Expert: James Yee - 7/9/2008

Question
I recently received a nice humidor and seasoned it over a few days with pure distilled water.  I even lightly rubbed the wood with a damp sponge.  The humidity still will not go above 56%.  Do you have any recommendations.
Thank you.

Answer
Hi Cal,

The first thing you should do is make sure your hygrometer is properly calibrated.  Sometimes a brand new hygrometer may not be calibrated/accurate so it will display an incorrect humidity reading.  To check the accuracy of your humidor's hygrometer, you can compare the hygrometer with another hygrometer that you know is functioning properly or conduct a salt test on the hygrometer.  (If you need instructions on performing a salt test, please search my question archive or just ask and I will be happy to provide instructions.)

If your hygrometer is definitely working properly, then your humidor may just need to be seasoned longer.  Depending on the humidor size, some units may require up to a week to be seasoned.  For an effective seasoning method, be sure to use a clean spray bottle and spray the entire interior of your humidor.  Allow the humidor to sit for a few minutes before wiping up the excess with a clean sponge.  Recharge your humidification device and leave that and the clean sponge soaked in distilled water in your humidor overnight.  Check the humidity the next day. If the humidity still has not reached 70% humidity and the humidification device and/or sponge has lost a lot of moisture, repeat the seasoning process.  When the humidor reaches 70% humidity and the sponge/humidification device has not lost much moisture over night, your humidor will be properly seasoned.

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

Regards,
James