Mold in Keezer! Help!

[Nathan Hassey]

So I recently moved and had my keezer with kegs, c02 bottle etc in storage for a few months. When I moved into my new house I opened my keezer and saw my mash paddle covered in black mold and numerous brewing equipment parts with slight mold on it. (The mash paddle looks the worst). My question is, is anything in there salvageable, including the keezer, or is it all ruined? I'm really only worried about the kegs, c02 bottle, regulator etc. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[day_trippr]

"Red Alert! Bleach bomb drop in 3....2....1....."

Yes, as disgusting as a black mold infestation may be, you can salvage it.

Remove everything from the keezer, mix up some sanitizing-strength bleach and water in a bucket (formula will be on the bleach bottle), soak a stiff sponge or rag and wipe/scrub everything down inside the keezer. You probably will want to remove the lid from the cabinet and then remove the liner to see if the interior of the lid is mold-laden and take appropriate measures if it is. Depending on how thick the mold is it might take more than one pass but if there's one thing black mold hates it's bleach.

Everything removed can also be saved with essentially the same treatment. Bleach the living crap out of it all - but do not leave any bleach solution in contact with stainless steel as it will literally try to bore through the SS, so thoroughly rinse before setting aside to dry. The mash paddle may need repeat treatment if it was not sealed (typical - I never sealed my maple paddle) but eventually it should be usable again...

Cheers!

 

[Nathan Hassey]

Ok sounds good! I imagine replace all vinyl tubing and keg seals? Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[day_trippr]

Yes, definitely, replace all the tubing (both beer and gas lines - look into EVAbarrier tubing, it's the current rage for good cause), sanitize any fittings (disconnects, flare fittings, etc) before re-using them (no need to toss them, bleach bomb them in a bucket), and replace at least the keg post and lid O-rings that were exposed to the mold (but as you typically buy them in sets, might as well do the dip tube O-rings, too).

Don't ignore the lid advise. The last time a similar occurrence was related on HBT the hidden side of the lid liner was coated with mold as well, but removing the liner and cleaning/bleaching everything brought it back to life.

And noting that, take heart that you're not the first person that's had this happen and lived to tell the tale. At least you didn't have any four footed corpses involved

Cheers!