Mold in Perlite?

I just opened two brand new bags of Perlite, and there are a few small chunks of greenish brown stuff and it smells a little bit moldy. These were new, and still sealed up from the store! Grrrr! I'm so mad! Anyway, is there a way I can kill the mold and still use the perlite? I thought about pouring boiling water over it, which I'm sure would kill the mold, but I don't know how that would affect the perlite. Maybe wetting it and microwaving it? Any ideas?
Thanks all!

Amy, I had a similar situation happen, you may recall that I use 100% perlite in trays for rooting - well I ended up getting some fungus gnats and green mold/algae on top so I started a new tray after dipping all the cuttings in Murphy's oil soap and neem mixed (all cuttings did fine) then I put the whole old tray in the bath tub and drenched the entire tray in the hottest water I could stand along with as much bleach as I could stand. No ill effects on the perlite. My fear was that the bleach would disintegrate the perlite but it didn't. It doesn't take much bleach to cut the mold.

The tray is drying out, I'm allowing the moisture to just evaporate away before I use it again. Don't think any gnats want to hang out there now.

I should think you could dry yours out faster by using a low oven with the perlite in disposable tinfoil lasagna trays.

I believe Ali uses Lysol (1 cap to a gallon of H2O) to keep the mold at bay. Ali? Comments?

Hope this helped.

I feel better about it now. At least I can still use it, and hopefully today. Allison told me about the Lysol, but I had forgotten (so much for a newbie to learn, ya know!) so I'm off to see if I still have any. I thought about bleach, but was afraid the perlite would absorb it and it would harm the plants or leaves that were in it. That's not a concern if I rinse it well, then?
I'm still aggravated about the whole thing, though. I have a partial bag of perlite that I opened a couple months ago and it doesn't have any mold in it. What did those people do to these sealed bags to get mold in them?

Gosh I've never got any mold in my Perilite. It must have got wet. And we buy those great big brown bags about 4-5 ft tall . lol
If it was me it would go back, just being honest I never take things back but you never know whats growing in there.
Other than that any mold you can see throw away,
and try what Laurie did. I have put Lysol and bleach into my plant's watering water many times so it should not hurt the mold. I use lysol in the winter so no mildew , or algea..says it kills germs in seconds !
I have heard people say they have got bags of soil-less mix, and it was full of gnats yuck. I am crazy I pour bleach or lysol...or more if the bugs are going to kill my plants I'm going to kill them first. Of course they could not use the stuff and returned it. But if there is mold maybe there's gnat eggs. I don't know where the heck those things come from, I hate them.
And on the day you get yuor box of plants :((
Sorry I'm not much help with this as knock on wood it's never happen.
Amy did your plants travel ok ? Hope you like everything !
Allison

I know, Allison, this is the perlite I had for putting down the leaves you sent me. See why it made me so mad? I'm glad it's never happened to you and hope it won't, or to any of us again. I'm going to rinse it well with bleach and hot water. Surely that'll kill anything that's in it. I'll use some Lysol in the first watering I do as well.
I received a treasure chest of plants and leaves from Allison today. Expect pictures later today, along with the pictures of her packing method. They were so snug and safe, and not one leaf broken! It just doesn't get any better! :o)

Holy Cow..You can use bleach in your water?
The things I learn!

i think this happens to perlite when it gets too wet...allison..i know those big brown bags well...think they're 4 cu ft

Lorry, I have always been told to put a few drops of bleach in bouquets from the florists too. I never did, but I think you can google it.

You can also add H2O2 to your water when you give your plants a drink, they love it. I always use it when water rooting. Works great.

(and though it is passed, 7-UP in your Christmas tree water! keeps it fresh longer)

as does sugar

We do not get a real tree in trailers it go up in flames gone in seconds. But in Florida you put sugar or soda in water ants will come out of no where. lol Yuck ..
I have many times put Bleach in my Av water , and Lysol but not together please, Alcohol , dish soap ( heard blue dawn is the best), Peroxide ... lot's of home goodies are great for plants and different problems...these are just a few.

I often search the Texas A& M (Aggie) web for help w/ bugs, etc. I had an infestation of fungus gnats this summer- and not related to AVs. They say a bottle of warm water w/ a few drops of Ivory Liquid will kill them and anything else is over kill. Frankly I am not quick enough, nor is my aim good enough- the outcome was rather mixed. Mine were apparently living in the drains- I added baking soda and white vinegar then rinsed well. The next day still had some so even though the Aggies said not too, I dumped a cup of bleach down the drains and 20 minutes later- give or take- I flushed w/ hot tap water. That did the trick. I don have them now and am trying several things. Most current has been a few drops of orange oil, couple ounces of H3O3 in warm water. Sprayed that Thursday morning and so far so good. Funny my AVs look great, but sprayed the same solution on my Pansys for a few annoying aphids and all the flowers shriveled- oh well it was time to pinch them back anyway.
I will try the bleach in the water, that sounds like a brilliant idea.

Just go easy with the bleach... it'll break down most organics, which includes plant parts! A little is fine (there is chlorine in tap water, after all, and most plants don't mind it too much), but too strong a solution will just make the roots dissolve....

I just didn't want anyone to get carried away with the bleach and regret it.

Allision, how much do you add per gallon of AV water?

Just a capful in a gallon but I don't use it often maybe once a year. lol I do use Lysol in the winter one a month or so kills all fungus and Algea and germs. I use a capful in a gallon. I do put a large container of bleach in the tub with hottest water to soak trays and boxes atleast every two weeks. I also bleach all new pots before using and I don't re-use. I also bleach any tools , scissors used on plants,( after use) leaves like when new plants come in...before using them again. I wash plant stands down with bleach and potting table. If it's used by my plants and can be bleached it's used. Most pots, and boxes, trays are soaked over night in strong bleach and hot water and I mean strong. My husband says I use to much bleach. lol

I thought I should post here about what I did. Maybe it will help someone else in the future.

I put the perlite in a mesh strainer and submerged it in a bowl of very hot 10% bleach water to soak for a few minutes. Then I lifted the strainer out of the bleach water, drained it well and rinsed it by pouring boiling water over it. I let it drain well again and spread it out in a thin layer in a shallow pan and put it in the oven on 170 (the lowest my oven will go), and turned on the SpeedBake fan, which is sorta like a convection oven, but not as good as a true convection. I stirred it around a couple times while it was in the oven, til it was dry. It seems to be fine!

Thanks for all the help!

This wonderful Amy ! Thanks for sharing. Allison

You're welcome! I figure if any mold, germs, or critters survive all that, then they deserve a home here! LOL