Cigar Humidors-properly Preparing Your Humidor

Having purchased a new humidor, you need to make sure that you properly season it before storing your cigars in it

. Placing your cigars in the humidor will not get you the desired effect. In fact, if your humidor is not properly seasoned you will end up drying out your cigars rather than keeping them humid. This is because your humidor is most likely lined in Spanish cedar. If the wood is dry then it will actually absorb the humidity contained in your cigars. Not quite what you expected is it?

When you receive your humidor it will most probably be quite dry. The reasons for this are simple. First of all, if you've purchased a Spanish cedar lined humidor, manufacturer's dry out the wood because Spanish cedar has been known to release sap. By drying it out the chance of sap leaking is significantly reduced. Secondly, if a humidor isn't cared for it will naturally dry out on its own. The humidor you received has most likely been in shipping and storage for a quite a while so it has naturally dried out over time.

By preparing your humidor properly, you'll ensure that you've created the right environment for storing your cigars. Use this step by step approach for the best results. It does take some time and effort but is well worth it.

Step 1: Calibrate the Hygrometer

Take one teaspoon of salt and place it in an open container. Using the lid of a small jar will work just fine. Place a few drops of water into the salt. Make sure not to dissolve the salt, the idea is to make the salt wet but not to have any excess water. The salt should look like more a thick paste than a liquid. Having done this, you can now place the hygrometer and the salt-filled container into a zip-lock bag. Seal the bag carefully and be sure not to spill anything out of the container. You should also leave some air in the zip lock bag so the hygrometer can read the moisture content in the air.

Leave it over night or check on it after 6-8 hours. Ideally your hygrometer will read 75%. Yours may not because most hygrometers have a margin of error. To compensate for the margin of error you have two options. You can either remember the margin of error (if it reads 70% you know it will always be off -5%) or you can adjust the screw on the back of the hygrometer, if it allows for it, until the needle reads 75%.

Step 2: Charge the Humidifier

Using either distilled water or a mixture of distilled water and propylene glycol, dampen the humidifier. You should make the humidifier pretty wet but not soaking,. Just make sure you don't have any excess water dripping out of it. A good way of controlling this is to place the humidifier on top of some paper towels and let the extra liquid get absorbed by the paper towel. Place the humidifier back in the humidor.

Be sure to use distilled water in this step. In the short run using regular water will work but over time the minerals contained in that water will clog up your humidifier and you'll have to purchase another one.

Step 3: Charge your Humidor

Use a damp cloth or sponge to wipe down the inside of the humidor. This will help the wood absorb moisture more quickly. Make sure not so soak the wood, just leave a film of moisture on it. Fill a shot glass (or similar small container) with distilled water and place it inside your humidor. Close the humidor and let it sit over night. The next day, check on it to see if any water has evaporated from the shot glass. If the water level has gone down, refill the container with more distilled water and let it sit longer. Repeat this process until the water level stays about the same ion your container. Once it stays the same, its and indication that the moisture levels in your humidor have stabilized.

You cigar humidor is now ready for use!

by: Hilda Cortez

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