Cigars had Mold ??

Lynchmeister has it down pat.

65% cigar beads (I get mine from Heartfelt) instead of 70% and your cigars will smoke much, much better and you'll never worry about them being too moist OR too dry again. That whole 70/70 thing is a canard; tobacconists keep their humidors too moist to keep the cigars pliable, not smokable. Reduces overhandling damage.

One thing that occurs to me to ask is what kind of travel humidor you're using. If it's a plastic-shelled, gasket sealed, foam lined unit like an Otterbox . . . you shouldn't be using any humidification at all. Mold and mildew spores will grow in that gray divider foam, and the seal prevents air exchange---which needs to happen about every 24 hours or so.

As a general rule of thumb, a properly humidified cigar will hold its humidity level about 3 days in a Ziploc baggie, and at least a week in an Otterbox . . . WITHOUT a humdification system. If you're only keeping a few on hand at a time, don't add moisture at all; just protect them from moisture loss.

NANP™

Not A Nice Person said:

Lynchmeister has it down pat.

65% cigar beads (I get mine from Heartfelt) instead of 70% and your cigars will smoke much, much better and you'll never worry about them being too moist OR too dry again. That whole 70/70 thing is a canard; tobacconists keep their humidors too moist to keep the cigars pliable, not smokable. Reduces overhandling damage.

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I use silica sand, aka Pearl Fresh Cat Litter (it's silica sand, oxygen and water) ... same as your beads. I had to give them a lesson on how to hold 65%, but they do just that. I use a wine cooler turned humidor with cedar shelving and the KL(Kitty Litter). I've got, nearest I can figure 15 nearly full boxes.

I agree on the 65% for certain, just not on spending 30 bucks a pound on the 'humidity beads'.

Mindflux said:

I use silica sand, aka Pearl Fresh Cat Litter (it's silica sand, oxygen and water) ... same as your beads. I had to give them a lesson on how to hold 65%, but they do just that. I use a wine cooler turned humidor with cedar shelving and the KL(Kitty Litter). I've got, nearest I can figure 15 nearly full boxes.

I agree on the 65% for certain, just not on spending 30 bucks a pound on the 'humidity beads'.

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I also tried the KL route and spent a lot of time on the cigar boards reading the arguments for and against. I'm completely convinced that, yes, they are both made of silica, but the difference lies in the calibration. The HF (Heartfelt) beads are calibrated using a salt solution, while the KL is not. You mention that you "trained" your KL and I believe that you did. The evidence on the cigar boards is there with the number of success stories. However, there's also the other half which bombed miserably. I, unfortunately, was in that other half.

For some it's spend $10 to get enough KL to humidify a large "Tower of Power" cabinet. For others (me), it was spend $20 to get enough HF beads to properly humidify my $200+ collection of cigars. Like I said, I've tinkered with the silica gel kitty litter, but it just didn't work out for me. Worth a shot, but at the time I had a very meager collection of less than 20 sticks, most of which cost less than $5.00.

For those that want to try their hand at the KL, I suggest doing so on a preliminary basis with a small, "expendable" stash of cigars. If it works, you've just saved yourself (potentially) a lot of money in not having to buy beads. If not, well, now you're armed with that knowledge and can let the KL dream die. Plus, you're not out lots of $$$ and even more tragically, lots of cigars.

tim8557 said:

A 1:1 ratio of Propylene Glycol (the pharmacist may need to order it for you) and distilled water will keep a RH of 70% which is recomended for cigars.

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Or, you could just go to http://www.xikar.com and order a bottle.

Propylene Glycol is the same stuff they de-ice airplane wings with. It evaporates at a more even rate.

Cigars that are badly stored won't develop plume. It's the crystallization of the natural oils on the wrapper leaf that develops over time with perfect humidity and temperature.

The best way to deal with a moldy humidor is to throw it away. Mold roots-in and getting rid of it will compromise your humidor (unless it's plastic.) If it's plastic, wipe it down with bleach, let it dry. Then wipe it down with vanilla extract, let it dry. Then wipe it down with boiling hot distilled water and let it dry.