Aristocrat Owners: Help with Mold on Humidifier Wick

[mtec]

Hello fellow BOTLs and Aristocrat owners. It's winter and I've recently started using the humdification device again in my Plus 48. I installed a brand new wick in the humidifier, filled it up with distilled water, and let it run normally set at 65% RH, temperature at 68%F. One week later however, I noticed some black mold on the white wick. I tried to rinse it off but it won't come off.

I changed to a new wick and sterilzed the entire water basin with bleach/water. One week later, the black mold again on the new one...

Have a couple questions for all you experts out there:
1. Is this normal, has anybody else gotten this mold problem on their Aristocrat humidifiers?
2. This doesn't appear to be the same type of mold as the white ones that grows on cigars. Do you think it will spread onto my singles cigars if left unattended?
3. Would adding some PG solution to the water basin help as propylene glycol is known to prevent mold growth? Any other mold prevention techniques?

Thanks!

[madurolover]

Moved to Questions Accessories.

[cf2112]

I removed my wicks because of this, I use Super Absorbant Polymers with great results. They are cheap and prevent water spills. You can add a drop of grain alcohol to prevent mold but I don't. I only use my humidifier in the winter months and replace the polymers only if I see mold which only seems to happen on the bottom canister that catchs any condensation.

http://www.watersorb.com/

http://www.water-keep.com/catalog/

[huero71]

Have you talked to Bob about it? He might know how to deal with this.

I've only had mine since May of this year, but I haven't had this problem... maybe I should go look at it again...

[mtec]

I've emailed Bob several times about this but he hasn't replied...

[n2advnture]

Add a TINY (1/2 teaspoon or less) of this:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...istat&sLevel=0

I did it in my Avallo canisters and it works great

I hope this helps

~Mark

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by n2advnture

Add a TINY (1/2 teaspoon or less) of this:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...istat&sLevel=0

I did it in my Avallo canisters and it works great

I hope this helps

~Mark

Do you add it right to the distilled water supply, Mark?

[mtec]

Originally Posted by n2advnture

Add a TINY (1/2 teaspoon or less) of this:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...istat&sLevel=0

I did it in my Avallo canisters and it works great

I hope this helps

~Mark

Thanks for the advice Mark! I would love to try this product. Only problem is, I'm in Beijing and can't get it locally. Would someone be kind enough to pick up a bottle for me and ship to me in China? I can pay in advance via p a y p a l

[ucla695]

Originally Posted by cf2112

I removed my wicks because of this, I use Super Absorbant Polymers with great results. They are cheap and prevent water spills. You can add a drop of grain alcohol to prevent mold but I don't. I only use my humidifier in the winter months and replace the polymers only if I see mold which only seems to happen on the bottom canister that catchs any condensation.

http://www.watersorb.com/

http://www.water-keep.com/catalog/

I had the same problem when I first set-up my Aristocrat. After some research, I tried Super Absorbant Polymers from Watersorb and added a little grain alcohol and that took care of the mold, but it tended to over humidify things so I switched to beads and never looked back.

[mtec]

Originally Posted by ucla695

I had the same problem when I first set-up my Aristocrat. After some research, I tried Super Absorbant Polymers from Watersorb and added a little grain alcohol and that took care of the mold, but it tended to over humidify things so I switched to beads and never looked back.

Do you simply take out the wick and dump out the water, put your beads in the original humidifier, and screw back the fan/cover on top and let the fan do the evaporation?

[cf2112]

Originally Posted by ucla695

I had the same problem when I first set-up my Aristocrat. After some research, I tried Super Absorbant Polymers from Watersorb and added a little grain alcohol and that took care of the mold, but it tended to over humidify things so I switched to beads and never looked back.

How much did it over humidify? The fans only run if humidity is needed and the polymers holding water is no different than just water in the canisters.

Do you put beads in the Canisters? Is your cabinet an Endtable or Armoir size? I would not think there would be enough water in the beads to humidify my cabinet. I had 5lbs in mine once trying to reduce humidity (a bigger problem for me in our super humid summers) and it dropped 2% in 4 weeks.

[mash]

Originally Posted by mtec

I've emailed Bob several times about this but he hasn't replied...

Bob isn't great about answering e-mails, but he always seems to be there when I call. He is more than happy to take time talking things over, he's a very solid guy.