Expert: Bill Finck Jr. - 5/10/2008

Question
Hi, I had been away from home and my partner topped up my humidor with water but didnt use my distilled water, used cooled boiled water! and that was in there around a week, i swear that now my cigars have a very odd filthy taste and they all taste the same, would I be best to throw these away and buy new ones, should i dry out the humidor before restocking it or????

Answer
Matt,

I honestly don't think the type of water he used caused the problem, unless it was not clean when he put it in the humidor. I'm willing to bet your cigars were over-humidified and developed mold. Mold has a musty, dirty smell and quickly spreads from cigar to cigar. There is probably nothing you can do to clear out the smell from the cigars. You can try letting them dry out a bit and air out by leaving the humidor open for a few days. Other than that, toss them out, wipe out the humidor with a solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach mixed with a quart of water (this will kill the mold) and then let the humidor thoroughly air out for a few days. Then you'll want to lightly wipe it down with a damp cloth, close it and let is sit for 24 hours and then it'll be ready to re-stock.

Hope this helps.

Bill