Humidor seasoning question

[Aequitas86]

I recently received my first humidor the other day.

I am excited to get my smokes in it and start by building my collection. I started seasoning it last night around 1130p. I know you have to wait 24 hours and repeat the wipe down process. However, i was not expecting to have plans this evening. My question is, would it hurt if I did the second wipe down a few hours shy of the official 24 hour mark? I could do it around 7p and be just 4 hours shy

I just don't want to ruin the process or the humidor...

[paulian3]

Congratulations on your new humidor!  They're awesome things to own.  Don't worry about wiping it down 4 hours early, this really isn't rocket science.  Some people say to wipe them down, some say never wipe them down...I've had pretty equal luck both ways.  Cigars are resilient things and unless you are a particularly cruel and evil man, you'll be hard pressed to ruin them.  Go for it!

PI

[Aequitas86]

Thanks. The people I've talked to about it so far have all given me the same spiel about wait 24 hours and don't touch it or you will have sinned against all cigar kind. I figured you guys would be a bit more logical and informative. Thanks for the kudos and the information.

[Duker511]

Just make sure the humi is 65%-70%. Ive never wiped mine down, I just add distilled water to the humitifier and wait a few days, whamo, seasoned. If its much over 70% I wouldnt put your cigars in. If its a tiny bit low, you can probably put them in and keep an eye on them. Your humi should even out in a couple days. Good luck.

If you rush it to much, it will affect your cigars.

[Aequitas86]

Duker511 - 7/12/2008  5:40 PM

...

If you rush it to much, it will affect your cigars.

Yup. That's why I asked. I was told wiping it down has something to do with preloading the cedar with moisture to keep it more even. My fear is rushing it and getting it wayyyy off balance. But that is interesting to know you may not need to wipe down the cedar. Thanks again.

[Aequitas86]

Sweet. I just checked the humidor. I'm sitting at 74 percent. I'm gonna forgo the second wipe down and see what the humidity is like tomorrow. I don't know the last time I was this excited over a box or humidity for that matter....

[Duker511]

Yeah, just keep your humitifier damp with distilled water and the cedar will suck it up. You may also want to look into some humitity beads, then you just wet 'em and forget 'em. Well thats sort of the idea, they will keep your humi at 70% all by themselves.
http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/products.asp?cat=14

You can learn about them here, then either buy them here or shop around. http://www.cheaphumidors.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT
They have them here for cheaper, but you have to have your own container, and you have to buy a half a pound.

[BlackIrish]

I've done both:  wiping down and not wiping down.  If you have the patience, I've found that putting a shot glass of warm or hot distilled water into the box and letting it sit overnight really helps.

But I've got to second Tim:  the humidity beads are great.  Keep the humidity at a rock-solid 70% (or 65% or 60%, depending on the beads you choose).  The only downside is that they can take up space in the humidor, which can be frustrating if the capacity isn't large.  I've actually retrofitted a credo by removing the green florist foam and replacing with the humidity beads, which works quite well.  

Anyway, enjoy your new humidor.

[Duker511]

Thats what I did too. I replaced the foam with beads.  

[Aequitas86]

So, my humidor is now hovering around 60% humidity. I was shooting for the 70% mark. I cant seem to get it any higher. I tried the shot glass trick, wiped it down once, and left the sponge in the humidor overnight. I was trying to avoid dropping money on the beads at this time, does anyone have any other suggestions on getting it higher? Should I venture out and borrow some humidor juice or is there a way I can up it with distilled water?

[SenorPablo]

My experience with humidor juice is that it hasn't worked much better than distilled water.  I stopped using it myself.  Beads work well for me.  It sounds like the cedar in your humidor is still soaking up water.  It can do that for awhile.  You might just try and wipe it down more, but not too fast that it could cause mold.

[Bob Cordell]

I still have to spray my table top down on occasion to maintain a RH of around 65-70 RH. I think I got sub-par gels from ebay. No biggie though, its worth the extra work.

[Duker511]

If your hygrometer is working OK, then you may have to go to more extreme action. Keep the shot glass in there longer, or a sponge in a baggie. Or even wipe it down again. If your having this trouble, it will probably continue. Try moving your humi to a new location, that worked for me. Seriously though, the beads work best.

[BlackIrish]

Some thoughts:

1.  Distilled water will work; don't worry about the juice.
2.  Double check your hygrometer.
3.  Be patient; put the sponge or shotglass or both in there longer.
4.  If this doesn't work, the humi may not have a good seal.  To check, put the sponge in the humi, put in the hygrometer, and put the whole humi in a kitchen trash bag overnight.  The next morning, check the hygrometer; it should be 70% or higher.  Take the humidifier out of the trash bag, but leave the sponge inside and see whether the humidity drops by nighttime or the next morning.  If it does, the seal is probably leaky.  If not, you've got the humidity up where you want it.

Good luck.

[stogie_foggie]

An easier way to check the seal of your humi is to put a lit flashlight into the humidor and close the lid.  Go into a dark room and if you see light, there are leaks.  I've found that to be good enough check.  Maybe it's not.

[Proph]

I let Black Russian pipe tobacco sit in mine for a few months with cigars on it, then after I'd smoked the cigars, I dumped out the tobacco.  Now all the cigars I let sit in there without a wrapper for about a month have a really nice taste.  Heh

That's how I seasoned mine.