need gun safe help: white mold

[tedbiv]

i have an el-cheapo gun safe (wal mart) brand. i have used for years with no issues. just lately i have started noticing white mold on non-mettalic surfaces. is this my sillica finally wearing out, or have i carried in something from the field?

thanks in advance.

tedbiv

 

[Hink]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

Either is possible. If your silica is the kind that can be reactivated, I'd definitely recharge it. It sounds like it's time to clean the safe -- use a face mask, and scrub with a warm soapy water solution until it comes off. You may also want to consider a bottle cap of bleach in the safe to keep the mold from spreading back again.

 

[tedbiv]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

thanks, i used to see this on old leather holsters. i wonder if one of my slings contaminated the safe. i havent seen it get on the wooden stocks before.

 

[VaFarmer1]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

Tedbiv
It's not your safe. It has happened to me in a high end safe.
Is your safe in a non air conditioned area? We used to get that every summer at the north carolina farm, The safe was in the shop with no a/c. Colder at night & hot in the day. The temp changes everyday in the safe was a breeding ground for that type of mold. Put a big bowl of rice in and it helped a little,but still had it. Then found some stuff at wal-mart. (damp rid) It comes different way's. Look for the one that look's like a clothes hanger. Comes three in a pack for about $8.00 Each one will last about 2 month's but you will never see that mold again. Stop's it Instantly.

 

[Rugrat]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

Too much humidity results in the mold you describe. So, the real concern is not the mold itself, but the conditions that permitted its growth.

If the mold has gotten into the fabric liner of your safe, there is no way to remove it short of taking out the liner and installing a new one. I would do that were I in your situation. When books get wet in a library, there is a 72 hour window for drying them. After that, the mold is part of the book forever and cannot be arrested.

 

[tedbiv]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

thanks for the replies. it is in ac, but in the basement. my daughter bought me a rechargable pack, i'll try that. i had silica packs in paperlike bags. maybe it just got old.

tedbiv

 

[22_250]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

Do you have an 110 volt outlet in the safe? If so get a golden rod to plug in the safe. Never have to worry about moisture build up again..

 

[jlow]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

Mold cannot grow in an environment which is not damp which means your basement has humidity problems which is quite common since the walls are in contact with the ground outside.

This is a problem not only for your safe but also a lot of the material you have stored in the basement. My suggestion is to immediately buy a good dehumidifier and run it on high for a few weeks and then use it to maintain a low level humidity. Mold will die and go away if you keep humidity low and your trouble(s) will go away.

 

[gmphk]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

I was looking here for some information because I have found it on a couple of my guns too. They are in a high end safe with both a golden rod and an Eva Dry. I have a hygrometer and temp gauge in there. I have owned the safe since February and just started to see the "white stuff" in the last couple of weeks. It disappears when you touch it. The humidity has never read above 45%. It is usually sitting between 39 to 42 percent, therefore, I do not think that it is a result of a humidity issue. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[RollingThunder51]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

Ted, it all begins with you understanding what the conditions are in your safe at all times.

You need one of these:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=HYGROMETER+REMOTE+SENSOR

And, with that, you need to be sure that you stay below 45% at all times. Just sticking a golden rod in there and heating up wet air is not the solution. You have to get the moisture to stabilize, remain stable and keep everything out of your safe that has anything in it, on it, that can ruin your stuff. A good number of the driers out on the market have ACID in them. We do not use them.

Best

 

[gmphk]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RollingThunder51</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ted, it all begins with you understanding what the conditions are in your safe at all times.

You need one of these:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=HYGROMETER+REMOTE+SENSOR

And, with that, you need to be sure that you stay below 45% at all times. Just sticking a golden rod in there and heating up wet air is not the solution. You have to get the moisture to stabilize, remain stable and keep everything out of your safe that has anything in it, on it, that can ruin your stuff. A good number of the driers out on the market have ACID in them. We do not use them.

Best </div></div>

Are you saying that Eva-Dry has an acid in it? I was told by the locksmith that I bought the safe from that I should only use one or the other... With a normal humidity of 40% or so I did not feel that the humidity was a problem. I have kept the Eva-Dry charged the entire time. It has only turned from blue twice and the humidity remained the same at that point. I read somewhere else that leather slings can cause this. I did not have any slings in there but did have some leather knife sheaths. They have been removed.

 

[gmphk]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

any ideas...?

 

[plant.one]

Re: need gun safe help: white mold

as jlow said above - dry your basement out.

when i first moved down to the city i used to store my guns at a family members (because i didnt have my safe down here yet). They were in a cool damp basement.

the dehumidifier that we had in the room that held the safes would occassionaly trip its breaker and since we werent in and out all the time - sometimes it would be 2-3 weeks before we noticed it.

with the dehumidifier running in the room that had the safes we never had a problem. if the dehumidifier would trip the breaker, white mold everywhere in almost no time.

the only humidistat we had was on the dehumidifier - and we kept that set at 30%.

if you cant hook a drain hose up on the resivor, please make sure you're checking it regularily.


we've never had issues at my parents place - but our guns arent kept in the basement, and dad keeps the house exceptionally dry - their house is all wood interior... my dad is an anti-drywall kind of guy and loves his wood paneling. Rust and mold dont stand a prayer in his house

[edit] if you're having conditions that can cause white mold, you can also potentially be settting yourself up to get into trouble with black mold too and thats a REAL bad situation to get into. Invest in a dehumidifer for your family's sake if nothing else.