I have had pipe tobacco in some baggies for almost a year now. I have clay discs. I periodically wet them, and place them back into the ziploc bags to keep the tobacco moist. I always use distilled water when soaking the discs. I have never had problems with this method.
That was until I went in to get out some tobacco on Halloween, and two of the 5 bags had mold all over them. I tried to save one of the clay discs by soaking it in rubbing alcohol. However, I figured that it would not be enough to kill the spores, and I didn't want to run the risk of using it in another batch of tobacco and ruining it. I have since removed the clay discs out of the remaining bags.
Has this ever happened to anybody else? Have you ever heard that it's not a good idea to use the clay discs? I've never had problems before, and I've found that it does help keep the tobacco moist. I don't want to start having my tobacco dry out. Any suggestions, please?
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I never use any humidifiers to keep my pipe tobacco moist because IMO with pipe tobacco it is better to have it too dry than too moist. I have never had any mold problems storing my tobacco this way.
Pipe tobacco is easily re-hydrated and if it does get a little dry, I spread it out on a paper plate and lightly spritz it with a spray bottle that has Distilled water in it. I then seal it up for a day or two to let the tobacco absorb the moisture and it's good to go.
I would rather re-hydrate my tobacco than lose it to mold.
:-)
P.S. I would also just throw out the humi disc as well. Better not to risk starting mold growth again.
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Interesting comment: regarding re-hydrating pipe tobacco.
I know when this question is asked concerning cigars, the typical answer which I tend to agree with is, once the tobacco has dried out the cigar has lost some of it's natural oils, and although we can re-hydrate teh tobacco, it never can regain the oils that its lost, thus changing the flavor. Do you feel pipe tobacco is less effected flavorwise when its allowed to dry out. Thanks..
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Pipe tobacco is a lot more forgiving than cigars. Cigars are more naturally made.
What I mean by that is; Cigar tobacco is grown, harvested, dried, aged, and rolled.
Pipe tobacco is grown, harvested, dried, aged, and then there is a lot of processing that is applied. What I mean by processing is; different cuts, pressed, made into ropes, plugs, sometimes flavorings are added, etc.
You also have to keep in mind that cigar tobacco is totally different from other types of tobacco used in all other tobacco products such as pipes, chew, dip, snuff, cigarettes, etc.
Cigar leaf is cigar leaf. The tobacco used in other forms of tobacco are Virginia, Maryland, Burley, Perique, Turkish, Latakia to name a few. They already lose a lot of their natural oils during the processes that are done to them.
(Please
DO NOT mistakes processing for putting harmful additives in them like most pre-manufactured cigarette companies do. Roll your own cigarette tobacco and some pre-manufactured cigarette companies do not even put harmful additives in their products.)
The correct RH for pipe tobacco is 10-14%. Some people actually prefer their pipe tobacco on the dry side. I prefer a lot of mine to be on the dry side depending on the blend. There is some debate between dry and moist. What would a hobby be without debates on what methods are better
:-). You have the people in the moist camp and the people in the dry camp.
I do not detect much change, if any, in flavor in dry tobacco. Of course there are always exceptions.
Just for clarification; when I say dry, I do not mean crumbly, turning into dust when touched dry. I mean right before it gets a little crispy dry. If it gets crumbly, dusty dry it MIGHT be too late to re-hydrate it, but it does not mean it is un-smokeable. Just crumble it up a little and add it on top of some other tobacco in the pipe.
I suggest, for all of you who haven't tried it yet, to let a little bit of your favorite blend dry out a bit and try smoking it that way. See if you notice any difference, good or bad. You might find out that you like it on the dry side.
(sorry about the long post, I was just trying to include as much info as I could.
:-))
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