Humidors

         My swim buddy is still down recovering. There is zero painting happening. I am board all day sitting with dog. All day looking and thinking of stuff to do. Just like a baby, when he passes out, I go find something to do. I need things that are done over time and in stages.

CIGARS

         I only smoke outside. There is no enjoyment freezing for 40 minutes while burning a stick. It has been 40ish for the last 3 months. I was on the road most of the 4th quarter last year. Maybe I have smoked one since returning from Honolulu in November. All this means zero attention has been paid the cigars. I lost control of the humidity within the Humidors. Which can kill your sticks. Either they dry completely out or could grow mold.

        In my case the humidity was 60ish %. (It should be 70-72%.) No matter what humidity inducing device I used, I was unable to increase the humidity within the humidor. My Humidor had dried out.

       This does not mean the humidor is finished. It can be recovered. Some will tell you to wet a sponge and wipe the inside. This method can/will ruin the humidor. If the cedar inside is dry and you moisten one side (the side you can see) the wood will warp. It will also swell. Once this happen the humidor is trash. You will destroy the seal and damage the cedar beyond repair.

        

       What you want to do is with an empty humidor is place a  small plate or plastic tub inside. In or on the plate/container set a sponge and soak that dude with the stuff you see to the left. Then close up the humidor and leave that for 2 days. It is almost exactly what you would do to season the humidor when you first get it.

        After two days the cedar should be re hydrated. 

        All those wonderful sticks that were in the humidor(s) don't leave them kicking around. Place them in new zip lock bags or in a tight sealing plastic container. A new one! Anything that was in there before could induce an unwanted favor into your cigars. In with the sticks set your normal humidity producing product of choice.

         This was also a perfect time to calibrate the hygrometers. Remember to replace the batteries first! You can do the salt in a dish, wetted down with water trick. I use a new 72% travel bag thingy and a plastic bag. All your devices and humidity controlled thingy go in a plastic zip lock bag. They all should sit for greater than 8hrs. Once 8hrs has past, adjust the devices and let them sit over night. Then in the morning make whatever corrects are needed.




          Before everything was returned to the Humidors, I put the dividers and shelves. Then seasoned them for a day. After this all the cigars were returned to the Humidors. Note: All the humidifiers and drymistat tubes were replaced. The crystals do fail over time. They will start to yellow. I had mine since before leaving for Argentina. So they were 4-5 years old?