Mold in My Storage Container

[josephcross]

Last night, when I was trying to decide what to smoke, I noticed a few pinches of tobacco in the bottom of my cellar(a cardboard box). To my horror the crumbs were caked in mold. After doing due diligence and making sure nothing was happening on the insides of any of the jars, I was faced with a second issue. Decontaminating the jars, and making sure none of the evil mold gets in. My gut tells me, wipe the jars down with some bleach solution and get rid of the box. I’m looking for some second opinions, before I decide to take more drastic measures.
Edited by jvnshr: Title capitalization.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Throw the box away. If the jars are sealed, you should be ok. Just smoke fast when you open a jar.

 

[briarblues]

Joseph, I run all glass tobacco jars through my dish washer ( empty )through two cycles. The first with dish cleaner. The second with no cleanser. The second pass is to eliminate any possible scents being left from the cleanser. I allow them to cool to room temperature before filling with tobacco.
Regards

Michael J. Glukler

 

[markus]

Not sure I would use bleach, but definitely rubbing alcohol.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I spoke with a guy who did mold clean-up a few year ago that told me that bleach was absolutely the worst thing to fight mold with. We were talking about black mold in the walls of houses and such, but apparently there is something in bleach that can make mold bloom faster... or grow faster... or something like that.

 

[calabashed]

This is one of several reasons I keep blends I'm actively smoking in small jars, minimal leaf lost if one becomes infected and I have to trash it. Overall if you keep the bands tight they're pretty good at keeping mold spores out when they're sealed, but yes definitely trash the box, wipe the outside of each jar down liberally with alcohol, and maybe leave them all out in some direct sunlight for a couple days.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Curious: Where do you live, and where was the box stored primarily?
Everything in clean, sealed glass jars should be just fine. A wipe down and a bit of UV should give a bit of insurance.

 

[tuold]

I've actually seen mold growing on alcohol pads, so I wouldn't think rubbing alcohol would be the best choice. When my wife puts up preserves she boils the jars. That seems to be worth a shot.

 

[woodsroad]

As long as your jars are sealed, you are alright. Throw away the box. Wipe down the jars with windex and clean paper towels. Store the jars where air can circulate, preferably with a RH at 50% or lower. If the jars are clean, nothing will grow on them.

 

[The Pipe Professor]

I would avoid using the bleach. As others have stated, just wipe everything down and throw away the box. Slim chance that the mold was exposed to anything else. Good luck mate!

 

[josephcross]

Thanks for all the tips. I live in Vancouver BC and it can get pretty humid at times. My stash is in my workshop which is as the bottom of the house, so it stays pretty cool.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Overall if you keep the bands tight they're pretty good at keeping mold spores out when they're sealed,"
I would wager that most instances of mouldy tobacco in jars, the mould was already present in the tobacco before it was jarred up. I can't imagine mould getting itself into a properly sealed jar.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[perdurabo]

Alcohol pads have a good amount of water in them, so they can mold. I would use high grain alcohol (Everclear or Golden Grain) or 90% isopropyl alcohol to clean the mold. The sun is the best option. But your not going to put the jars of tobacco outside in the sun. If it were me I'd wipe the outside of jars down with alcohol. Dry them with a towel and hope for the best. That's the best you can do.