All right I am new here and to tea in general. I searched for a topic like this and found nothing going through several pages so feel free to redirect me to the old thread if it exists.
I bought a tea whisk not too long ago before moving to a humid environment. My whisk became moldy so I cleaned it but then it would become moldy again and so the same actions would repeat. Then finally, it seems that my whisk prongs became weaker and that the handle has mold spots permanently. This is frustrating in my current situation. There is no way for me to purchase a new whisk besides online, which I do not prefer since being a college student would mean purchasing a post office box or ship by fed ex that the costs would add up to the shipping costs. I generally would not buy online items that much so that method would not be worth it.
I never encountered moldy wood in my life before. Is there anyway to salvage my whisk in its current situation or it is finished? Any tips on how to keep a whisk from becoming moldy in a humid place in case I do get one in the future? Has anyone else experienced this problem?
Feb 26th, '11, 21:48
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Re: Moldy tea whisk
First of all, it is not wood, it is bamboo. 
I am not an expert on mold nor what will cure your "ills."
However it seems you have a repeating cycle, likely due to spores still present, maybe? You get rid of the mold, but not the spores. Or you have a lot of spores in your environment.
Your chasen/whisk might be beyond hope or even safety. If nothing else works, maybe submerging it into near boiling water for several minutes. This might break the cycle. Then dry it in a well ventilated sunny window, preferably prongs down.
However the cure might do it in ...
I am not an expert on mold nor what will cure your "ills."
However it seems you have a repeating cycle, likely due to spores still present, maybe? You get rid of the mold, but not the spores. Or you have a lot of spores in your environment.
Your chasen/whisk might be beyond hope or even safety. If nothing else works, maybe submerging it into near boiling water for several minutes. This might break the cycle. Then dry it in a well ventilated sunny window, preferably prongs down.
However the cure might do it in ...
Re: Moldy tea whisk
Mold is usually hard to get rid of....I doubt boiling water would do the trick. Soaking in bleach might kill off the mold but the whisk might not be usable after that. 
The advice I´ve heard is to just replace the whisk...
Maybe you could get a replacement shipped to your parents house?
The advice I´ve heard is to just replace the whisk...
Maybe you could get a replacement shipped to your parents house?
Re: Moldy tea whisk
I microwaved mine when it started to show signs of mold, it seems to have been quite effective but be careful if you're going to try it.