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How to season your new humidor - step by step guide

Season a humidor correctly the first time to ensure proper setup and operation. A common question asked among new cigar smokers is “How do you season a humidor?“ Here’s a quick guide that should answer most questions…

Assuming you just purchased a new desktop humidor, you’re going to want to wait before putting any cigars in it until it has been properly seasoned, and is holding humidity at the proper percentage. It’s important to properly season your humidor, because if you don’t, your cigars will dry out and you’ll never be able to maintain proper RH (relative humidity). Your humidor is made of wood (typically Cedar). Wood is very dry, therefore, if you put your cigars in your humidor without properly seasoning it, the wood will absorb any moisture that is in your cigars, causing them to dry out. Therefore, make sure you season your new humidor properly, and don’t rush the process. Following this guide will ensure a well seasoned humidor that will provide the proper RH and years of headache free maintenance.

Before we get started with the step by step procedure for seasoning your new humidor, let’s go over some components of your new humidor. Most humidors ship with a very basic hygrometer (usually analog) and a very simple humidifier. Aside from your humidor having a good seal, these two components play a major role in maintaining proper humidity. It’s a good idea to upgrade to a better humidifier (possibly humidification beads or a gel jar – both work well and are low maintenance). You’ll also want to consider upgrading to a quality digital hygrometer. Analog hygrometers tend to be inaccurate. When it comes to charging your humidification device (your humidor will typically ship with a cheap floral foam humidifier) be sure to use PG Solution. PG Solution is a mixture of distilled water and propylene glycol solution. PG helps maintain humidity at 70%. You can also just use distilled water, though if you’re charging floral foam, it’s best to use PG Solution as it is mixed to create a 70% humidity environment.. If you’re charging humidification beads or gel, you’ll want to use distilled water.

Components of your new humidor

  • Floral Foam Humidifier
  • Analog Hygrometer
It is recommended that you upgrade to the these items
  • Gel Jar Humidifier ($5) or Beads ($15)
  • Digital Hygrometer ($20)
Now that you are more familiar with your humidor and it’s different components, lets move on to the seasoning process.

Choose the location for your humidor

Find a location for your new humidor. It’s always a good idea to pick a cool location, where the sunlight won’t beat on it all day long. You don’t want to subject your cigars to unnecessary heat, as it will have a negative affect on your cigars. Always best to store your cigars in a cool location and in a safe place (where it won’t get knocked down).

Charging the humidifier

Charge your humidifier with PG Solution and install the hygrometer (they both usually affix to the underside of the top lid). If you’re using beads or a gel jar, use distilled water. Note: do not use both the floral foam humidifier and the gel jar, use one or the other. If using the gel jar, simply place the jar somewhere in the humidor. Follow directions on jar for re-charging it.

Season with distilled water

Next, get a sponge and dampen it with some distilled water. Place the semi-wet sponge on a flat plate, and then put it in the humidor with the lid closed. This will help accelerate the seasoning process, just remember not to open the lid for a few days. Every time you open the lid, all of the humidity will escape, making the seasoning process less effective.

You can also place a shot glass filled with distilled water inside of your humidor as well. Again, leave it there for at least 5 days, with the lid closed.

Allow humidor to season

Close the lid on your humidor, and let sit for 5 days. On the 5th day, open up your humidor and check the RH reading. It should be around 75%, or perhaps a little higher. Reason it’s high is because you have added extra humidity sources (shot glass of distilled water). If your humidor is reading at least 72% or more on the 5th day, remove the shot glass (or sponge). Close the lid and let sit for at least 2 or 3 more days. Do not unnecessarily open the lid, you will get best results by allowing your humidor to rest and allow the seasoning process to do its thing.

Check humidor regularly

If after a few more days your humidor is reading and holding steady at 70%, go ahead and start filling it up with cigars.Sometimes it’s best to gradually add cigars; for instance, start by adding only 25 cigars. Wait a day, and if your humidity is holding steady at around 70%, feel free to add more cigars. You don’t have to gradually add cigars, it is just a suggestion.

That’s it! You’ve properly seasoned your new humidor. Having followed this guide will take a lot of the headache out of maintaining proper RH. Assuming you maintain your humidor and make sure the humidifier is always charged, and your RH has not dramatically dropped, you’ll never have to season the humidor again.

What is the proper RH to store cigars?

Some notes pertaining to RH… Everyone has their own opinion on how much humidity you should maintain in your humidor. The general rule of thumb is 70%. Personally, I feel this is too humid, and doesn’t allow the cigars to burn properly. High RH also covers up some of the true flavors from the cigar; plus it can cause mold to grow. I like to keep my cigars at 65% RH, as I have noticed they smoke best at this point and also burn evenly without constantly going out.

The safe RH range is 60%-70%. Experiment and see what works best for you. Dropping below 60% may cause your cigars to dry out; going above 70% WILL cause mold to grow.

