Humi Beads, Cheese Cloth, and Mold

[thoreau]

I replaced the water soak block in my lid mounted humidifier with beads. To keep the beads from falling through the slits when the lid is closed I put a piece of cheese cloth inside and between the beads and the slits. It works fine but I'm worried that the cheese cloth may be a great structure for mold growth since it will no doubt wick mosture from the beadsand may stay damp. Humi says in the 60-65% range.

Anyone do anything like this and ever have mold problems? Any other ideas on keeping the beads in a lid mount humidifier?

[chippewastud79]

Originally Posted by thoreau

Any other ideas on keeping the beads in a lid mount humidifier?

Try a cut out of some cross stitch mesh, make sure you get the ones made from plastic, easily found at any craft store. Or get some screen from a hardware store.

[thoreau]

Excellent idea. Thanks.

[bobarian]

Nylon stockings are a cheap solution. Just be sure you are using distilled and not purified or spring water.

[thoreau]

Thanks, another great idea. I'll steal one from my wife.

[jgonzalez]

I have nylon stockings I took from wife more than a year ago. 65% beads with absolutely no problems (plus they are cheap to replace-check your wife's drawer).

[n2advnture]

The problem is in the cheese cloth.

Mold propegates with standing water and the cheese cloth will absorb water since it is a natural material and not a synthetic material.

FYI - The beads should be hydrated to approx 70% being wet with approx 30% of them being dry.

I hope this helps

~Mark

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[ucla695]

I've been using nylons to store my beads for years. No problems with mold.

[e-man]

Like everyone else said, use something plastic...like nylons or a mesh bag. Like any living thing, mold needs food to grow, and the cheese cloth is supplying a buffet. Moist cellulose is the perfect food for mold. This is the reason they started making paper free drywall for bathrooms.

Mold spores travel very easily, so you have probably seeded the walls of your humidor and all of it's contents with spores. Unfortunately, your cigars have a lot of cellulose in them as well, so they could be next on the menu if you're not careful. Be sure to soak the shell of your humidifier with bleach water to kill any spores. Wipe down the humidor with a small amount of alcohol, and leave it open long enough to evaporate. I would recommend getting new beads too, as they are surely contaminated as well. You can't soak your beads in bleach or you will ruin them.

You now have a much higher risk of mold growing on your cigars if your humidity ever gets out of control, so be careful.