Wet is generally used to care for tobacco products that must remain moist, such as cigars or pipe tobacco. They can be very simple or quite complex depending on your budget and needs. In the most complex, you wouldn’t have to worry much about actual care since they were basically built. The entire room can be set up as one large wall mounted humidifier to resist and help with humidity, like cedar. In this case, it would probably also be equipped with an automatic humidifier, air traffic controller, etc. they will see large humidor rooms in many specialty tobacco stores, and in a rich area the store has a tobacco store so big you can dance in it. Some convenience stores also have walk-in closets of various sizes. If you’re an older fan, you might want to look at some of these sites for inspiration, although it’s beyond the scope of this article to go into anything of that nature. For the purposes of this article, however, we are talking about a portable humidifier for small personal use that can be made or purchased for a small price. It is a dangerous task to attempt to fill a humidor without the proper resources.
Before you even begin, you’ll want to take care of how you’re going about this process. If you just drop a bunch of beautiful cigars into a new box and add moisturizing agents, you’re asking for trouble. Most cabinets are dried when you buy or build them, and even with a disc or sponge inside the wood itself you need to reach a certain level of humidity. If you don’t allow this, the wood will suck the moisture out of your tobacco keeping it in place! Instead, you’ll want to prepare your chosen container by allowing the moisturizing agent to sit in the box for several days and hydrate the wood. Let me go into a little more detail about the ways we monitor this. Once you’ve prepared your moisturizer, you’re in good shape.
For a small humidifier, most people prefer to purchase a box that is designed for this type of use. Then you will know that the wood is the proper species and your tobacco will be as safe as possible. Technically, though, if you want to use your container, you can. Any container will technically work if it’s the right size and doesn’t allow too much moisture to escape, but also doesn’t hold so much moisture that you have fungus or mold problems. For a very simple humidifier, all you need is a container like this and a container of distilled water inside to maintain humidity. You need to monitor it very closely with a setup like this. Change the water daily and remove it completely for a day or two if too much moisture accumulates.
For a more decorative but still inexpensive arrangement, choose a pre-made container that was designed for this purpose. Some will have a special container inside with a special type of sponge. If not, you can still use an ordinary dish or boiled water or (better still) moistening that is made for humidors. I’ve also found that the sponges that come in some of the containers don’t provide enough moisture in a very dry environment, so I have to add a layer or add a sponge regardless.
Ideally, the average humidity level should be around 70F/70% and this can be manually monitored if you watch and learn. If the cigars give a bit and get back to their original shape, they are probably good. Of course – any sign of mold or other growth indicates excessive humidity. Be sure to throw away any tobacco or products that have mold or growth on them! If you want to make this humidification process a lot easier, though, you can purchase a cheap device that measures relative humidity in your humidor and you can easily find them on the internet or in most quality tobacco specialty stores. One of this kind is called a hygrometer. The location of the hygrometer in your small humidor is not critical as you can place it wherever you want. Use caution in the temperature of your humidifier. While you can wear anything from the 70F range, you don’t want to take cigars above 80 degrees. This can allow the tobacco beetles eggs which are found in many good seals to hatch. Once you have the wood humidified, and your temperature and humidity settings are good, you are well on your way. If you have a good source of moisture in your humidifier, you’re as loose and fantasy free as someone with a much more elaborate setup!
Even so, there are still some things you can do if you want to improve a little more. Learn what humidity zone is really ideal for you. Some people like their tobacco products very moist, and others like them a little drier. Different places sometimes call for small savings. One of the smartest things you can do with your humidifier is to change your moisture solution from plain distilled water to a mixture of propylene glycol and distilled water. This stuff is amazing because it emits more evenly and has much less tendency to encourage crops in your humidor! You can buy pre-mix from many humidor manufacturers and tobacco stores. My country is pretty small, but I’ve spotted this pre-mixed moisturizer in more than one place. You can also get propylene glycol in some ingredients and make your own 50/50 mix with distilled water if you are so inclined.
In general, once you have a good humidifier with these specifications. Keep it out of direct sunlight. Be careful about using cleaning products in your humidifiers as some can damage the wood itself or the finish if they can. You bought a nice humidor box. Other than that- having the nicest humidifier for your little one really isn’t too difficult. Enjoy!
