Expert: James Yee - 12/30/2007

Question
Hello,

I recently purchased a new Diamond Crown humidifier and mistakenly added a 50/50 solution.  After doing some reading I've gotten the impression that 50/50 is not suitable for these types of humidification devices, and I've since replaced it with distilled water.  Now I'm curious if I've done any long-term damage to my humididifer, as I am having real trouble keeping my humidity levels up above 57%.  This is a new humidor, but was seasoned by me beforehand.  I've checked the seals, which are good, and I've even had a small shot glass of distilled water inside for 24 hours to supplement the humidifier with no change.  I've also performed a calibration test on the digital hygrometer and I was within 1%.

So essentially I have a few questions.  First, posed already, have I damaged my humidifier by using the 50/50?  It was in there for less than one day.  Second, is it normal for the humidity to drop into the upper 50s in a new humidor after introducing cigars?  I seemed to have it stabilized after seasoning for a couple of days, so I put them in.  That was 3 or 4 days ago.  And lastly, any suggestions?

Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Dan

Answer
Hi Dan,

First, it's perfectly common for a humidor's humidity to temporarily dip and peak after it has just seasoned it and cigars added to it.  Typically it can take 1-2 weeks (depending on the size of your humidor) for the humidity to fully stabilize so wait at least a week and then check on the humidity again.

I've seen some diamond crown humidifiers work perfectly with 50/50 mixtures added (even though DC advises against this) so I'm not sure if your low humidity is directly related to the 50/50 mixture or not.  If the 50/50 mixture is definitely the cause for the low humidity, the good news is that your humidification device is not permanently ruined.  The active ingredient in 50/50 solutions is Propylene Glycol (PG) and PG can easily be diluted and flushed out using distilled water.  As more and more PG is purged from the humidifier, the more effective the humidity will be.

Again, what you should do is allow your humidor to sit for at least one week without the cigars (for now, you can move your cigars to humi-pouches or temporary storage containers/humidors) and see if the humidity has stabilized after some time.  If the humidity still has not stabilized, then delicately rinse out the humidifier reservoir with distilled water.

What you should also do is replace the shot glass of distilled water with either humidification gel or crystals/beads as they are more accurate and effective in producing humidity and less susceptible to bacteria.

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