Expert: James Yee - 4/11/2008

Question
I just bought a Madelline humidifying device and am using it in a Tupperware container. I have about 30 cigars in there and the hygrometer is reading 78. Is this going to cause a problem? If so, what can I do to lower it.

Answer
Hi Brian,

Tupperware containers (or "tupperdors") tend to have high humidity because of the [almost] air-tight plastic environment so what you should do is vent your container so that the excess humidity does not build up.  To vent your container, simply allow the lid to rest closed on the Tupperware container but not sealed tight.  This will create tiny gaps between the lid and container for humidity to escape when needed.  If your Tupperware is a square or rectangular-shaped container, you can also just seal some of the corners and leave one or two corners resting loose and slightly raised.  To avoid a build up of condensation in the container, you can line the interior of the Tupperware container with Spanish cedar.  (The thin Spanish cedar sheets found in cigar boxes are perfect for this.)

What you can also do to regulate your humidity is add a 50/50 Propylene Glycol (PG) and distilled water mixture and this will lower your humidity to a more ideal level.  Normally, a 50/50 mixture will lower your humidity to exactly 70% which is the perfect humidity level for your cigars but if it doesn't you can always fine-tune your mixture by adding either more PG or more distilled water.  After you've added the 50/50 mixture, you will need to give your humidor at least a week for the humidity to stabilize.  If the humidity is still high, at a tiny bit more propylene glycol (one or two small drops should be enough).  If the humidity is too low, dilute the PG with a bit more distilled water.  PG can last a long time inside your humidor (on average 2 years) so you only need to add this mixture just once.  After this, simply add distilled water to the humidification device when needed.

Propylene Glycol is available at most drug stores, pharmacies, cigar shops and tobacconists.

Hopes 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