The Curious Case of the Moldy Tortillas

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I am puzzled. When I lived in the West where the climate was significantly drier, I could easily keep a package of mold-free tortillas for 3-4 weeks. Now, I am currently living in a much more humid climate. It seems like I can't even keep a package of mold-free tortillas for even a week. It seems like if I try keeping them in the fridge it accelerates the mold. I don't understand, I keep the tortillas in their prepackaged zip-lock bags. What gives? Is it simply the climate or is there something else going on here? I have tried different brand of tortillas but the end result is the same.

There may be mold elsewhere in your fridge. That can spread from food to food very fast. I noticed that when working at Subway. It certainly speeds the rot process along to have mold spores hanging around. If you have rotten strawberries, for example, a plastic container of other vegetables will have their mold sped up. Have you looked under the bottom drawers, or viewed the fridge's undernieth drip area? There could be some there. There could also be spores left over from the past rottings, and they havn't escaped yet.

When I worked at subway, there was only one tomato slice that had gotten mold before the entire fridge became plegued with rot. My boss was a moron, who never listen to me. I told him countless times that we had to remove the uncut cucumbers, because they were beginning to rot. The mold went into them and stayed. The other vegetables began to mold way, way faster. He would bring in new boxes of tomatos and such, and the prepaired one's would rot over night, pretty much, because spores were spreading around the freezer. It can work that fast.

I see...

The strange thing is I tried keeping a fresh pack of tortillas in the breadbox (outside the fridge) and they still mold.

try putting them in the fridge as soon as you've opened them (after getting some to eat..., then putting them in a plastic baggy, or better yet, a ziplock back. Make sure the seal is tight.

And check for mold in the fridge, tho.

Check for mold in your HOUSE dude. Back east, there's tons of trouble with mold growing in the ventilation system.

Mold thrives in wet/more humid conditions, and there is a range of temperatures it can tolerate. You have made a mistake by putting it into the fridge as the air is more damp in there due of all the food and liquids that are stored inside of it. Foods are put into the fridge in order to prevent them from rotting, but to prevent mold, you have to put the tortillas in a much colder environment, like the freezer (and you wouldnèt want to put your tortillas there). Apparently, since the mold survived the fridge temperature, it is not cold enough in the fridge to kill the mold off.
You have noticed that in a very dry climate, the tortillas had no mold on them. Since you live in a more humid climate now, one thing I could suggest you do is to store the tortillas in a place where there's a lot of sunlight during the day, and somewhere dry at night. If you know a very dry place in your home where you can store them, then keep them there all the time.

we always put them: wrapped in a dish towelcloth, inside a tight sealed tupperware. No matter where I've lived, I think that's the most common way down here. Also kraft paper and a supermarket bag works.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will put them in the freezer. That makes much more sense.

The owners of the house before us actually added on a humidifier to the house. I can't imagine them wanting any more humidity. We turned it to zero! I wonder how much/hard it would be to add a dehumidifier? Also, maybe if we added one then the air conditioner wouldn't have to run as much. It seems like in more humid areas you have to keep the air cooler to counteract the humidity.