Moldy Briarwood

[keepersmith84]

I'm actually a little embarrassed to admit this, but my favorite church warden has gotten moldy. I was carrying it in a bag with my medieval reenactment clothes, so that I would have it with me, more or less, whenever I wanted/needed it. Some moisture must have been left in my trunk, because all of my clothse (even leather pants) grew mold. Unfortunately , the mold seems to have found its way onto the briar. What do I need to do to clean it and bring it back to a usable condition?

~Keeper

 

[lankfordjl]

First, I would recommend cleaning it by hand, i.e. wiping off all the mold hyphae (strands) inside and out, then drying the briar bowl in a low dry heat (like maybe in a food dehydrator or very low oven setting), then giving the bowl an alcohol and salt treatment. If the outside of the bowl is dulled, then a good polish ought to fix that. There is always some microscopic mold growing in a bowl that is not smoked regularly. It should be fine.

 

[winton]

Several questions first. Is this a prop or something you actually smoke? It is easy to see that leather would grow mold. If the mold is on the wooden part of the pipe, wipe it carefully to clean it out. If the stem is moldy, remove it from the wood and clean it with rubbing alcohol or booze. The alcohol might destroy the finish on the wood. If this pipe is something you smoke, also clean the air path with pipe cleaners. You don't want to inhale mold.
Winton

 

[garyovich]

Welcome to the forum! Fortunately I have never had a moldy pipe, but lankford's advice sounds pretty solid, not sure I would have thought of a food dehydrator. Anyway, you'll quickly find out what a wealth of information and experience there is on this site.

 

[topd]

HaHaaaa! I think I'd be more embarrassed to admit I had med-evil reenactment clothing than a moldy pipe. The

pipe can be fixed! First thing I'd do is throw out the leather pants@! But welcome to the forum anyway!

 

[mp31guitar]

:rofl: TopD. It should be fine with the above mentioned methods.

 

[photoman13]

+1 lankfordjl. This exactly what I have done in the past. Salt and alcohol treatments are done to get mold spores and tars out of pipes.

 

[bigvan]

Anyone wanna bet it was a MacQueen?

 

[photoman13]

ha ha bigvan and topd you guys are cracking me up.

 

[nsfisher]

Ahhh thou art a crusty blight indeed. I challenge thee Sir, to a duel to the death.

 

[irishflake]

I had a delightful 30 year old Peterson that came from a batch of pipes that had light mold on them and it had the mustiness inside the bowl and shank. After washing off the outside with soap and water, (taking care not to get water inside the bowl and shank) I fumigated it by stuffing a dry cotton ball in the bowl and then placing a few drops of bleach into the cotton. For the shank I think I put a bleach solution on a pipe cleaner and just inserted it so the fumes would get the mustiness. Just the fumes, not scrubbing. After leaving the cotton in there a good while I let the pipe dry and stuck it in the oven with activated charcoal in the bowl and shank for a couple of hours at like 225° F or something. It worked very well, though the first few smokes were a little odd now it is very nice to smoke..

Vinegar is probably more suited to the job and it will take out mold, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[lazydog]

thee scoundrel mold hath found his path to me breeches of hide and me instrument of smoke..... Ozone treatment is available also. Not sure if this takes care of mold. I am totally paranoid of mold inhalation after getting dosed in my mothers basement. Very ill effects. Fortunately in Arizona, mold is not a big problem. Hope that briar comes around for you......