Posts: 25
Threads: 5
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
What would cause my beads to mold? I am using a tupperdor with a small plastic bowl with my beads in it. using distilled water. after 2-3 weeks, i notice mold spots on the bottom of my bead bowl.
how often do you guys have to change your beads or do you?? i thought beads would last several months with only needing more water to recharge.. i have to dump the whole thing, wash it and start over..
thanks
Posts: 19,851
Threads: 1,833
Joined: Apr 2006
Reputation:
50
All my beads got moldy. I hate those things. I eventually used to moisten them with a touch of bleach and water. The manufacturer had commented this would change their chemestry and make them perform at a different humidity.
I never noticed a difference and I'm sure mold itself would block pores and make them perform differently.
Those things are the worst. I'll take a $2 puck with standard foam any day.
Jonathan Charles Axisa, my beloved son, 11/7/1979 - 7/8/2010
Ғµ(Ķ Cancer
Posts: 39,629
Threads: 2,365
Joined: Apr 2007
Reputation:
111
I have a set and forget system in my cabinet but I do use beads in my small humidors (well 2 out of 3 anyway). The trick is NOT get the beads real wet. Do you use a spray bottle or a something to lightly spray them. If they are real wet then mold would form. Otherwise do what Skipper does.
Posts: 31,605
Threads: 1,337
Joined: Apr 2006
Reputation:
35
(09-07-2012, 10:03 AM)Jimmie the Mum Wrote: The trick is NOT get the beads real wet. Do you use a spray bottle or a something to lightly spray them. If they are real wet then mold would form. Otherwise do what Skipper does.
+1
I also add a piece of real copper to the beads.
If Sonny had EZ-Pass, he'd have survived that hit...
Never apologize mister, it's a sign of weakness. - Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
Posts: 19,851
Threads: 1,833
Joined: Apr 2006
Reputation:
50
and that's what makes them the devils humidifier...
How do you do that? Really...
Instructions say to pour them out of your humidifier onto a plate, then spray them. OK, this makes sense. If you are careful you can do this without incident. If you are careless you'll lose a few beads (and the dog will surely find them).
Then after you wet them pour them back in. Now here comes the fun. The plate is probably wide. The vessel, narrow. Also the beads are now wet therefore, with the intrinsic properties of water, sticky. You will lose beads I dont care how careful you are. I did this 3 or 4 times then said screw it and simply doused them or retired them.
Life is too short to let your humidification device ruin your day.
Jonathan Charles Axisa, my beloved son, 11/7/1979 - 7/8/2010
Ғµ(Ķ Cancer
Posts: 4,582
Threads: 164
Joined: Nov 2006
Reputation:
9
Last I checked, the preferred method to wet the beads was one of those little syringe looking things the dentist gives you after he pulls your wisdom teeth. You know, to wash out the socket so it doesn't get all infected. and use it to squirt the beads.
I have beads and I've never had mold. However, I hardly use them. they go in my humidor in the summer time, when the cooler is running and fairly close to the humidor. In the summer time, I keep them in there to absorb the excess moisture from my hydra. They do the job. I never wet them. Well, maybe once over the course of the summer, maybe. Then when the cooler gets turned off and the heater comes on, the beads go back into an old unused humidor for storage till next summer. In the winter I can't get enough humidification in there. I have jars of gel everywhere. I've always had better luck with the gel.
Posts: 3,082
Threads: 41
Joined: Jul 2009
Reputation:
15
I leave the beads in those mesh bags and just spray them down
