I think I have a bad humidor problem!

[Majorrich]

My humidor is a converted Igloo cooler (Igloodor) that I keep in the basement. I don't get down there very much as stairs are something of a challenge for me and it would not do for SWMBO to come home from work to find me down there. Anyway I was down checking the stash and found my crystals have dried out and the hygrometer is reading 33%! I have some 300 cigars in this box, some of which are 15 or more years old still in sealed boxes. Should I just re-hydrate the crystals and let them come up slow like?

I've been considering an active humidifier since finding the dryness situation. Does anyone here have any experience with them? I've also considered taking my cooler to the local tobacconist and ask him to put it in his walk-in for a couple weeks.

I just don't smoke cigars as much as I used to. I'm not allowed to smoke in the house so that will probably resolve itself when it gets warmer. I have a couple pounds of pipe weed to use up too!

 

[clyde72]

OH NO!!

Rich how long has it been that way? Are the cigars hard and/or crunchy?

If so, you can re-hydrate them, and they will be smokable but the true flavor, it any if left at all will be gone forever.

If they are still springy to the touch, in other words if you slightly but firmly squeeze them between your thumb and finger, they compress and come back to original shape when released, they can be saved, just by re-hydrating them. In this case they should be basically okay. However some of the original flavor I'm afraid will be gone.

 

[Majorrich]

They still are springy and actually smoke ok, the crystals were all shriveled up so I re-hydrated the crystals and have been letting them sit in the midst of the boxes. I don't know how long they've been like that as I don't get down there to check on them as much as I should. The hygrometer reading is from an electronic unit that I just put new batteries in.

 

[Majorrich]

I have the hygrometer in a bag with some wet salt. Then I'll put it back in there to verify.

 

[clyde72]

Well if they are still springy or now that I think about it, spongy would be a better description, then you should be okay. "

You dodged a bullet my friend!

If you are not going to check on them at least every 3 or 4 days, I would look into some type of remote type hygrometer, or at least one with a set point and a audible alarm. They make some that are wifi now, you can actually have it email you if there is a problem.

 

[Majorrich]

The reading was 54 last night. I may have freaked a bit prematurely. I’ll still leave it sit for a couple weeks.