Pumidor discussion

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d.manuk
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Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:21 pm

Page 3 of this thread is quite good. Seems like having multiple pumidors with different temp and humidity levels would be important if you wanted to ideally match each tea. Maybe this is why around 70% humidity is often spoken of as a good starting point... it’s somewhat in the middle of the range, esp if it’s in a typical household climate controlled temperature?

https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 1&start=30
Atlas
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Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:46 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Wed Feb 21, 2018 7:37 pm
Boveda packs are currently sitting on top of my teas in the crocks. Wouldn't the teas on top get more humidity than the ones at the bottom of the crock?
In my minifridge with the fan disabled, I get a humidity gradient of 2%, but I have my packs at the lowest point. Honestly I wouldn't think too hard about it - "within reasonable limits" is what you're aiming for with a crock setup.

Five different people will have six different opinions when it comes to the "best" storage parameters.
Teachronicles
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Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:51 am

Hey I thought I'd add a picture of my pumidor, incase anyone's interested. You can also see the temp (bottom) and humidity (top) it's at atm.

Image

Edit: is the picture showing up, all I'm seeing is a picture of an old guy, maybe an advertisement? The link is right.
Last edited by pedant on Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: mod edit: link formatting
Atlas
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Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:56 am

Teachronicles wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:51 am
is the picture showing up, all I'm seeing is a picture of an old guy, maybe an advertisement? The link is right.
You linked to your user profile instead of the image.
Last edited by pedant on Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: mod edit: moving Teachronicles' pumidor pic to his post
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d.manuk
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Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:10 am

B418C925-93E6-45C5-8FE2-80734DA9C49E.jpeg
B418C925-93E6-45C5-8FE2-80734DA9C49E.jpeg (248.25 KiB) Viewed 9263 times
I bought a mini fridge and this is what the back looks like. Is this normal? I’m not sure if this allows some airflow into the fridge, it’s hard to tell.
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pedant
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Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:56 am

it's normal, don't worry

more important is how clean the fridge is and if it has smells.
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d.manuk
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Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:17 am

I should be able to put the crocks into my mini fridge with the lid off, right?
All of my shou is currently broken down and loose so they need to be in some kind of canister, and crocks are somewhat breathable.
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Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:03 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:17 am
...
Yep
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d.manuk
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Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:42 pm

My apartment is normally 80F, but 27% humidity in the winter (according to my new hygrometer).
Putting Boveda packs into crocks did not work, the packs are already dried out 2 weeks later. The crocks are too porous.

Putting your puer into crocks is bad advice based on my experience, I regret following it. I just re-tasted one of my favorite teas and it seems very flat, I hope I can save it in time... :cry: I've had a hard time airing out the new fridge smell even for 2 weeks so I put in some lower quality shou into the fridge and hope it sucks up all the bad smell.
Last edited by d.manuk on Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Teachronicles
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Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:47 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:42 pm
My apartment is normally 80F, but 27% humidity in the winter (according to my new hygrometer).
Putting Boveda packs into crocks did not work, the packs are already dried out 2 weeks later. The crocks are too porous.

Putting your puer into crocks is a bad idea based on my experience, I regret following it. I just re-tasted one of my favorite teas and it seems very flat, I hope I can save it in time... :cry: I've had a hard time airing out the new fridge smell even for 2 weeks so I put in some lower quality shou into the fridge and hope it sucks up all the bad smell.
If possible setting the fridge out so the inside is getting direct sunlight can help with smell. I've heard of people using baking soda mixtures as well.
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Victoria
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Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:05 pm

Teachronicles wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:47 pm
Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:42 pm
My apartment is normally 80F, but 27% humidity in the winter (according to my new hygrometer).
Putting Boveda packs into crocks did not work, the packs are already dried out 2 weeks later. The crocks are too porous.

Putting your puer into crocks is a bad idea based on my experience, I regret following it. I just re-tasted one of my favorite teas and it seems very flat, I hope I can save it in time... :cry: I've had a hard time airing out the new fridge smell even for 2 weeks so I put in some lower quality shou into the fridge and hope it sucks up all the bad smell.
If possible setting the fridge out so the inside is getting direct sunlight can help with smell. I've heard of people using baking soda mixtures as well.
To get rid of smell; empty refrigerator, then clean inside with generous amount of white vinegar, and let it dry open for a few hours. Vinegar scent will dissipate, so will not remain. Once dry, place several open bowls of baking soda for a few days, to absorb any remaining aromas. Should be aroma free after this.
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mrmopu
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Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:34 pm

Victoria wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:05 pm
Teachronicles wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:47 pm
Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:42 pm
My apartment is normally 80F, but 27% humidity in the winter (according to my new hygrometer).
Putting Boveda packs into crocks did not work, the packs are already dried out 2 weeks later. The crocks are too porous.

