That is a good post for seasoning your humidor. I've made a few minor modifications though. I do things a little different after wiping down the wood, placing the wet sponge inside, and leaving it overnight so the wood can absorb water. The next day, I take out the sponge and place a shot glass inside about 3/4 of the way full. Then I put the beads in, where only a little bit of water has been added to the beads. The beads work to keep a constant humidity by absorbing or releasing water vapor. If you have 65% rh beads, then the humidity will stay at approximately 65%. It above 65, the beads absorb water. If below 65, the beads release water. This is why beads need to be activated prior to use, which means some of the beads are dry, while some of the beads are holding water. If all the beads are all dry, no water can be released into the humidor. If they are all wet, they won't be able to absorb any water from the humidor. The shot glass is put inside the humidor with the beads so that the humidor will have a high humidity and the beads will not absorb all the water from the wood. The wood also acts like a humidification device, because the wood can absorb and release water. Only a small percentage of the beads are activated initially with water, maybe 10%, so that the beads will absorb all the water they need from the shot glass. This prevents over or under activation. Leave the beads and shot glass full of water overnight. The next day, remove the shot glass but leave the beads inside. Your humidity will most likely be too high, or just right. If above 80% rh, the cigars should not be put inside. It is also important to note that the cigars will absorb water. If the humidity is around 75%, it is ok to put the cigars inside, and it will facilitate dropping the humidity to the level of the beads. In about a day or a matter of a few days, the humidity will drop down to where it needs to be, depending on the rh value of your beads.
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