RE Humidify Cigars

[anchoredsoul]

Hi. so I have a pretty good sized Humidor and its filled with a lot of Cigars. Has to be $1000 worth. I didnt smoke for awhile and just took a peek inside to check humidity. It said 81, but seems kinda dry inside. I grabbed on and it felt kinda hard. When I went to punch one, it cracked.....I'm thinking Hydrometer is broken. But my question is, whats the best way to restore moisture in the sticks? if any? any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[CptnBlues63]

Hi. so I have a pretty good sized Humidor and its filled with a lot of Cigars. Has to be $1000 worth. I didnt smoke for awhile and just took a peek inside to check humidity. It said 81, but seems kinda dry inside. I grabbed on and it felt kinda hard. When I went to punch one, it cracked.....I'm thinking Hydrometer is broken. But my question is, whats the best way to restore moisture in the sticks? if any? any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

An introduction before starting to ask questions is always a good idea. If you follow that up with some judicious use of the Search function on this site and some reading, you're apt to find your answer without even asking it.

Having said that, "Hi and welcome to the forum"

I would recommend you do one of two things.

1) Buy a good digital hygrometer. I use a Caliber III and I've been very happy with it. Once you have a reliable hygrometer, start bringing your humidity back up to a proper level (ie: that info freely available via search too) slowly.

or

2) Buy humidity beads of the variety that suit your taste for humidity level. There's mention of them in multiple places on here, but I'll give you a hint. Search (here or on google) for Heartfelt Humidity Beads. Once you have enough beads for your humidor, bring it back up to proper humidity.

You don't necessarily need a hygrometer with beads. But I would use both. But that's me.

[CoventryCat86]

An introduction before starting to ask questions is always a good idea. If you follow that up with some judicious use of the Search function on this site and some reading, you're apt to find your answer without even asking it.

Having said that, "Hi and welcome to the forum"

I would recommend you do one of two things.

1) Buy a good digital hygrometer. I use a Caliber III and I've been very happy with it. Once you have a reliable hygrometer, start bringing your humidity back up to a proper level (ie: that info freely available via search too) slowly.

or

2) Buy humidity beads of the variety that suit your taste for humidity level. There's mention of them in multiple places on here, but I'll give you a hint. Search (here or on google) for Heartfelt Humidity Beads. Once you have enough beads for your humidor, bring it back up to proper humidity.

You don't necessarily need a hygrometer with beads. But I would use both. But that's me.

An introduction before starting to ask questions is always a good idea.

I completely disagree. I've never been one to join a forum and start providing a whole bunch of personal information just to satisfy the nosy types. If new members want to make their lives open books then that's their choice but I don't think they should be pushed into doing that and I refuse to do it on any new forums I join until I either become comfortable with the members there or leave because I decide they're a bunch of assholes who I would never want to give any of my personal information to.

If you follow that up with some judicious use of the Search function on this site and some reading, you're apt to find your answer without even asking it.

I've been on lots of forums on many different subject matters for many years and I've rarely had any luck "searching" for answers to questions, especially when I'm brand new to the forum. In this case, I just did a search on "rehumidifying cigars" and it came back with five pages of irrelevant bullshit.

1) Buy a good digital [B]hygrometer.

I think expensive digital hygrometers are a complete waste of money especially since you told this guy to use beads.

And most important, the guy asked about restoring moisture to his cigars which you never really gave him an answer to.

Here's my opinion on that. Buy some 60% beads and a cheap hygro. Set up your humidor with the 60% beads for a day or two. Put your cigars in and if you're lucky, they may be able to be smoked in a few days. If not, at least this way you have a much better set up than you had before and you won't be ruining any future cigars you buy.

[ggiese]

C'mon, Bill - Wake up! The guy is claiming to have $1,000 in cigars. That circumstance alone would dictate that he care for those cigars with the best available equipment (e.g. monitoring rh with a digital hygrometer, solid humidication system, etc). After all - you would not want to build an expensive house on a foundation of sand, would ya?

And - more importantly - I'm thinking if I had questions about rehumidifying my cigars - would I just toss that out there first post into a community of cigar smokers? You know where that's going to lead - from people that just started smoking cigars last week chiming in with their incredible expertise to seasoned smokers tossing out smart assed comments. It's a recipe for disaster - particularly if you were to attempt to take all of what is offered to heart...


And you're going to be absolutely stunned when you see what I found in the six second Google search, "rehumidify a dry cigar"...

Can I rehumidify dried out cigars?. You can do whatever you set your mind to.

Really? Yes. You can rehumidify cigars that have gone dry. The key to rehumidifying dry cigars is to take the process very slowly. Many people try to 'quick-fix' the situation by over humidifying them in 80-90% humidity, causing the cigar to soak in the humidity too quickly and rupture. It is crucial that this process be a slow one. Start with a 60% environment for a few days, followed by 65% for a few more days, and then finally let it rest at 70% for another few days. The whole process should take at least 2 weeks for the cigar to be ready. Cigars that have been dry for a month or less are a perfect candidate for this. Cigars that have been dry for much longer than this can be problematic because their oils have dried out as well. These cigars can be rehumidified, but they may taste harsh. However, if you're lucky, they may taste just fine!

Source: http://www.mydiscountcigar.com/cigar-tutorial.html

...in one short paragraph, it lists out everything I know about rehumidfying a dried out cigar. Imagine that!


Though - honestly - I think it was not in anchored's plan to do anything other than to drop a question and run. Despite having $1,000 in dried cigars hanging in the balance He/she has not been back since. I'm thinking the dried out cigars are more a function of total lack of attention to detail than a true interest in preserving expensive cigars. Even if they are re-humidified, I suspect they will dry out again in a few months...

Bet me the next visit we have from anchored will be to offer the lot for sale!! LOL

[prophetic_joe]

I've been on lots of forums on many different subject matters for many years and I've rarely had any luck "searching" for answers to questions, especially when I'm brand new to the forum. In this case, I just did a search on "rehumidifying cigars" and it came back with five pages of irrelevant bullshit.

You just got to search right thing. I searched rehumidify and received 5 results one of which was a thread call "Dried Cigars" with a good response from cocky.

Also while I agree with you in general about not putting your whole life out there right away for a forum you just joined it is generally considerred good forum etiquette to post at least a small intro. What brought you to the site, what you are looking for in joining the site, ect... you don't need to get super deep of personal but it is generally a good practice to at least say hello. This is my HOME forum, I don't walk into a stranger's home without saying hello and introducing myself first.

[nhcigarfan]

Here is what I recommend.

Buy a new sponge (not a treated, anti bacterial one, just new and plain)

Soak in distilled water.

Put in microwave until steaming and mostly dry.

get a clean plate, small enough to fit in the humi.

Soak and squeeze out sponge.

Put on plate in Humi.

Check sponge in a couple of hours, if it is drying out. Re-moisten.

Order the beads - just get the 65% IMO

Keep moistening the sponge and letting it do it's thing until the beads show up.

Activate beads and then start doing the same thing with them.

Use sponge to wash plate and put away.

[CoventryCat86]

C'mon, Bill - Wake up! The guy is claiming to have $1,000 in cigars. That circumstance alone would dictate that he care for those cigars with the best available equipment (e.g. monitoring rh with a digital hygrometer, solid humidication system, etc). After all - you would not want to build an expensive house on a foundation of sand, would ya?

I dunno George, when I used to have five figures worth of cigars, I kept them all in coolers with beads and cheap hygros because when you use beads, you don't need expensive hygros. My foundation hasn't caved in yet.