Putting your puer into crocks is a bad idea based on my experience, I regret following it. I just re-tasted one of my favorite teas and it seems very flat, I hope I can save it in time... :cry: I've had a hard time airing out the new fridge smell even for 2 weeks so I put in some lower quality shou into the fridge and hope it sucks up all the bad smell.
If possible setting the fridge out so the inside is getting direct sunlight can help with smell. I've heard of people using baking soda mixtures as well.
To get rid of smell; empty refrigerator, then clean inside with generous amount of white vinegar, and let it dry open for a few hours. Vinegar scent will dissipate, so will not remain. Once dry, place several open bowls of baking soda for a few days, to absorb any remaining aromas. Should be aroma free after this.
Seconded on the vinegar and baking soda. I normally try to find used ones for storage.
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d.manuk
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Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:55 pm

Victoria wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:05 pm
Teachronicles wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:47 pm
Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:42 pm
My apartment is normally 80F, but 27% humidity in the winter (according to my new hygrometer).
Putting Boveda packs into crocks did not work, the packs are already dried out 2 weeks later. The crocks are too porous.

Putting your puer into crocks is a bad idea based on my experience, I regret following it. I just re-tasted one of my favorite teas and it seems very flat, I hope I can save it in time... :cry: I've had a hard time airing out the new fridge smell even for 2 weeks so I put in some lower quality shou into the fridge and hope it sucks up all the bad smell.
If possible setting the fridge out so the inside is getting direct sunlight can help with smell. I've heard of people using baking soda mixtures as well.
To get rid of smell; empty refrigerator, then clean inside with generous amount of white vinegar, and let it dry open for a few hours. Vinegar scent will dissipate, so will not remain. Once dry, place several open bowls of baking soda for a few days, to absorb any remaining aromas. Should be aroma free after this.
Doing this now!
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pedant
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Fri Mar 16, 2018 2:54 am

personally, i don't think putting things of baking soda in fridges helps.
it's arm&hammer marketing at work.

even if it does help in some way (mainly via adsorption), it's not removing the actual source of smells i.e. it doesn't clean the fridge surfaces themselves.
i think that if you have enough baking soda in a closed fridge, it may reduce the concentration of volatiles in the air a bit.
its effect is similar to but less effective than just leaving the door open and letting it air out.

right now i'm using a broken mini fridge i got for free from craigslist a few months ago.
it had been kept pretty clean, but it did have some kind of faint food smell to it.
i washed it out with unscented soap and water thoroughly, but the smell persisted.

the smell improved some after leaving the fridge door open for about a month.
afterwards, i left some tea in there that i didn't care about too much for a few days with the door closed. then i removed the tea, aired it out for a few minutes, and then smelled the fridge interior after leaving the door closed for a few hours to let potential odors "charge up". it smelled like tea and not really like food anymore.

in the case of this mini fridge, the plastic interior is just a bit porous, and faint food smell that was on there was pretty easily overpowered and seemingly 'overwritten' by some exposure to tea volatiles to an extent that i was comfortable with using it as a pumidor.
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Victoria
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Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:27 pm

pedant wrote:
Fri Mar 16, 2018 2:54 am
personally, i don't think putting things of baking soda in fridges helps.
it's arm&hammer marketing at work.

even if it does help in some way (mainly via adsorption), it's not removing the actual source of smells i.e. it doesn't clean the fridge surfaces themselves.
i think that if you have enough baking soda in a closed fridge, it may reduce the concentration of volatiles in the air a bit.
its effect is similar to but less effective than just leaving the door open and letting it air out.

right now i'm using a broken mini fridge i got for free from craigslist a few months ago.
it had been kept pretty clean, but it did have some kind of faint food smell to it.
i washed it out with unscented soap and water thoroughly, but the smell persisted.

the smell improved some after leaving the fridge door open for about a month.
afterwards, i left some tea in there that i didn't care about too much for a few days with the door closed. then i removed the tea, aired it out for a few minutes, and then smelled the fridge interior after leaving the door closed for a few hours to let potential odors "charge up". it smelled like tea and not really like food anymore.

in the case of this mini fridge, the plastic interior is just a bit porous, and faint food smell that was on there was pretty easily overpowered and seemingly 'overwritten' by some exposure to tea volatiles to an extent that i was comfortable with using it as a pumidor.
A few years ago while I was away for a month my electricity was turned off by mistake. My full refrigerator had no electricity for two weeks. After emptying a very smelly refrigerator, I had to thoroughly clean it twice to get the smell out. First clorox with baking soda and a brush, let that dry. Still smelled. Next generous amounts of white vinegar and different size scrub brushes, much better results. Next baking soda, smells all gone after a week of switching out cups with soda.

Baking soda works very well to absorb odors and to clean surfaces in my experience. Spent dry tea leaves also may work, since they absorb odors well, although they absorb more humidity and get moldy after a while. Like you said the surface needs to be cleaned first to really remove the source of odors. The trick is to use a generous amount of white vinegar to clean the surface, gaskets, nocks and crannies thoroughly, this really helps with cleaning and with odors also. I now also keep an open cup with baking soda in my refrigerator to absorb any off putting smells, and switch that out monthly or as needed.
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