Expert: James Yee - 5/5/2009

Question
QUESTION: My humidor loses humidity very often. I have a drymistat tube as well as a plate filled with distilled water inside the humidor. However, unless I keep filling up the plate, the humidity drops. The seal is fine around the humidor so do you know what the problem may be? Could this have anything to do with incorrectly seasoning the humidor?

BTW my humidor holds 25-50 cigars.

Thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Jay,

Your humidor may either a) have a poor seal and is leaking humidity or b) need to be reseasoned.  First, check your humidor for any gaps or cracks in the exterior construction that may cause a humidity leak.  The humidor lid should close evenly and have a tight seal and the corner joints should be flush and seamless.  If your humidor has a glass-top inlay, make sure that the glass is properly sealed at the wood seam.

If your humidor is damaged or defective, you will need to either have it repaired professionally or replaced.  If your humidor appears to be fine, you may just need to reseason it.  Re-seasoning the humidor will definitely boost the humidity level up but if the humidor continues to lose humidity  like it is now, the problem is most definitely a humidity leak.

If you need detailed seasoning instructions, please search my question archive here on allexperts.com or feel free to just ask and I will be happy to repost them for you.

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

Regards,
James

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

QUESTION: Thank you very much.

Just a follow-up...
What is the best way to store the cigars I currently have in the humidor when I re-season it?

Answer
Hi Jay,

Seasoning should take about 2 days (on average) so it's perfectly fine to store your cigars in a Ziploc bag or clean tupperware container.  As an alternative, you can also store them in a humi-pouch which you can purchase at any cigar store.  Because seasoning doesn't take very long, you don't need to use your humidification device.  If you are storing your cigars in a tupperware container and prefer to keep your cigars humidified, be sure to not seal the tupperware lid shut.  Let the lid rest closed but loose so excess humidity inside can vent automatically.  (If you don't vent a tupperware container, you cigars can swell and split from the trapped humidity.)

After you have seasoned your humidor, be sure to let your cigars sit for at least a week in your humidor before smoking them.   This will allow your cigars to properly rehumidify.

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

Regards,
James.