Yikes...Mold (not a "is this infected" thread)

This is a first. I woke up this morning and there is a ton of mold growing on the outside of my fermenter. I have never had this happen. I am not about to open the lid to look inside (but assume it is fine). I am thinking about bleach bombing the outside of the thing. No downside to that, right?

The bleach may slightly degrade the outer surface of the bucket, but it should be minimal. As far as downsides go, this is a pretty minor one.

Did you spill wort on the outside when filling? I might be slightly concerned that it is a moldy area where you keep your fermenters - more from a personal health point of view than beer health.

freisste said:

The bleach may slightly degrade the outer surface of the bucket, but it should be minimal. As far as downsides go, this is a pretty minor one.

Did you spill wort on the outside when filling? I might be slightly concerned that it is a moldy area where you keep your fermenters - more from a personal health point of view than beer health.

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It is inside a fermentation chamber in my finished basement. I have feremented several batches in the basement and have never seen mold before. But there does seem to be some wort spilled down the side of the bucket, which probably did not help matters.

Is this "fermentation chamber" a chest freezer? Those can sweat and get quite damp inside, but you can buy crystals that'll absorb moisture. Just put a small, open container of them in the freeze and it should help. Oh, also, wipe down the outside of the fermenter after filling it.

NordeastBrewer77 said:

Is this "fermentation chamber" a chest freezer? Those can sweat and get quite damp inside, but you can buy crystals that'll absorb moisture. Just put a small, open container of them in the freeze and it should help. Oh, also, wipe down the outside of the fermenter after filling it.

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Ferm chamber is an old kegerator.

imho go ahead and bleach the hell outta everything.
it couldn't hurt to throw an open box of "arm & hammer" in your fermentor or an open box of salt.
-cheers

Paps said:

imho go ahead and bleach the hell outta everything.
it couldn't hurt to throw an open box of "arm & hammer" in your fermentor or an open box of salt.
-cheers

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Bleached the outside of the bucket. Misted the top and the airlock with starsan. Made sure the airlock was properly filled with vodka. Bleached the inside of the chamber.

All I can do until it's time to dryhop and cold crash, I suppose.

I have a similar issue.

The other day I opened my fermentation chamber (an old freezer) and got hit with a moldy smell. There was a lot of moisture built up from a double batch I did about 3 weeks back. I'm amazed how much moisture a fermentation, let alone 2, generates. There was mold around the seal because of the moisture. It's happened before. It only happens during the summer. I usually just dry it out, clean with bleach spray, and leave it open to the air for a few days. I;ve never had it effect the beer.

I doubt it matters much, but if I were you guys I would be diluting the bleach to 5:1 or even 10:1. Still strong enough to do the job, but it will cut way down on burning your eyes, nose and hands. Probably a little easier on the inside of the fridge as well.

And anytime the fridge is not in use, leave the door open. They seal pretty well and grow mold faster than Petri dishes if they aren't running.

freisste said:

I doubt it matters much, but if I were you guys I would be diluting the bleach to 5:1 or even 10:1. Still strong enough to do the job, but it will cut way down on burning your eyes, nose and hands. Probably a little easier on the inside of the fridge as well.

And anytime the fridge is not in use, leave the door open. They seal pretty well and grow mold faster than Petri dishes if they aren't running.

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Oh, certainly. I filled a bucket with water and put bleach into that. I'm sure I diluted more than 10:1. Enough that I could certainly smell it but not so it was going to be pure bleach.

From now on, I am going to swab the inside of the chamber with bleach water on brew day, at about the same time I'm starsan soaking my fermentation bucket.

Ridire said:

Oh, certainly. I filled a bucket with water and put bleach into that. I'm sure I diluted more than 10:1. Enough that I could certainly smell it but not so it was going to be pure bleach.

From now on, I am going to swab the inside of the chamber with bleach water on brew day, at about the same time I'm starsan soaking my fermentation bucket.

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I like your plan. Exactly what I would recommend.

Awesome that i found this thread. I just came across this exact problem. I had a few bottles of beer also inside my chest freezer/fermentation chamber. I decided to wipe down the outside of my bottles as well with a diluted bleach concentration.

I probably kept it closer to a 5:1 ratio of water to bleach so i will be wiping down both the freezer and bottles with pure water and allow to dry.

I did my best to keep from irritating any of the mold while dry. Also i found mold on the outside of my blowoff tubes. Needless to say im leaning towards throwing them out. But, was wondering if just allowing them to soak in bleach and giving them a thorough water bath afterwards would allow me to not have to throw them out. (I just replaced them recently)

any insight is appreciated

Dave