Humidor Question

[Stinky]

Here's my take on new humidor conditioning. Keep in mind we live in the desert where everything (homes) is very dry. Our constant challenge is keeping the humidor from drying out.

New Humidor:
Use a clean spray bottle full of distilled water. Spray all the interior surfaces until slightly wet. Close it up for an hour or more. Open and check the interior surfaces should appear dry. Repeat spray & close for another hour or more. The distilled water soaks into the porous Spanish cedar very fast. Waiting for days and days is a myth.

Prepare your humidification device and install it inside along with your cigars. Best way to keep a desk top humidor relative humidity stable is when it's full of cigars. An empty or partially empty humidor has a larger volume of air to humidify.

Important:
Keep your humidor in a cool, dark location. Never let the sun hit it. Consistent temperature is as important as humidity. Anything above 75 degrees Fahrenheit will enable tobacco beetles to hatch. Again, we live in a desert where summer home temperatures often run in the high 70's even with air conditioning. I'm lucky to have a separate office with its own a/c unit. It's always cool in here!

Get a good digital hygrometer. Analog (dial) hygrometers need to be calibrated from time to time.

Also Note:
Most cigar enthusiasts like to look at their cigars. (true!) Every time you open your humidor to check or select cigars, the humidity dissipates into the room air within seconds. From time to time I give the top (inside) of the desk top a quick spray of distilled water. Reason? Any humidification device will work VERY hard to bring the humidity back to the desired 68 to 70 percent level. However, these humidification devices are MUCH more efficient at reducing (absorbing) humidity. This method of moistening will spike the humidity for a very brief period as opposed to the hour or two it takes to bring dry air up to the desired RH level.

Humidor Type:
I do NOT recommend humidors with glass (windows). Cigars do not like light! But, the industry knows how lovely we find our stash of cigars and they sell a lot of glass-top boxes. Something to think about . . . if you have a glass-top model, I suggest you find a nice cover for the glass area. You can use some of the excellent graphics found in and on cigar boxes (or bands) to make a beautiful window cover. Then, if you just want to look-in on your beautiful cigars, just remove the cover without loosing the humidity.