Mold

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Mattb82

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Opened up the Shirley today to use it for the first time in a month and found a little mold on the bottom grate and baffle plate/back wall area. I wiped it off, scraped it and fired the smoker up. If I let it run at 300 for a while is it safe to use? Hard to get it in the 400 range. Wifey is pregnant so I need to be safe using it tomorrow.

Thanks guys
 
I hit it with 50/50 Bleach Water. Many hit it with flame thrower weed burner torch.
 
So letting it run isn't going to cut it? It's currently sitting at 325
 
Maybe .......but I like to Bleach it to be sure cuz I ain't got a flame thrower.


 
I have a map torch, it's up to 400 in there now so I may let it run a couple hours and then briefly hit it with the smaller map torch. Don't have a big weed burner
 
I would say that after scraping it and running at 300+ for more than 15-20 minutes would have obliterated it.

Mold like cool damp places and will dry up and die in dry air or sunlight. Your blast of heat took care of it, and your blast with the torch probably vaporized any remaining traces.
 
The mold itself will be dead by 200, but I am not so sure about spores or toxins. After the heat, I would give it a good rinse.

In the future, clean after each cook by getting the temp up and spraying a little water to steam the grease off. You don't want to leave grease in there to get rancid and give your food an off flavor, even if you don't leave it long enough to grow mold.
 
Thanks guys. I'm a little afraid of the bleach option, not sure if it can get in the pores of the steel. Letting it run between 350-400 for a few hours and briefly torching it in the morning before the cook
 
It doesn't take much heat to kill the actual mold, but the byproduct toxins that the mold makes aren't nearly as affected by the heat. You really need to wash it out to make the toxins go away, at least for sure on the food contact surfaces, to be safe.
 
Here is what one site says to do:

1) Discard any charcoal, lava rocks, ceramic briquets, or other porous materials.
2) Fire it up as hot as possible to kill it and burn off all grease and mold. Use a double load of charcoal. If you try to scrape it off or powerwash first you might inhale a lot of spores and have an allergic reaction, and you will still have a lot of mold on the floor.
3) Let it cool and now scrape and scrub everything in sight with a wire brush or a pressure washer. Remove parts and scrape or pressure wash them. The only desirable grease is elbow grease.
4) Then wash everything down with soapy water. Then rinse thoroughly.
5) Finally, fire it up one last time to burn off any mold, grease, and soap residue. You're now ready to cook.

I just flame it good with the weed burner, wire brush, flame again, and wash with a damp rag.
 
Sounds like you got the problem taken care of this time. Now go get you a weed burner at Harbor freight for $30. It will vaporize any and all nasties and sanitize your cooker in just a few minutes. You might have to do a little reseasoning but that's easy and cheap too.
 
I wonder if mold can/does grow on the underside of the RF plate?
 
I'm with the weed burner, pressure wash group.
But also, leave your drain full open during and after cooks! It allows fresh air to get into and help dry out the cook chamber.
 
400 for a couple hours should pretty well do it IMO. I'd still hit it with distilled white vinegar/water. But, that's just me.
 
Have found mold in one of our Eggs...operator laziness to blame. Was told by the company themselves to burn it HOT, 600+*. Was told to fill up the firebox, open the vents and light it. Let it burned til it's out of fuel...
 
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