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How
do I prepare a new humidor?
Cigars
cannot be placed into a brand new humidor and be expected to stay
fresh. Why? Unless it is properly prepared, there is not an adequate
amount of humidity inside your humidor. That said, here are
instructions on how to prepare a new humidor.
1)
Using a paper towel or a soft cloth, wipe down the entire inner
surface of the humidor, including the inside of the lid, with
distilled water. (It is crucial that only distilled water be used
for this since water drawn from any other source will contain
bleach, calcium, chlorine and other chemicals and minerals that will
clog your humidification unit and, worst of all, impart those
flavors to your cigars.)
2)
Dip the humidification unit in a shallow bowl of distilled water and
let it soak for 5 to 10 seconds. After it has been soaked, shake out
any excess water and place it on a paper towel for a few minutes.
This will allow any additional excess water to drain out. After a
few minutes, affix the humidification unit to the roof of your
humidor (or in the case of the glass top humidors, place it to
either side or follow the instructions that came with your
humidification unit) and close your humidor. It should be allowed to
sit for at least 12 hours.
3)
After 12 hours repeat step 1. Do not skip this step. Any cigars
placed inside your humidor too early will be competing for humidity
with the still porous cedar lining and will not be adequately
humidified.
How
do I maintain my humidor?
Assuming
it was properly prepared when you first purchased it, the only real
maintenance required will be to refill the humidification unit from
time to time. How often this is necessary depends, of course, on the
reading of your hygrometer and the condition of your cigars.
If
you use only distilled water, once a month ought to be sufficient.
If you are using a 50/50 mix of distilled water and propylene glycol
in your humidification unit, the humidity will remain constant for a
considerably longer period of time.
However,
if you open your humidor several times a day or live in a
particularly dry climate, more regular maintenance may be needed.
Keep in mind that you will have to be more attentive to the humidity
level inside your humidor during winter months when the relative
humidity inside your house may drop significantly and draw some of
the moisture out of your humidor.
Besides
refilling your humidification unit from time to time, the only other
precautionary steps you need to take to ensure a great-working
humidor are to keep it away from windows or heating or air
conditioning vents. Direct contact with sunlight will fade the wood
and cause the internal temperature to rise above acceptable levels,
while rapid changes in temperature that may occur near a heating or
air-conditioning vent may damage the humidor as well as any cigars
contained inside of it.
How
do I calibrate my new hygrometer?
If
you are using a digital hygrometer, it is runs on a battery and will
not require calibration.
Analog
hygrometers (the round dials included in most humidor boxes) are
often as much as 20% off in their reading when brand new. This does
not indicate that they are defective, just that they haven’t been
exposed to any humidity in a while and thus need to be calibrated.
To
accurately calibrate new hygrometer humidor you will the following:
a teaspoon of salt, a shot glass, a plastic sandwich bag and a few
drops of water.
Place
the salt in the shot glass and add just a few drops of water to it.
Do not put so much water in it that it becomes a salt-water
solution, you just want the salt to be slightly damp. Place the shot
glass and your analog hygrometer in a plastic sandwich bag and
tightly seal the bag. Make sure you leave plenty of air in there
though, you want to create an atmosphere. Leave both items in the
bag for at least six hours.
After
this length of time, the relative humidity in the bag will be near
75% RH and your hygrometer should read about 75% RH. If not, you can
adjust the reading by using a small screwdriver to adjust the dial
on the back of the hygrometer.
Remember
most small inexpensive hygrometers are only accurate to within 3% so
do not be surprised if it reads 72% or 78% RH. It is exactly 75% RH
within the confines of the bag due to the salt paste reacting with
the air, and what your hygrometer reads differently is the amount of
error.
Do
I really need a wooden humidor box to store my cigars?
Yes,
you do. Though there are many inexpensive plastic “Tupperdors”
being sold these days, none can do the job of an authentic
cedar-lined humidor box. Although the plastic devices may have an
attractive price, they will not and can not provide the air
circulation or humidity regulation needed for cigars to age. At
best, a plastic Tupperdor will prevent your cigars from drying out,
while a cedar-lined wooden humidor box allows for the slow and
steady release of air and exchange of gasses created during a
cigar’s maturation process. An airtight plastic humidor will
normally over-humidify your cigars and cause them to get moldy or
burst open.
My
humidor was accidentally left open for several days. Do I need to
re-humidify it? How do I do that? What should I do about my cigars?
If
your humidor has been left open for a few days and the humidity
inside of it has evaporated, simply re-prepare it as you did when it
was new. (Including re-moistening the humidification unit.) However,
there is likely still a fair amount of humidity in the interior
cedar, so you will probably only need to wipe it down once. (If too
much moisture is applied, you run the danger of warping the
interior.) While you are letting it sit overnight, place your cigars
in a temporary plastic humidor or Humidi-Pak so that they don’t
dry out any further. Once the humidity has been restored to you
humidor, return your cigars to it and let them sit undisturbed until
they have been adequately re-humidified.
Can’t
I just keep my cigars in one of those cheap plastic "Tupperdors?”
A friend of mine just got one and he swears by it.
Yeah,
and he’ll be swearing at it the first time he opens it up to
discover that his cigars have burst open or they’re covered with
mold. These devices will work, as a temporary fix, when you don’t
have room for a few cigars in your authentic humidor box, but they
are neither a reliable or dependable substitute for the long-term
storage provided by a wooden humidor box.
How
long will my humidor keep my cigars fresh?
If
properly maintained, there is no reason a good humidor shouldn’t
be capable of storing your cigars for the duration of your life. In
fact, there have been reports of pre-embargo cigars “discovered”
in walk-in humidors that were placed there 40 or 50 years ago and
they were said to be out-of-this-world-delicious.
