Humidity and mold in fermentation chamber

[chaps]

I’ve noticed over the past few months that my fermentation chamber gets oddly humid which occasionally leads to mold growing in there. It cleans up easily with starsan and a paper towel but struck me as odd. Is this something others have experienced also?

Some details in case it helps:
Fermentation chamber is a 7 cu chest freezer hooked up to an inkbird controller
Temp is normally set to 68 - 72 except when I cold crash
I live in Hawaii so the chest freezer is outside and the relative humidity here is OK except for once a day when it becomes Amazon jungle level humidity for about an hour

Thanks for any thoughts or input.

 

[RM-MN]

Your air is already pretty high in moisture and when you chill it the relative humidity goes up. You may need to clean the freezer chamber with bleach to kill the mold and then make sure that the door seal is good to limit the amount of air that can get in. Even with that you will still have condensation problems and need to bleach it with some regularity.

 

[JohnSand]

Get one of those crystal filled solid dehumidifiers, like Eva-dry.

 

[balrog]

and add a fan inside the freezer space, with Eva-dry.

Everything is better with a fan

And Clorox wipes work well too, to swipe the inside out regularly.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have only used my freezer/chamber for a handful of batches. I wipe it down with the cleaner that I use for cleaning my bathroom, and let it dry out between batches. I have not had a problem yet, though mine is kept in my basement so it might not see the humidity yours sees. I don't think StarSan is effective at killing mold.

 

[NGD]

Your air is already pretty high in moisture and when you chill it the relative humidity goes up. You may need to clean the freezer chamber with bleach to kill the mold and then make sure that the door seal is good to limit the amount of air that can get in. Even with that you will still have condensation problems and need to bleach it with some regularity.

This ^^

I’d also second adding a dehumidifier and fan in there. If you want to get fancy, you could even wire a cheap camera in there so you could visually see the ferm chamber without exposing it to humid atmosphere.

 

[chaps]

Get one of those crystal filled solid dehumidifiers, like Eva-dry.

@balrog
Great ideas. I knew you guys would have some good ideas. Im going to get one of the eva dry things. Neat idea.

 

[chaps]

I don't think StarSan is effective at killing mold.

Wait...isnt that the point of starsan? Isn't a sanitizer???

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Wait...isnt that the point of starsan? Isn't a sanitizer???

I just go by what I read since I don't understand how most sanitizers work, but my understanding is that StarSan is very good at killing bacteria, but not so good at killing wild yeasts and mold spores. I believe Iodine/Iodophor and Bleach are better at those. A quick web search on "starsan mold" seems to point to StarSan not being very effective vs mold...and some debate about how effective bleach is.

 

[NGD]

I just go by what I read since I don't understand how most sanitizers work, but my understanding is that StarSan is very good at killing bacteria, but not so good at killing wild yeasts and mold spores. I believe Iodine/Iodophor and Bleach are better at those. A quick web search on "starsan mold" seems to point to StarSan not being very effective vs mold...and some debate about how effective bleach is.

From experience, 5 gallons of starsan in an enclosed bucket will lead to mold on the lid unless agitated frequently.

 

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

I've had small little blotches of a black mold in mine. I think it's because I use my fermentation chamber as a kegerator as well.

Cleaned out like a charm though, used an all purpose cleaner then left the door open for a week.

 

[balrog]

StarSan is a bacteriacide
Iodophor (as well as alcohol, bleach, paracetic acid are more broad spectrum antimicrobials)

Either StarSan or Iodophor is plenty effective in brewing use when used correctly

It's not a bad idea to "bleach bomb" your equipment every so often (yearly, every 10 batches, whenever you get a wild hair to do so), just to hit surfaces with something different in case something is getting by.

 

[MrTimV]

Bleach isnt actually a great thing to use.
Bleaches ability to actually kill mold is relatively limited (although it discolours it nicely). However as its corrosive you'll actually pit the surface of what you're cleaning at the microscopic level.
It's these kinds of pits and surfaces that trap dust and other particulate when you open the freezer, that provide a food source for mold (although the surfaces inside a freezer are rough in the first place so it's not a huge concern).
But it's not particularly effective. Just cheap, easy and we believe it works(it's got that overpowering aroma), so we use it.
Use products like Benefect or Concrobium.
Benefect has always been my weapon of choice for mold.