Expert: James Yee - 1/24/2011

Question
QUESTION: I bought a humi for my husband who is out of the country until Feb. I was going to surprise him. I know nothing about humi's. I seasoned by wiping with distilled h20 on the inside, put a small cup of distilled h20 inside and used PolyGlicol in the black hockeypuck like thing. Hygrometer never goes above 55%, no matter what I do. Humi kept in a darker area, no direct sunlight and not near heater vents at all. Humi vendor sent new meter, and even that won't get to 60%. Tried to calibrate using 1 tsp salt, with enough water to make wet paste. No luck. HELP!!! I am doing something wrong but dont know what. this is for Val-Day, and I have some very expensive cigars to put it in, but I'm afraid to.  Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Charlie,

It sounds like your humidor may need to be seasoned some more which may take another 24-48 hours before you can finally add cigars to it.  Here's what you'll need to properly season your humidor:

- 1 Brand new and clean sponge
- 1 Clean/sterilized spray bottle
- 1 Large bottle of distilled water
- 1 Clear plastic sandwich baggie or a small piece of plastic food wrap (a small plastic dish will also work)
- 1 bottle of Propylene Glycol
- Your humidor
- The humidification device (ie: the black puck-like unit)
- The hygrometer

The first thing you must do is saturate the humidor interior wood with distilled water.  This will allow the humidor to absorb and regulate humidity more effectively.  Using the spray bottle, thoroughly spray the entire interior with distilled water.  Let the humidor sit for a few minutes and then wipe up any excess traces of water with the clean sponge.  The humidor interior should now be moist but NOT have any visible traces of water.

Next, take the sponge you were just using and thoroughly soak it in distilled water.  Place the sponge in the center of your humidor on top of the plastic baggie, sheet of plastic food wrap or small dish.  (This will prevent water damage to the wood from direct contact with the wet sponge.)  Take the humidification device (the black puck) and charge it by adding distilled water.  Now let the humidification device and wet sponge sit in your closed humidor for 24 hours.

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.  (This should take 24-48 hours) When your humidor is finally seasoned, remove the sponge.

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), wait a day or two to see if the humidity stabilizes at a more reasonable level.  If the humidity level continues to remain high, consider adding a 50/50 pre-mixed humidor solution (available at most cigar shops) to the humidification device (you will need to let the humidification device dry out first).  You can also make this mixture yourself by mixing 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’s humidity output to exactly 70%. If not, you can fine-tune the mixture in the humidification device by adding slightly more propylene glycol to lower humidity, or slightly more distilled water to dilute the propylene glycol and raise humidity.

If your humidor continues to show low humidity, it may be defective and is leaking humidity.  If this happens, return the humidor to the retailer for replacement.

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

Regards,
James


P.S. - Alternatively, you can season your humidor with a “seasoning brick” which can be purchased at most cigar stores and tobacconists.  With a seasoning brick, all you would need to do is let the brick sit in your humidor for 24 hours and your humidor will be seasoned.  Seasoning bricks are available in a variety of humidity levels and depending on the size of your husband’s humidor, you may need more than one brick.  Although seasoning bricks are more user-friendly, seasoning the humidor with the “spray bottle and sponge” method is more thorough and inexpensive.



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

QUESTION: I am going to try the process above. I'm sorry to ask another question, but I was told to calibrate the hygrometer. I put 1 tsp. of salt into a small plastic cup, and added enough water to make a paste. I put the salt cup in a baggie with the hygrometer. It never read above 50%. I was sent a 2nd hygro and tried the same thing and got the same result. What am I doing wrong?

Answer
Hi Charlie,

Salt test the hygrometers again but don't add too much water. The salt should be "crumbly" like moist sand so 3 or 4 small drops of water should be enough.  Place the hygrometer(s) and salt mixture in a sealed ziploc bag or container and let it sit for 6-8 hours.  The hygrometers should read 75% now… if not, they need to be calibrated.  For analog hygrometers, there should be an adjustable screw or knob at the back of the unit that allows you to adjust the needle.  Adjust the needle so that it now reads 75%.  Your hygrometer is now calibrated and accurate.

Location of the calibration knob varies with each make and model of hygrometer so if you can’t find the calibration knob, check the documentation that came with the hygrometer or contact the vendor for calibration instructions.  

If you have a digital hygrometer, salt test and calibration isn’t necessary since digital hygrometers are calibrated by the manufacturer and already very accurate.  However, some digital hygrometers may require electronic programming so check the instructions that came with the digital hygrometer.

I hope this helps!  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James