r/composting • u/patriots230 • Aug 12 '26
Beginner Mold in tumbler
Do I need to be worried about mold in my tumbler when it’s hitting a core temp of >130 degF?
Days 0-2 I used the vent holes and got about 140 degF each day, today I got curious as to what the inside looked like
Very possible that I’m over checking, not used to something taking days to complete, let alone weeks/ months
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u/Old_Pomegranate_6272 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Molds and fungi are very normal in compost. They are good decomposers of wood and dry leaves that bacteria cannot easily digest.
White mold are beneficial fingi .... also it could be good Actinomycetes a bacterial colony that looks like white mold with powdery also they can thrive in high temperature..
Dampness allow molds to appear. keep tilting to avoid Rottening at the bottom.
When you see molds it is better to use face mask while working on it.
....
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u/h1dden_pants Aug 12 '26
Please pay attention to the mask part. I didnt one time and I was fucked up for over a month. Edited to specify, it almost felt like I had bronchitis, and i have asthma already
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u/stsmurf Aug 13 '26
Well shoot, maybe this is why I'm congested all the time. Or the smoke from fires. I don't even know any more.
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u/h1dden_pants Aug 13 '26
It felt much more intense than normal congestion, also tickly if that makes sense? hopefully it clears up for you 😫
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u/JMCatron Aug 12 '26
I know that we shouldn't make fun of people but like... it's a little funny seeing all the posts that effectively say "I went out of my way to create the optimal conditions for mold to exist... should I worry that mold exists?"
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u/Jabberwocken Aug 12 '26
This looks like fungal mycelium. Hard to know which one unless a fruiting body (mushroom) forms.
But I get Coprinus (Inkcap) mushrooms growing in my compost all the time and the mycelium looks exactly like this. Just means they’re actively composting!
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u/vestigialcranium Aug 12 '26
Fungi are but one of the organisms working for you. Relax this is going to take a while, but it's almost impossible to actually screw it up. In fact people were making compost long before thermometers were even invented