Neglected Humidor

[cmw6300]

I have a quick question of everyone here. I have a humidor that I have neglected in the past few years. I haven't been watching the humidity levels and live in Colorado. I wanted to know if there is anything I can do to save the sticks that are in it? I have a tube of the heartfelt beads but they have long since been dry and have started turning a light brown color. Should I go ahead and buy some new beads? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Chad

[Simple1]

Welcome to CA! I haven't been into this as long as many others, so don't take my response for gospel.

Take the cigars out and put them in a sealed tupperware container with a humidipak. Then follow the threads on seasoning a humidor. http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=620 treating your neglected humidor as a new one.

When your humidor is stabilized with whatever humidity control you are going to use, add your cigars. Give them plenty of time to recover (months, not days/weeks) and they have a chance to be enjoyable, but there is no guarentee that they will fully recover.

New beads probably wouldn't hurt, and be sure to use distilled water so that there are fewer impurities to deposit on the beads.

Good luck and don't be afraid to keep posting. Check out the Newbie Sampler trade as a great way to meet a few new people and try out a few different sticks that you may not have had before.

[AdamJoshua]

Years? Depending on the condition of the stick, if they are bone dry, the above is worth trying but I wouldn't expect miracles.

[icehog3]

Yeah, sticks are likely toast after several years. While in a period of months you might bring them back to smokability, the flavors will likely be gone. A lot of work for llittle potential. There will be guys coming on saying how you can save them, but unless they are some truly top end sticks, it isn't worth the effort.

I would toss the sticks, and reseason the humidor as suggested by Brian, then fill her up with some new cigars.

Welcome to the Asylum!

[cjhalbrooks]

First welcome to the crazy zone.

Originally Posted by icehog3

Yeah, sticks are likely toast after several years. While in a period of months you might bring them back to smokability, the flavors will likely be gone. A lot of work for llittle potential. There will be guys coming on saying how you can save them, but unless they are some truly top end sticks, it isn't worth the effort.

I have save some cigars that where left alone for since 2008. They took 5 months to get back to life. The only reason that i worked so long and hard to save them is becouse they are High End cigars that you can not get anymore. Take your time.... dont rush this time..

[markem]

Btw, with Heartfelts beads, some browning isn't any problem. They will still work just fine. Any other color and you should toss them.

Before you reseason, I'd do a thorough clean without alcohol (maybe T.G. will jump in here with advice). I'd do the reseasoning for at least 2 weeks and perhaps more. I recently reseasoned on of my humis that has been carefully maintained and did it for 4 days and have an amazing seal and rock steady RH.

[Sadden]

Eh , chuck the sticks

Check the humi for mold , and start reseasoning that girl.

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Yeah, sticks are likely toast after several years. While in a period of months you might bring them back to smokability, the flavors will likely be gone. A lot of work for llittle potential. There will be guys coming on saying how you can save them, but unless they are some truly top end sticks, it isn't worth the effort.

I would toss the sticks, and reseason the humidor as suggested by Brian, then fill her up with some new cigars.

Welcome to the Asylum!

Originally Posted by markem

Btw, with Heartfelts beads, some browning isn't any problem. They will still work just fine. Any other color and you should toss them.

Before you reseason, I'd do a thorough clean without alcohol (maybe T.G. will jump in here with advice). I'd do the reseasoning for at least 2 weeks and perhaps more. I recently reseasoned on of my humis that has been carefully maintained and did it for 4 days and have an amazing seal and rock steady RH.

Originally Posted by Sadden

Eh , chuck the sticks

Check the humi for mold , and start reseasoning that girl.

[equetefue]

I tried saving some sticks a couple years back and it just didn't work.

[Simple1]

If you have the room, it won't hurt to try to save what you can. Most of us have tried, and many have not been very successful, but it's part of the fun. Then you'll be able to explain why saving cigars did or did not work for you.

With anything cigar related, time is your friend.

[cmw6300]

Originally Posted by Simple1

If you have the room, it won't hurt to try to save what you can. Most of us have tried, and many have not been very successful, but it's part of the fun. Then you'll be able to explain why saving cigars did or did not work for you.

With anything cigar related, time is your friend.

I have the room, and like cjhal said, I have some sticks that I can't find anymore.

I'm reseasoning the humidor now and have put all my sticks in a ziplock freezer bag inside the humidor. I did this because I didn't want the sticks absorbing too much humidity and possible swelling and tearing. (Is this a reasonable thing to do or should I just lay the sticks back in the humidor?) I'm also calibrating my hygrometer following the thread on here.

[icehog3]

You should not have the cigars directly in the humidor when reseasoning for exactly the reason you stated. You will need to bring them back to humidity slowly if you are to have any potential success at all, Chad.

[cmw6300]

Thats what I figured ice, hence why I have them in a Ziplok freezer bag inside the humidor. Should I just take them out since they have most likely been sitting at ambient temp and humidity for the last couple of years anyway?

[RobR1205]

I would personally take the cigars out...regardless of whether of not they are in bag. You're putting an obstruction in the humidor that may affect the distribution of moisture evenly throughout the wood. It may seem pretty OCD, but for cigars this old and dried out, you're going to need to take any precaution to even attempt to bring them back. But that's just me.

If you're going to invest time back into the hobby, I would chuck the cigars that are beyond saving (maybe save the HTF or special ones) and start new with some inexpensive ones like Padron x000 series or the Arturo Fuente "green band" cigars. Both are great and won't break the bank. I wish you the best of luck, though!