Mold on carboys
 

Hey wine gurus,

This newsgroup was tremendously helpful when I started making wine from kits
a year ago. Thus far everything has been going along quite well. I've
bottled some of what I started and, while not great, it's much better than I
expected. Thanks for all the advice early on.

OK, my new problem. I have seven 5-gallon airlocked carboys just sitting in
the basement with anywhere from 3 to 9 months of aging invested. Normally
the basement has a very constant temperature and not a lot of humidity. But
last week, for the first time in 15 years, the basement flooded. Of course
it happened while I was out of town. So when I came back this weekend I
discovered what looks like a white mold over the outside of the carboys. It
forms a speckled pattern, if that helps.

Any idea what it is? I washed the carboys off with a chlorine solution.
Will that kill it? Do you think the mold could have made it into the wine
itself?

I admit that I didn't check any of the popular websites for information,
spending too much time cleaning up after the flood and preparing to leave
town again tomorrow. Any help with this would be very appreciated.

Dave

Dave -
No idea what it is, but it probably doesn't matter. As long as
the flood water didn't reach the top of the necks on the carboys, I
would think the wine inside should be just fine. Mold and other stuff
can't get through glass, so as long as the water stayed below the top
of the neck, you should have no worries (at least on that front). You
might want to freshen up the airlocks with new pot. metabisulphite
solution, if you feel a need to do something. I'd rinse off the
chlorine solution, too, as long as you're at it. It should have
killed whatever was there, but once that's done, you don't need it
longer term.

Condolences on your flooded basement -

Doug

> <<snip>>... the basement flooded. Of course
> it happened while I was out of town. So when I came back this weekend I
> discovered what looks like a white mold over the outside of the carboys. It
> forms a speckled pattern, if that helps.
>
> Any idea what it is? I washed the carboys off with a chlorine solution.
> Will that kill it? Do you think the mold could have made it into the wine
> itself?
> <<snip>>
> Dave

Dave -
No idea what it is, but it probably doesn't matter. As long as
the flood water didn't reach the top of the necks on the carboys, I
would think the wine inside should be just fine. Mold and other stuff
can't get through glass, so as long as the water stayed below the top
of the neck, you should have no worries (at least on that front). You
might want to freshen up the airlocks with new pot. metabisulphite
solution, if you feel a need to do something. I'd rinse off the
chlorine solution, too, as long as you're at it. It should have
killed whatever was there, but once that's done, you don't need it
longer term.

Condolences on your flooded basement -

Doug

> <<snip>>... the basement flooded. Of course
> it happened while I was out of town. So when I came back this weekend I
> discovered what looks like a white mold over the outside of the carboys. It
> forms a speckled pattern, if that helps.
>
> Any idea what it is? I washed the carboys off with a chlorine solution.
> Will that kill it? Do you think the mold could have made it into the wine
> itself?
> <<snip>>
> Dave