How Much Propylene Glycol

[Firemedic]

Hello everyone! I've been getting mold spots on my humidifier wick after about a month and a half. It's been suggested that I add some PG. I have a quart humidifier from Aristocrat, how much should I add? By the way I'm gonna give a good cleaning with distilled water and I was told to use a touch of bleach and air dry. Any opinion on the bleach?

[Wharf Rat]

Well, the trick with bleach is to get rid of all of it, unless you want to smoke it. So, at a minimum, I'd put it in the hot sun for a long time.

However, if sterilization is your goal, I would think about using alcohol, which evaporates easier. You can get 90% isopropyl alcohol in the drug aisle for a couple of bucks.

[AdamJoshua]

You could have just pushed the old thread up, since it's the same subject and your thread as well?

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=62763

[dwoodward]

Bleach would work great at killing mold since it contains chlorine. Chlorine is an anti-microbial agent. I'd suggest looking around for the bleach your store has with the highest amount of chlorine. Yes, not all brands are the same. It's probably best to mix bleach with water when cleaning stuff around the house.

I work for a pool company (inground) and we see mold all the time, we use chlorine to kill it, it doesn't take much even when diluted.

[bobarian]

Why not just give Bob Staebell a call? Its his humidifier and no one would know better than him.

[markem]

Originally Posted by bobarian

Why not just give Bob Staebell a call? Its his humidifier and no one would know better than him.

[Firemedic]

I did talk to Bob, he actually didn't recommend using any of the above cleaning methods including PG.

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by Firemedic

I did talk to Bob, he actually didn't recommend using any of the above cleaning methods including PG.

... what did he recommend then?

[Firemedic]

Soap and water and air dry. He's not a fan of any chemicals.

[shilala]

Personally, I don't use pg in my cabinet humidor humidifier. I just replace the wicks when the get gross.
If I was going the PG route, I'd clean the humidifier with soap and water, and use a scrub brush. A toothbrush to get in all the corners, too.
Then, depending on the size of your reservoir, I'd use about a 10% solution.
The stuff you buy off the shelf is usually cut 50% with water, a 50/50 solution. So you'd need to math it.
Food grade PG is what you want, someone asked about that in your last thread. I'd hook you up with some, I have a 5 gallon jug around here somewhere, but I can't find it. I went looking last time we discussed this.
Regardless, you can find the PG solution at just about any B&M or order it. I think there's a brand called Cigar Juice. Maybe search for that.
Good Luck!!!

Another point, and one to be cautious of...
PG solution is greasy. It's miscible with water, though. If you spill it in your humidor, it will stain the wood. Be super cautious and maybe put a pan or plastic under your humidifier.

I'm also not a fan of chemicals. PG is certainly a chemical, but it's also food. It's in tons of stuff we eat. Soda, salad dressing and beer are a few.

[Porch Dweller]

Originally Posted by shilala

Personally, I don't use pg in my cabinet humidor humidifier. I just replace the wicks when the get gross.
If I was going the PG route, I'd clean the humidifier with soap and water, and use a scrub brush. A toothbrush to get in all the corners, too.
Then, depending on the size of your reservoir, I'd use about a 10% solution.
The stuff you buy off the shelf is usually cut 50% with water, a 50/50 solution. So you'd need to math it.
Food grade PG is what you want, someone asked about that in your last thread. I'd hook you up with some, I have a 5 gallon jug around here somewhere, but I can't find it. I went looking last time we discussed this.
Regardless, you can find the PG solution at just about any B&M or order it. I think there's a brand called Cigar Juice. Maybe search for that.
Good Luck!!!

Another point, and one to be cautious of...
PG solution is greasy. It's miscible with water, though. If you spill it in your humidor, it will stain the wood. Be super cautious and maybe put a pan or plastic under your humidifier.

I'm also not a fan of chemicals. PG is certainly a chemical, but it's also food. It's in tons of stuff we eat. Soda, salad dressing and beer are a few.

So that means I can combine two hobbies and use beer instead of distilled water in my humidor, right?

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Porch Dweller

So that means I can combine two hobbies and use beer instead of distilled water in my humidor, right?

Absolutely.