Expert: James Yee - 1/6/2010

Question
Hi James,

Reading your previous posts, I know that relative humidity has nothing to do with temperature, and that you should always try and keep your cigars at 70% RH.   

However, I find that when I move my humidor from a hot room to a cold one, the temperature falls, as well as the RH.   Is this normal or am I just seeing things?   I'll have my humidor around 73%, but when the temp got too high, I put it in a cupboard near a window, the temp dropped a good 20 degrees farenheit by the time I got home, but the RH also fell to about 64%.

Is this normal?

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Andy,

Humidor humidity can indeed by affected by the environment temperature.  During summer months, the humidity in your humidor can be high due to the hot and humid environment but in winter months, the humidity can dissipate more quickly due to the dry heat in our homes.  Humidity can also drop in winter due to the lack of moisture in the cold air.  As a result, you may notice the humidity quickly dropping if you move your humidor to a very cold area in your home.  

In winter, it's very common for the humidity in our humidors to dissipate more quickly which is why most people recharge their humidification devices twice as often whenever the temperature becomes very cold.  The very dry air in our homes will deplete the humidor humidity more quickly.

It's always important that you try to acheive 70% humidity during both hot and cold seasons.  In winter, you will need to refill your humidifier more frequently to maintain 70% humidity and in summer, you will need to move your humidor to cooler rooms to prevent the humidity from rising to dangerous levels.

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