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Old 12-18-2014, 03:39 AM   #1
AKDiscer
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Question Cleaning Your Humidor

How often should you clean out your humidor? Is it only when you suspect mold or possible outbreak of beetles? Would it be overzealous to clean out your humidor every month or two and re-season just to make sure you stogies are well taken care of?
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Old 12-18-2014, 05:49 AM   #2
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How often should you clean out your humidor?
"Clean out," or "clean?" Those are two very different notions.
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Is it only when you suspect mold or possible outbreak of beetles?
Ah, so "clean" is what you're asking about. In my mind, "suspect" and "possible" are words that argue against an action as draconian as cleaning a humidor. You raise two scenarios. Assuming you've proven them:
  • Mold: Do not clean the humidor! Every cigar ever manufactured has mold spores on and in it, a natural and inevitable consequence of the growing/fermenting/curing/etc. processes involved in their manufacture. Mold spores are ubiquitous in the environment as well - you inhale some with every breath you take. Cleaning a humidor in which you've found cigars with mold on them accomplishes exactly nothing in terms of eliminating the problem. Control RH and, to a lesser extent, temperature, and the mold spores that are on each and every one of your cigars already will not develop into mold. Simple as that.
  • Beetles: Cleaning your humidor may be warranted, but must be done carefully. Empty it, freeze the cigars (other thread), clean the humidor. Start with compressed air (do this outdoors) and blow it out thoroughly. Gently, carefully, and completely wipe down all internal surfaces of the humidor with a clean cloth dampened with distilled water. Allow it to dry, then blow it out again. You're trying to get rid of any beetle eggs that may be loose inside the humidor, and they're tiny. Control temperature and, to a lesser extent, RH, and beetle eggs will not hatch.
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Would it be overzealous to clean out your humidor every month or two and re-season just to make sure you stogies are well taken care of?
Yes, without a shadow of a doubt.

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Old 12-18-2014, 10:13 AM   #3
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Your humidor is just a thin veneer of cedar over fiberboard. Getting it wet will probably cause damage to it. If you have a patch of mold show up on your veneer, wipe it clean with water and a towel, immediately dry it off, and then wipe it off with rubbing alcohol, and immediately dry. The alcohol may not even be necessary, but it will work as an antimicrobial that can kill off the active mold.

Doug is right. your humidor is already swarming with microbes. When you open canned goods, the microbes in the air will make them rot in no time. the thing is, you have to have proper conditions for them to grow. In the case of mold or other fungi, you need moisture and something for it to feed on. Damp veneer is perfect. Probably the best thing you could do for a mold infected humidor would be to load it with ozone, for example, stick it in a cooler with an ozone generator and run it for a day or so. That would sterilize any live organisms without harming the box.

Don't ask me how to pull that off. I just make the suggestions.
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Old 12-18-2014, 03:33 PM   #4
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Sweet, thanks guys, just what I was looking for. These were random thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head lately.
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Old 12-18-2014, 04:23 PM   #5
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Would it be overzealous to clean out your humidor every month or two and re-season just to make sure you stogies are well taken care of?
Overzealous? That's not a strong enough word to describe such anal behavior.
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Old 12-18-2014, 04:24 PM   #6
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#Truth!
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