What is the proper temperature to store cigars?

The last point I’d like to touch upon is temperature. Without going into too much detail, it’s a good idea to keep your cigars between 60F-75F. If the temp goes much higher than 75F, you’re at risk for tobacco beetles. Tobacco beatles like to lay eggs on tobacco leaf, and if your cigar has eggs in the tobacco, they may hatch at 80F +. If the eggs hatch, the beetles will eat your cigars, and you’ll be left with cigars that look like swiss cheese. Aside from beetles being a threat, cigars prefer it at 75F or less; this will prevent them from becoming damaged.
That’s all there is to it. I hope you enjoy your new humidor!

Cigar Cello – Leave it or take it off?

Most new cigar smokers always ask – “Cello on or off?”. This again is a personal preference. My advice is to leave the cellophane on, even if you’re aging cigars. The cellophane will help keep the cigar from getting damaged (cigar wrappers are very delicate and will crack/split easily). Also, if you’re storing different types of cigars and the cellophane is off, the cigars will “marry” over time, and pick up each others flavors. I highly advise leaving the cellophane on, though do what works best for you.

This is great information. Like many things there is more than one way to arrive at the same destination. I like you use a sponge to wipe the interior of the humidor. I'm old school. There is certainly nothing wrong with using Boveda seasoning packets. I wish they existed 20 years ago. I stick with what has worked for me.
 
Sponge it down, place the wet sponge on a tray and keep it damp, next thing you know, it’s seasoned 😃
 
Man, you guys just don't get it. Who has time for all this acclimation and crap..?? Get out the garden hose and some 80 grit sandpaper. Scrub that baby until the wood inside is nice and opened up. Hose that thing down, fill it about half way, and wait a few minutes. Dump it out and you're good to go. Repeat every month, you're all set. Jeez, it's not exactly rocket surgery.....🤪
 
If using the Boveda 84% is there any need to use water or PG solution?
 
If using the Boveda 84% is there any need to use water or PG solution?
Yes, the boveda’s just cant put enough moisture into the cedar. (Never use PG, always use water)
 
It often happens that the humidor loses its balance and needs to be rehydrated. It's simple, but it requires some precision see here to keep your humidor in perfect balance and lasting years. For this procedure, I use a small glass and some distilled water or moisturizing solution.
 
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For CHICYA pure cedar humidor box, it’s a litter bit different from other cigar humidors, it was made of all cedar without paint. So it will be a litter different to season it. A quality humidor is the key to aging cigars gracefully. It’s not a complicated science, either. But it does require a bit of patience and care, and it all begins with seasoning your humidor.

A humidor is designed to keep your cigars humidified. In order for a humidor to perform this essential function, an equilibrium of perfect humidity for cigars must be achieved. Otherwise, your humidor will absorb the humidity in your cigars and cause them to dry out, instead of providing the optimal conditions for storage that premium handmade cigars require. That’s why does a humidor needs to be prepped? The reason is simple.

First
Although we are addressing humidification, temperature is also an important consideration. Store your humidor at a comfortable room temperature (roughly 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit) and not too close to a direct source of heat or under direct sunlight.

Second
Fortunately, CHICYA built with a precision digital Thermo-Hygrometer, so you don’t need to calibrate the hygrometer again, but if you want, you can put another Thermo-Hygrometer into the humidor for checking.

Due to the high humidity absorption capacity of the cedar wood. When you’re seasoning the cigar humidor, cedar wood absorbs water quickly, so it can help us shorten the season time.

Fill the humidification unit into the humidor, at this step, you can use humidity control pack, or normal humidifier with distilled water(1. Do not use tap water as it maybe creates mold on your cigar. 2. Do not wet wood.)

Third
Pay attention to the humidity, when the humidity reaches a stable value, maybe 70%, 80%(it depends on your humidifier), this is a little higher than the desired range for storing cigars normally, however, your cigars will draw in a lot of the excess initial moisture once placed inside.
Once your hygrometer is reading 75% to 80% RH, we can fill the box with cigars. Don’t forget put a 69 humidity control pack at the bottom. We recommend filling the box at least to half of its total capacity and keeping it half full in order to maintain consistent conditions on the inside. Also, don’t overfill your humidor with cigars. It’s best if you can leave some space of the interior. Air and humidity will move around more readily to access all of the cigars you’re storing with a bit of extra space.
Finally: regular maintenance

In the interim, it can be easy to forget you have a humidor. Just like with a house plant, your humidor and your cigar collection need attention and they need to care. You want to maintain a regular equilibrium of 65% to 72% RH.

Rotate your cigars! This is also an important, often overlooked step. You don’t want the same cigars always resting in closest proximity to your humidification source. Rotate your smokes. Move the cigars from the top row to the bottom and vice versa. Doing so once every week or two is a great idea. It’s also a great excuse to check on your collection and, of course, to smoke a cigar!
 
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