6 Cigar Humidification Methods

Now that you have a solid comprehension of what a hygrometer does and everything can happen if your humidity is too high or too low, let's talk about how to actually control the humidity in your humidor. Regrettably, you can not just use a moist paper towel in a ziplock bag...

1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck system was my very first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it trying. This is the"puck" which is included with humidors the majority of the time and requires you to soak it in propylene glycol. I discovered it for a bit of a guessing game since you need to be sure your"puck" does not run out of juice. It had been mainly stressful since I utilized the crummy free version in my humidor so results may vary. I only had to re-soak every 30-45 days and found it to be much more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is very easy. It takes about 30 minutes and you simply buy the propylene glycol separately. This solution is odorless and only replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can cause problems due to chlorine or other chemicals, and distilled water will not stay moist as long as propylene glycol.

2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very simple to use products which you can just open and pop it in a humidor such as this humidor. These have a much more controlled way of managing humidity compared to the puck technique. The only bad thing is that you need to replace these completely the majority of the time each 3-6 weeks completely. I don't advise trying to"re-soak" them together with the propylene glycol. The attractiveness of them, especially the tubes, is they don't occupy much room in your humidor. But, depending on how big the jar arrangement will work better:

3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Like the jar or tubes from Xikar and Drymistat, you can go with a very controlled system of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification method and ones that I utilize for the tupperdor today. However, they could err a little on the high side concerning humidity should you use them at a tupperdor. I'd like to go a few percentages lower than your preferred humidity as a consequence if you've got a tupperdor. (These packs are available in all different humidity levels.) They do a fantastic job of absorbing humidity whether it's too high and increasing if it is too low. Once your package is stiff, you then just throw it away. That being said, many claim to be able to recharge these quite easily by simply soaking them for a few days after they get stiff. Although this may be a terrific way to spend less, the recharged packs definitely won't be as precise as a first. To find out more about how to recharge, take a look at this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I really don't recharge since if I'm going to spend hundreds of bucks on cigars, I don't wish to cut any corners to save a couple bucks on Boveda packs.

4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a frequent humidity method which many advocate across cigar forums. This provider revolves around these beads and they've a lot of diehard followers for their merchandise. These are popular with larger humidors or wineadors. These are most likely one of the more expensive choices but continue forever. They do require spraying of distilled water after two or week though so you have to abide by a schedule. This way is somewhat more geared towards the advanced cigar collectors. Typically, cigar collectors will have a pouch of these a layer at the base of their wineador.

5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There is nothing better than the place it and forget of an electric humidifier, especially in the event that you've got a big or valuable collection. All these are a little expensive compared to the other options such as cigar humidor but there is the advantage of very little upkeep. The units also work great if plugged in -- so you'll be asked to conduct a level cable into the exterior of your humidor. However some of those units have some really cool features like wi-fi capacities and can humidify around 1,000 cigars! (That would be a lot of Boveda packs...) You do have to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 weeks but it's comparatively cheap.

6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
To get a bigger wineador installation, many recommend kitty litter as a viable choice to control humidity. This is a very similar technique to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined previously. The key is to obtain a kitty litter without a odor and spray on distilled water every two to three weeks as needed. I've seen very positive testimonials from Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor odor.