Expert: James Yee - 11/30/2009

Question
I have been smoking cigars for a few years now but just got around to buying a humidor.  I bought a small, relatively inexpensive humidor online (pictured here: http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/40000217/Images/2/SD_ESC0413_WA... ).  It comes with a humidifier and hygrometer already.  Seeing as this is my first humidor I just wanted to know what do I need to do to get the humidor cigar ready.

Answer
Hi Steve,

Congratulations on your new humidor!  Before using it, the first thing you should do is make sure that your hygrometer is accurate and properly calibrated.  Remove the hygrometer from your humidor* and place it in a Ziploc bag.  Next, take a teaspoon of salt and pour it into a small dish or bottle cap.  Add a few drops of distilled water to the salt and mix it so that the salt now has a "crumbly" texture.  Place the dish inside the Ziploc bag but don't let it touch the hygrometer.  Seal the bag and let it sit for 6-8 hours.  After 8 hours, the humidity reading on the hygrometer should be exactly 75%.  If it is not 75%, adjust the humidity needle so that it reads 75%.  (There should be a calibration knob or screw on the back of the hygrometer that adjusts the display needle.)  Your hygrometer is now accurate and properly calibrated.  

*In the event that your hygrometer cannot be removed from your humidor, you will need to either upgrade to a digital hygrometer or use a digital hygrometer to test the analog hygrometer.  To do this, fill your humidification device with distilled water (be sure to only use distilled water) and install it inside your humidor.  Next, place your analog hygrometer inside your humidor along with a digital hygrometer.  Let the humidor sit closed for 12 hours.  After 12 hours, check both hygrometers.  If the humidity reading on both hygrometers are identical, your analog hygrometer is accurate and does not need to be calibrated.  (Digital hygrometers are extremely accurate and factory calibrated so you do not need to calibrate them.)  If the analog hygrometer shows a different humidity reading than the digital hygrometer, calibrate the analog hygrometer so that its reading matches the digital hygrometer reading.

Your next step is to season your humidor.  Seasoning a humidor will prepare the wood so that it can absorb and regulate humidity more effectively.  It's possible to use an unseasoned humidor but you will most likely experience erratic performance and more frequent humidifier refills.  Seasoning is often a one-time procedure only required for brand new humidors but older humidors that may have lost the proper humidity or become completely dry due to long periods of inactivity will also require a reseasoning.

To season your humidor, you can purchase a "seasoning brick" at your local cigar store.  These are designed to minimize the work required when seasoning a humidor and all you do is place a seasoning brick inside your humidor for 24-48 hours; depending on how much time the instructions for the brick specifies.  Alternatively, you can use a more thorough and effective (also inexpensive) method.  (IMPORTANT: It should be noted that seasoning is only effective when the humidor has a porous wood/cedar interior.  Humidors that have an acrylic or laminate wood interior do not require seasoning.)

To season your humidor yourself, you will need the following:

1 - Clean/sterilized spray bottle
1 - bottle of 100% distilled water
1 - Brand new/clean sponge (unscented)
1 - Sheet of plastic food wrap (or small dish or bowl)
1 - Humidor Humidification device
1 - Humidor Hygrometer device

First remove all cigars from your humidor and store them safely in a temporary storage container for now.  (Clean tupperware containers work best).  Next, take the spray bottle full of distilled water and spray the interior of your humidor with it.  Don't worry, this does not harm the wood.  Make sure your spray the entire interior of your humidor and allow it to sit for 2 minutes so that the wood can absorb the water.  After a couple of minutes, take the clean sponge and quickly wipe up all the excess water.  The humidor interior should now be moist but not have any puddles of water.  (Any visible puddles inside your humidor must be wiped up!)

Next, saturate the sponge with distilled water and let it sit in the center of your humidor on top of a sheet of plastic food wrap.  This will prevent the sponge from water-damaging the wood.  (Using a small bowl or dish also works.)  Charge the humidification device by filling it with water (if you haven't already) and let the humidor sit overnight with the hygrometer inside.  Check the humidor the next day and if the sponge or humidification device has lost a lot of moisture, repeat the seasoning process.  

When the humidor is able to sit overnight without having either the sponge or humidfication device lose too much moisture, your humidor will be properly seasoned and ready to use.  When your humidor is finally seasoned, remove the sponge and plastic food wrap.

The ideal humidity level in your humidor should now be 70% (67-74% is acceptable.)  If your humidor's humidity is now extremely high (75% or greater), consider using a 50/50 pre-mixed humidor solution (available at most cigar shops).  You can also make this mixture yourself with 1 equal part distilled water to 1 equal part propylene glycol (available at most pharmacists or through the Internet).  Add this mixture to your humidification device and it should limit your humidor humidity output to exactly 70%. (If not, you can fine-tune the mixture by adding more propylene glycol to lower humidity, or more distilled water to dilute the propylene glycol and raise humidity.)

Hope 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