mold on my guns

[chevyforlife21]

i have a gun safe in the closet it is a sentinel by stack on like a 150 dollar safe. i opened it (it was last opened 3 days ago) i just opened it and found white mold all over my guns. ive had this safe here for 4 months and never has a problem till now. what can i do to clean the guns it seems to be on my wood stocked ones only. is this cuse i dont have an ac in my new house? does a house dehumiderfier help?

 

[tbraddy]

A dehumidifier will definately help. Relative humidity above 60% in a dark space is ideal for mold to grow. Air conditioners help dehumidify, as do the litle stick type heaters. Get one as soon as you can.

 

[rcmodel]

Use 0000 Extra Fine steel wool and lemon oil furniture polish to remove the mold.

You can get a Goldenrod dehumidifier to put in the safe, or a big can of Desiccant.
http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com/

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=453246

IMO: A closet is a bad place for firearms.
Sometimes cloths get put in there out of the dryer that are not completely dry.
A non A/C house and damp weather compounds the problem.

rc

 

[Jim K]

I have found that WD-40 will itself mildew in some conditions, ruining the finish on any firearms it might have been sprayed on. That is why I confine its use to garage doors and the like.

Jim

 

[chevyforlife21]

i just used wd40 to wipe it off 1 gun i know ur not realy suposed to use petroleum oil though so now i will try lemon oil

 

[FROGO207]

If the problem continues you could get those plastic zip lock bags for firearms and put the guns in them after a good cleaning.I live near the salt water and find that some rust will appear if I do not cycle through my collection and oil them every couple of months. Even with a dehumidifier in the gun room that is sealed well from outside influences.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Use 0000 Extra Fine steel wool and lemon oil furniture polish to remove the mold.

I'd be very careful using steel wool, no matter how fine, on blued guns. Bronze wool won't remove blue.

 

[content]

hello friends and neighbors// If you don't buy dessicant, grab every small packet you see.(they come in everything now) I throw them in ammo box , rifle case near scope or action when traveling. ...Also a box of baking soda will absorb moisture in safe till you find some.
You might want to wipe safe interior with diluted bleach to kill spores and then set a blow dryer/ heater inside for a bit.

 

[stonecoldy]

http://www.damprid.com/

I have not used this product but saw it on the sailboat I was invited on recently. I'll look into this myself out of curiosity.
I have 25 lbs of mixed indicating silica gel in a bucket in my basement, we use it in air sampling in my line of business. EPA test methods mandated using 100% indicating silica gel recently, so I have plenty to use for some time to come.

 

[bigfatdave]

Desiccant is not that expensive, look for the kind that can be dried out, either in the oven or by plugging the device into the wall.
Amazon has a few of the plug-in type for reasonable prices.