Expert: James Yee - 4/27/2007

Question
Dear James.

I am living in Vietnam,I have a new humidor, I did followed the steps to seasoning humidor.  Unfortunately the hygrometer did not reach the level 65%-72%.  It has been 80%.  Please  give me an advise to decrease the humidity as normal level. I tried to open the lid for 8 hours, but the result was still remain. Is it any reason behind? Did i do something wrong with humidifier?
Thank you very mcuh for your advise
With best regards
Andy

Answer
Hi Andy,

The humidity in Vietnam can be quite high (average 80-85% during the warmer months) so what I recommend is that you keep your humidor in a very dry room because environment humidity can affect humidor humidity.  Moving your humidor to a dry and cool room (50-70% humidity & 70 degrees Fahrenheit) should be enough to lower your humidor's humidity to a reasonable level.

If your humidor still has high humidity, what you can also do is use some "Propylene Glycol".  Add a 50/50 mixture of Propylene Glycol and distilled water (50% distilled water, 50% propylene glycol) to your humidification device.  You only need to add this mixture just once to your humidification device (Propylene Glycol can last a long time in your humidor) and afterwards, just add distilled water when your humidification device needs to be refilled.  Propylene Glycol is available at most cigar stores, tobacconists, drug stores and pharmacies but if you're having trouble finding it in Vietnam, you may want to order it online.  

After you've added the 50/50 Propylene Glycol mixture, your humidor will need at least a week for the humidity to stabilize so do not worry if the humidity is still high the first week.  The humidity will return to normal soon. If not, add a very tiny bit more of Propylene Glycol and wait another week. This propylene glycol mixture should perfectly level the humidity to 70% however, it will only be able to control the humidification device's humidity so you would still have to make sure the environment humidity isn't affecting your humidor.

You may also want to check your humidor for any physical/construction defects or flaws such as cracks or a loose seal in the lid as that may also affect the humidity.

Hopes this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask.

Regards,
James