Finding mold in your mate gourd is the worst thing that can ever happen to a yerba mate drinker (aside from dropping and breaking your gourd of course). And I’m sure we can all agree that mold is off-putting, especially when it’s inside something you drink from.

So what can you do about it?

Some view mold in mate gourds as the absolute end and go on to toss it in the garbage.

But don’t!

You can still save your gourd from this mold invasion.

There are several methods online teaching you how to get rid of mold, but I found the below to work the best.

Plus, it’s extremely simple and only requires water and one other ingredient.

But before I show you how to do this, let’s make sure you actually have mold in your mate.

Is There Actually Mold In Your Mate Gourd?

Before trying to get rid of mold, you have to make sure that’s actually what you’re dealing with.

Oftentimes, people confuse the natural curing process of a mate gourd to be mold.

Just take a look at the gourd below…

Looks moldy doesn’t it?

Well it’s not mold at all.

You see, as you continue to use your gourd daily, it will start to naturally change color because the yerba mate stains the inner walls, giving it that dark brown/green color. Some will even turn black.

So how do you spot the difference?

An easy way to determine whether you have mold in your mate gourd is if you see dark green/white spots with – and this is the important distinction – a fuzzy/hairy look to it. Another way to check is to smell it. Mold gives off a bad odor so if your gourd smells funny, you want to follow the instructions in this article.

Now that that’s out the way, here’s how to get rid of mold in your mate gourd.

How To Get Rid Of Mold In Mate Gourd

If you’re still not sure whether the spots are mold or not, you can also follow these steps to find out. If the green spots come off, it was mold. And if it doesn’t, then it’s the color of your mate.

Let’s begin the process…

Step 1:

Grab your gourd and some lemon juice. And start boiling water.

Many guides say to use some sort of alcohol, but it’s unnecessary.

Lemon juice will work just as good because it’s highly acidic. And it won’t give a weird taste like alcohol would.

REMINDER: NEVER wash your gourd with any type of detergent or soap as it impart a bad taste.

Step 2:

Let the boiling water cool down a bit until around 180°F (82°C). Then pour the water in your gourd along with a little lemon juice.

Again, many guides recommend to use boiling hot water. However, we don’t want to risk cracking our gourd. Having mold is already bad enough.

If it doesn’t work with less than boiling hot water, you can always do it again with boiling water.

Step 3:

Now leave the mixture of hot water and lemon juice there for about 20-30 minutes. Let it work its magic.

Step 4:

After time’s up, get a spoon and start scraping the inner walls.

Don’t be too gentle here, but don’t be too rough either. You want to make sure every last bit of mold is scraped off.

Step 5:

Lastly, give it a good rinse. And try to soak up as much water as you can inside with a paper towel.

That’s all there is to it.

If you feel like there’s still mold, just repeat the process. But it will be gone if you did everything correctly.

But you’re not done here yet.

Getting rid of mold in your mate gourd isn’t enough. You want to keep it out for good!

How To Prevent Getting Mold In Your Mate Gourd

To prevent mold from growing in your gourd in the first place, you need to store them correctly.

Remember, mold grows best in warm, dark, humid areas. This is where you DON’T want to keep your gourds. After cleaning your gourd of mold and after every use, store your gourd in a sunny, cool, dry area and you’ll never have to deal with mold again.

Now I know everyone can’t store their gourd in this environment because some live where it just isn’t possible.

But that’s no problem.

There are several gourds that don’t get mold such as stainless steel, ceramic, glass, and silicone.

Final Words

Finding mold in your mate gourd is common…

But only if you don’t take care of them.

If you did everything above correctly, you won’t be seeing mold in awhile.

I’ve had some gourds for years and they never grew mold.

Just make sure you don’t leave mate in your gourd overnight, you clean them immediately after every use, and you store them in a sunny, cool, dry spot and you won’t have a problem again.

P.S. If you found this article helpful, you might also want to check out our store for exclusive gourds (some that never grow mold) and bombillas.