Expert: James Yee - 10/9/2007

Question
I recently returned from Cuba with some nice cigars, Cohiba , Monte cristos and Romeo y julieta's. I purchased a humidor at the local cigar shop but am having trouble maintaining the RH above about 45% the temperature is about 22C. The humidor is about 12inches square and 4 inches deep I've put about 45 cigars in it. Have I overloaded it maybe I should have bought a bigger on as it is pretty full? the humidity device is a small round plastic  thing that I soaked in distilled water. The cigars do feel a bit dry but not too crunchy. Thanks


Answer
Hi Graham,

The good news is that the temperature in your humidor is perfect so the only thing we need to focus on is the humidity.  What you'll need to do to boost the humidity is to season your humidor.  When a humidor is seasoned, it will absorb and regulate humidity more effectively and produce a more reasonable humidity level.  Seasoned humidors usually produce 70% humidity and hold steady at that level with no problems at all.

If the humidor has already been seasoned, you may need to re-season it.  If the low humidity still persists after re-seasoning, check the humidor to make sure that the lid has a good seal and that there are no loose or defective joints or humidor damage that may cause a loss of humidity.  If the humidor is physically fine and has been thoroughly seasoned and the humidity is still low, you may need to add a second humidification unit.

To season your humidor, you will need the following:

1 - Clean (sterilized) sponge
1 - Bottle of distilled water
1 - Sheet of plastic food wrap or a clear plastic sandwich bag
1 - plastic or glass dish large enough to fit sponge
1 - Clean (sterilized) spray bottle

During the seasoning process, you'll need to remove your cigars from the humidor so for now, move them to a tupperware container or humi-pouches.  The seasoning process should take about 2 to 4 days so make sure your cigars are properly stored elsewhere for now.

To season your humidor, first fill the spray bottle with distilled water and thoroughly spray down the interior of your humidor.  Make sure you evenly cover everything inside your humidor including trays, dividers, drawers and various compartments.  After spraying down the humidor interior, allow it to sit for a few minutes so that the water can be absorbed into the wood.  Don’t worry, this does not harm the humidor and is part of the seasoning process.  After a few minutes, take a clean sponge and wipe up any excess water remaining in your humidor.  (Make sure there are no puddles or visible wet spots in your humidor.)  Now take the humidor’s humidification device and fully charge it with distilled water and let it sit in your humidor along with the sponge soaked in distilled water.  Set the sponge in a small dish and let the dish sit on top of a plastic bag or sheet of plastic food wrap.  (This way it won’t water stain the wood from prolonged contact.)  Let the humidor now sit closed for 12 hours.  After 12 hours, check the humidification device and the sponge, if either has lost a lot of moisture, add more distilled water, respray the humidor with distilled water (don’t forget the wipe up the excess) and let your humidor sit for another 12 hours.  After 12 hours, check the humidor again and if either is still a bit dry, repeat the process.  

When the humidor is able to sit for 12 hours without losing any moisture in either the humidification device or sponge, your humidor is finally seasoned.  Now, all you need to do is add water to the humidification device whenever the cigars feel dry.  If the humidity is now greater than 70% and remains high after several days, add a 50/50 mixture of propylene glycol (PG) and distilled water to the humidification device.  This will level the humidity perfectly at 70%.  Propylene Glycol is available at most drug stores and pharmacists.  It can last a long time inside a humidor (usually 2-3 years) so you only need to add this 50/50 mixture once.  Just add distilled water only to your humidification device whenever needed.

Hopes this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I’ll be happy to help.

Regards,
James