. It can be brushed off with your fingers but will leave a discoloured stain on your cigar. Mold is either white, grey, green, blue or teal in colour.

A grayish-green substance forming on your cigar(s) is most definitely mold. Remove it from your humidor immediately and make sure the other cigars and your humidity level is ok. If the mold has not spread to the face of the foot (where all the layers of filler tobacco is visible) then the cigar can still be saved with a tiny bit of isopropyl alcohol.

Sorry if you knew all of this already.

 

[Jwrussell]

Sounds like it might not have been mold, rather it could have been bloom. If you wipe it off and it leaves no wrapper discoloration, then it's bloom and nothing to much to worry about. Mold will leave discoloration and more reason to be worried. The naked eye can't distinguish between the two, do the wipe test.



Sorry if you knew all of this already.

I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. Mold can indeed be wiped off without leaving discoloration (not all of course, but most mold (white) caught early enough) and it can be distinguished by the naked eye if you know what you are looking for. I'm not going to go into depth, there are tons of threads and posts on the board about this with pictures and examples.


ETA, the rest of that information is pretty much correct. So long as it hasn't spread to the foot of the cigar and it wipes off with no issues, there's no reason to toss the cigar. There are mold spores on every single cigar in your humidor, it's unavoidable. That's why keeping the humidity level right is so important.