My Humidor and Mould or Plume

[Reedy3000]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for accepting me to the forum.

I will first give you a bit of a background on the issue, that way you may be able to help me avoid it in future (if needed).
I would still consider myself fairly new to Cigar smoking. I have been smoking Cigars now for about 3 Years.
For the past 3 Years I have used a Humidor at work and never had my own.
Recently I started keeping my own small Humidor (Xikar travel humidor), Yesterday I noticed something on 2 of the cigars in there. After a bit of searching I discovered the Mould or Plume discussion.

Basically I could do with someone confirming if it is mould or plume (Pictures Attached). If mould what can I do to save the cigars and prevent this in future?

Any help would be really appreciated!



Cigar 1.jpgCigar 2.jpgCigar 4.jpgCigar 3.jpg

[Dannyg1]

Welcome! Looks like mould to me unfortunately, what humidity are you keeping them at and how do you manage it?

As for the sticks I would snip a bit off and see how far the mould goes into the stick, if it seems to vanish the smoke them ASAP, if mould goes all the way through then bin them.

If mould is on the outside of the sticks then brush it off, maybe dab a little pure alcohol on the spots and smoke ASAP. Make sure you clean your humidor out and reduce humidity.

This is what I have done in the past and has worked.


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[Reedy3000]

Welcome! Looks like mould to me unfortunately, what humidity are you keeping them at and how do you manage it?

As for the sticks I would snip a bit off and see how far the mould goes into the stick, if it seems to vanish the smoke them ASAP, if mould goes all the way through then bin them.

If mould is on the outside of the sticks then brush it off, maybe dab a little pure alcohol on the spots and smoke ASAP. Make sure you clean your humidor out and reduce humidity.

This is what I have done in the past and has worked.


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Unfortunately i suspected mould too.
Its around 74% but ive had it higher as i had some dry cigars in there (They are fine now) so will be reducing to around 65-70%. I simply check it every few days.
I have brushed the foot with a cloth and the mould seems to have gone, however i will cut a bit off before i smoke them...there is none on the outside.
I have checked all other cigars in my humidor, as far as cleaning goes its plastic so not much to do i guess.

Thanks.

[RobBooth]

Looks like mould to me
Definitely lower the humidity. 65% is what I aim for.

[Dannyg1]

I panic when nine hits 70%. 65%-68% is perfect for me. You might want to consult more regular members but I wouldn't raise the humidity to cure dry cigars, the rapid change could split them. I would keep it at usual levels and let the dry sticks come up.

Put your mouldy cigars in zip lock bags for now to stop contamination. At least it was only 2 sticks and you can learn from it [emoji106]


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[cigarsam]

Looks like mould to me, also agree with Danny. If you want to cure dry cigars it's best to raise the humidity slowly up to 65/68 rather than starting too high.
If anything though, it's a good excuse to smoke them!

[Reedy3000]

Looks like mould to me, also agree with Danny. If you want to cure dry cigars it's best to raise the humidity slowly up to 65/68 rather than starting too high.
If anything though, it's a good excuse to smoke them!

Sorry I didn't explain myself very well, I put them the dry cigars in the Humidor when the humidor was new, so i gradually increased anyway but went higher to make sure they were OK.

[Reedy3000]

Looks like mould to me
Definitely lower the humidity. 65% is what I aim for.

[MENTION=13431452]RobBooth[/MENTION]
Hi Rob,
Unfortunately i cant send PM's yet, so....
I notice you are from Newcastle, can I ask have you ever visited the lounge at the Cuban Cigar Club? if so is it any good?

Apologies this is off topic.

[Simon Bolivar]

100% Mould. Best answer is to ditch these as even clipping an inch of, won't guarrente the fungi haven't grown from further back & the temp of a burning cigar isn't enough to kill the spores therefore theoretically, you could inhale them. It's only two cigars so personally I would ditch them. Never deliberately increase the humi to 70+, 74% is really 'wet'.
P.S. There are other posts on this subject, in more detail. if you wish to research further Reedy

[RobBooth]

@RobBooth
Hi Rob,
Unfortunately i cant send PM's yet, so....
I notice you are from Newcastle, can I ask have you ever visited the lounge at the Cuban Cigar Club? if so is it any good?

Apologies this is off topic.

Yep, been in a few times, wish i could get in more often if I'm honest. Really helpful staff, a good selection of sticks and the sampling room is spot on.
Are you up this way too?

[WDave40]

Yep - unfortunately it looks like mould. Danny hit the nail on the head with his recommendations though!