Expert: James Yee - 2/8/2008

Question
Hi

I have bought a new 75 cigar capacity Adorini humidor and have been seasoning it for the past week but I am having various readings from the hygrometer depending on which room of the house it is in.

The hygrometer is analogue but i carried out the salt test, calibrated it and then did a second salt test which showed it working perfectly.

I filled the humidifier with 50/50 PG solution and put a shot glass of distilled water inside and left it for a week in a room with a temperature of  70 degrees and got a humidity reading of 60%. i then moved it in to the lounge room which was at 80 degrees and almost straight away the hygro was reading close to 70%. I know this is too warm if i were to put cigars in it but i thought the warmer temperature might help the water to evaporate inside and season the wood.

I then put the humidor in the airing cupboard which was exactly the same temperature, 80 degrees, but the humidity reading dropped to 58%. Basically i was wondering if the humidity of the outside room effects the reading of the hygrometer.

The airing cupboard is probably much more humid due to drying clothes and I thought perhaps this would mean the humidity inside the humidor would be relatively lower compared to the external air than if the humidor was in a dry room. Would this explain the much lower humidity reading in the airing cupboard, despite the temperature being the same as the lounge?

Its frustrating that the 70 degree room gives a 60% humidity reading which is too low, but to get a 70% reading i have to put it in a room that is too hot.

Answer
Hi Stuart,

To answer your question, external environment humidity and temperature can indeed affect the humidity level inside your humidor.  Think of your humidor as being like a wet sponge; if it’s placed in a warm room, the heat will create more water evaporation while in cooler rooms, the evaporation is not as active.  To understand what I mean, examine your humidor during the course of a year.  During spring and summer months, your home is naturally cool so you may notice that you will only have to recharge your humidification device once every 4-6 weeks (on average).  During winter months however, a home can become quite dry (due to the heating of the home) and put a strain on your humidor’s humidification device; thus requiring a thorough humidifier recharge every 1-2 weeks.

In regards to your drying cupboard, I would imagine it’s more dry than humid which is why it has absorbed much of your humidor’s humidity.  Even though the temperature is the same as your lounge (80 degrees), if the drying cupboard has an extremely dry environment, it will absorb the humidity from your humidor.  Your lounge is 80 degrees but it’s not 100% dry which is why your humidor registers more humidity in that room.  Because of this, it’s always recommended that you keep your humidor in a large room as opposed to a enclosed cabinet, closet or cupboard.  To ensure that your humidor’s humidity isn’t greatly affected by any environment variables, keep your humidor away from direct sunlight, direct incandescent lighting and heating fixtures such as radiators and vents which can heat up your humidor and drain the moisture.

As a side note, the seasoning process of placing a shot glass of distilled water inside the humidor may also be related to the erratic humidity levels.  Placing a dish or glass of distilled water is considered an old, outdated seasoning method now because the method is extremely slow, not thorough, and creates erratic humidity levels.  An open source of water in a humidor has also been known to attract tobacco/wood mites (not to be confused with tobacco beetles) to thrive.  Though these mites are harmless, they are still unattractive and a nuisance.

A more effective method to seasoning a humidor is by thoroughly spraying down the interior of the humidor with distilled water (and a clean spray bottle), allowing it to settle for a minute and then wiping up the excess water with a sponge.  Next, allow the humidor to sit overnight with a fully-charged humidification device and the wet sponge (clean, of course) soaked with distilled water.  Rest the sponge on a sheet of plastic food wrap so that it doesn’t come in contact with the wood.  If the next day, the sponge or interior wood is considerably dry, repeat the process.  Once the sponge is able to sit overnight without losing any moisture, your humidor will be thoroughly seasoned.  

While this method may sound damaging to the interior wood, it is NOT.  It is commonly used and encouraged by many people in the cigar industry as well as people who own humidors at home.

I hope this answers your question.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I’ll be happy to help.

Regards,
James