What
qualities should I look for when buying a humidor?
The
qualities you want to look for in a humidor are as follows: it
should be cedar lined, solidly built with a good, tight, seal and a
raised lip around the inside of the box, and be large enough to hold
at least 25 to 30 cigars.
What
kind of humidor should I buy?
That depends on what your storage needs are.
Aesthetically,
your choice will be a reflection of your own personal sense of
style. A good humidor can be much more than a well-working and
functional piece of equipment, it can be a piece of furniture that
adds charm and distinction to a room.
As
far as size is concerned, we recommend a box that can accommodate at
least 50 or more cigars. Why? Although you may not plan to keep a
lot of cigars around at any given time, larger humidors offer the
ideal amount of air circulation for properly aging cigars.
In
addition, you should not preclude the possibility of stocking up or
buying a box or two simply because you do not have enough room for
them. Also, once word gets out that you own a humidor box, you might
get lucky and receive a box of cigars as a gift from someone and it
would be a shame for them to dry out because you didn’t have
enough room to store them in a smaller box.
We do
sell smaller travel humidors that hold 10 to 20 cigars but these
units are, as their name suggests, designed for travel, and not
intended to be used for longer, indefinite lengths of time. We carry
humidors that can hold from 10 to 750 cigars, so we are sure to have
one that meets your specific needs.
Why
do I need to use distilled water in my humidor?
Water
drawn from any other source, whether bottled, straight from the tap,
or put through a Brita system, will still contain bleach, calcium,
chlorine and other chemicals and minerals that will clog your
humidification unit and, worst of all, impart those flavors to your
cigars.
What
is a hygrometer?
A
hygrometer is a device used to measure the humidity levels within an
enclosed space. Most tabletop humidor boxes include the analog
variety, which provide a reading on a small round dial. These are
usually accurate within 5 or 10 degrees but they require semi-annual
re-calibration in order to keep them working properly.
I
just bought a new humidor and I can't get the humidity to 70%. Is
there a problem with the seal?
Probably
not. If it’s a brand new humidor, you need to have some patience.
Any
humidor worth its salt will be cedar-lined and will take some time
to break in. Cedar is an extremely porous wood and it will absorb
much of the water from your humidification unit before it even gets
a chance to enter your cigars. This is why the interior of all brand
new humidors need to be wiped down with distilled water and allowed
to sit with no cigars in it for at least 24 hours.
If
you immediately put cigars in a brand new humidor box, they will be
competing with the wood for the humidity that your humidification
unit provides.
If
you’ve already wiped down the inside of your humidor box, and it
is still not reaching 70% humidity, you may not have a
humidification element large enough for the size of your humidor
box.
How
do I calibrate my new hygrometer?
If
you are using a digital hygrometer, it is runs on a battery and will
not require calibration.
Analog
hygrometers (the round dials included in most humidor boxes) are
often as much as 20% off in their reading when brand new. This does
not indicate that they are defective, just that they haven’t been
exposed to any humidity in a while and thus needs to be calibrated.
To
accurately calibrate new hygrometer humidor you will the following:
a teaspoon of salt, a shot glass, a plastic sandwich bag and a few
drops of water.
Place
the salt in the shot glass and add just a few drops of water to it.
Do not put so much water in it that it becomes a salt-water
solution, you just want the salt to be slightly damp.
Place
the shot glass and your analog hygrometer in a plastic sandwich bag
and tightly seal the bag. Make sure you leave plenty of air in there
though, you want to create an atmosphere.
Leave
both items in the bag for at least six hours. After this length of
time, the relative humidity in the bag will be 75% and your
hygrometer should read 75%. If not, you can adjust the reading by
using a small screwdriver to adjust the dial on the back of the
hygrometer.
The hygrometer inside my humidor isn’t reading 70% but
it's pretty close. Should I worry about this?
How
are your cigars? Press down in the center of a cigar with your
thumb. (Make sure you don’t press down on the head or you could
crack the cap if it has gotten a little dry.)
Depending
on the size of your humidor you may need to repeat this procedure on
a number of different cigars. Cigars in particularly large humidors
can be exposed to different amounts of humidity due to their varying
proximity to the humidification element.
How
do they feel? Cigars that are properly stored should give a little
when you press down on them but still offer some resistance. If you
press down on a cigar and you thumb goes nearly all the way through
it as though you were pressing down on a wet sponge, it’s too
moist.
On
the other hand, if it’s so hard that it feels like it was mined
rather than rolled, it is clearly too dry. Although 70 degrees
Fahrenheit and 70% humidity are the ideal conditions for cigar
storage, the best gauge for measuring up the effectiveness of your
humidor is the condition of your cigars.
Slight
variations from the 70/70 ideal are fine if your cigars are still in
good shape and should only be a cause for concern if they’re too
dry or too moist.
Will
the different cigars in my humidor impart their flavors to one
another? If so, how can I stop this?
Since
cigars are porous by nature, they can impart flavors to one another
while in your humidor.
The
best defense against this is leaving them in their cellophane
wrappers when you put them in your humidor box. Unfortunately, this
will not allow the cigars to age properly.
If
you plan to keep both strong and mild cigars in your humidor and
you’re worried about their flavors intermingling, you should keep
them apart by using the dividers that are included in most good
humidors.
We
sell a variety of humidors featuring dividers as well as trays that
can be lifted out altogether.
If
you like keep a rather large amount of cigars of varying strengths
around and are worried about their flavors intermingling with one
another, we recommend a Cabinet or Armoire humidor from Cristom
Imports. These units allow you to devote entire shelves to one kind
of cigar.
If
that’s not an option, or as a quick fix in a small humidor, a
layer or two of the thin strips of cedar that come in some cigar
boxes ought to do the trick.
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