Mold Odor in a New Pipe, How to Get Rid Of?

[cersono]

Gentlemen, I'm asking for your advice on getting rid of a strong mold odor from the shank of a new Peterson Aran 268 pipe bought recently from tobaccopipes (now I understand why it was discounted from $125 to $100). Searching massively the forum topics I found suggestions of salt & alcohol treatment, which I applied to no avail. Perhaps someone may suggest some other methods? Thank you.

 

[cortezattic]

How about putting it in the freezer for a day or two?

 

[cersono]

Besides salt-n-alco I've applied some heat to the shank and I think the mold itself is dead already

But it's smell that lasts

 

[cersono]

Pipe Repair sounds good, but frankly I don't want to spend a cent on this pipe anymore, such a pricey disappointment....

Has anyone tried vinegar?

Does it ghost the pipe afterwards?

 

[xrundog]

You can use vinegar with some cotton. You may taste the vinegar briefly. But it doesn't linger.
I use a vinegar soak for exorcism of persistent ghosts. No problems.

 

[papipeguy]

Latakia is always the answer. :D

 

[cersono]

xrundog, thank you, I was afraid vinegar would ruin my pipe but if you say it OK then I'll give it a try

 

[stvalentine]

Latakia is always the answer. [:D]

...no matter what the question is! :lol:
But serious, I would try the retort method on the pipe. Hot alcohol should do the trick.

 

[aldecaker]

I would also recommend dry,ground coffee. It pulls a lot of nasty odors out of a lot of things.

 

[cersono]

I really like this suggestion. I don't have a retort or an ozone apparatus but got some vinegar and coffee. I ll try coffee first, as it smells better than vinegar.

 

[warren]

Yup, coffee. If it'll work on month old cadaver wrapped around a toilet in a 90 degree apartment, it'll work a little old pipe. We used to send to a store for a 1# can of Folgers when we had to work around a stinker.

 

[jdhayes]

I'm interested on how the coffee works out. Keep us updated.
@papipeguy I thought the answer was always 42.

 

[cersono]

Well, I put a vinegar soaked pipe cleaner into the shank for 2 hours. When I put it out the smell was still there. Then I vigorously swabbed it from inside with several dry cleaners. The smell reduced noticeably. Now I filled both the shank and the bowl with coffee and let it sit for a day. We'll see what happens.

 

[mcitinner1]

I don't think what you're smelling is actually mold. Just smoke the thing.

 

[shutterbugg]

Seriously?? How about "contact tobaccopipes.com and let them either rectify it or issue a refund"!

 

[mcitinner1]

Seriously...Has anyone ever heard of a new pipe growing mold?

 

[cersono]

I've read complaints on some forums that new Petersons may taste bad while breaking in because of stain in the shank. But people who complained about that described the smell as 'burnt plastic' which is not the case here. What I smell is definitely a musty moldy odor.

I would contact tobaccopipes if the bowl was cracked or the stem was broken. Small flaws like this could be (hopefully) fixed by myself without paying more for the return shipping.

 

[cossackjack]

1+ @billkay re: ozone.

If ozone is not an option & coffee grounds do not work, the baking soda & hydrogen peroxide for several days.

I had a mildewed estate ready for the wood stove which was resurrected with this treatment. Salt & alcohol did not work.

An alcohol retort is also a very good idea.

 

[cersono]

Peroxide-soda sounds like a potent potion. If coffee deodorant doesn't work I'll try this too.
Concerning mold growing in new pipes, I remember reading some complaints that the $30-40 Comoys from the famous ebay goodystore's giveaway are prone to that and that it's exactly why those are so cheap (bought two Zulus from him however, no problems at all)

 

[dmcmtk]

I had an old Comoy's Grand Slam that a friend, who was not a smoker, gave me. It had the mold smell issue. I used the White Vinegar and Cotton Ball method, but I let it soak for not 2 hours, but 2-3 days. It worked. The vinegar taste was apparent for the first half dozen or so bowls (which were Lat forward English), but the mold smell/taste was gone. Now when I smoke that pipe, It's not an issue at all. In fact...I'm going to smoke it right now!