Expert: James Yee - 6/2/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have had my new humidor seasoning for 24hrs. I have a 50ct with one divider a large round credo style humidifier and a hygroset II digital hygrometer.  my problem is that after this 24hr period the humidor according to the hygrometer has been stable at 74 degrees F and 74 to 76 RH. I was wondering if these levels are "safe" and if not how could i bring them down? also i calibrated by hygrometer by wrapping in a towel for one hour till it read 100%, and it did i was curious is i could salt test it. it does have adjustable calibration.

thanks for your help

ANSWER: Hi Michael,

At 74-76% rh, mold can begin to form so it's best to keep your humidity between 67%-73% (70% is the ideal humidity level for cigars.)

To salt test your hygrometer, simply take a teaspoon of table salt and mix in a few drops of water until the salt mixture is like a crumbly paste.  Store the salt paste in a small dish next and keep it in a sealed ziploc bag along with your hygrometer for at least 6 hours.  Do not let the salt mixture touch your hygrometer as this could damage it.  After 6 hours, the hygrometer should read 75%.  If not, immediately adjust the reading so that it's 75%.  Your hygrometer is now properly calibrated.

If your hygrometer is already properly calibrated, then what you can do to lower your humidity is to add a 50/50 distilled water & propylene glycol (PG) mixture to your Credo.  What this will do is automatically lower your humidity to exactly 70%.  You can purchase pre-mixed 50/50 solutions at most cigar stores or buy Propylene Glycol separately and mix it with distilled water yourself.  PG is also available at most cigar stores, tobacconists and pharmacies/drug stores.  

When using PG, it is important to remember that PG can last a long time in your humidor - on average 2 years - so you only need to add a 50/50 mixture just once.  After this, whenever your humidor's humidity becomes low, simply fill your Credo with distilled water.

Hopes this answers your question. If you have anymore questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hey James,

Thanks for your help earlier.  I salt tested and have the humidor settled after the salt test at 74 F and 67 RH, how do those numbers sound?  I think i have to refill my humidifier and it should level out the humidity. look forward to using you as resource in the future.

ANSWER: Hi Michael,

74 degrees Fahrenheit and 67% RH is acceptable.  Refilling your humidification device will most likely increase the humidity to 70% which is more acceptable for your cigars.  Again, if the humidity increases to more than 74%, add a 50/50 mixture of propylene glycol and distilled water and this will correct everything.

As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: When keeping cigars in my humidor is best to keep different wrappers seperated for instance maduro and natural? also seperation between falvored and unflavored

Answer
Hi Michael,

It's actually pretty safe to mix PREMIUM cigars of different countries or cigars with different type of wrapper leaves (ie: maduro, claro, candela, etc) together.  Mixing them together doesn't affect the way they taste so whether or not to mix them is purely personal preference.  I personally prefer to keep cigars in my humidors organized so I will sort them by country and then wrapper shade but this is not necessary.  If you also prefer to keep your humidor organized, you can keep the cigars separated with Spanish cedar dividers.

Flavoured cigars on the other hand, must be kept separate from your other premium cigars.  The reason for this is because many flavoured cigars have artificial flavours and aromas that are so pungent that the strong scents can actually effect your other cigars and make them smell and taste just like flavoured cigars.  (Some flavoured cigars have also been known to fuse their strong aromas into the porous cedar wood and making it almost permanent.)  This can be disasterous if you stock alot of premium cigars in your humidor.  If you do smoke flavoured cigars, it's best to store them in a separate humidor or inexpensive storage container such as a Tupperware container (aka "tupperdors") that's fitted with Spanish cedar, a humidification device and hygrometer.

Regards,
James