Before you put your recently bought humidor to good use, you must first season the humidor. Humidors require seasoning to replicate the tropical weather that your beloved cigars come from.

Follow the steps below:

1. Do NOT Wipe the interior of your Humidor with WATER. Contrary to popular belief, wiping the interior of your humidor will cause more harm than good. If you do, one of two things can occur - do it correctly and you save a mere 2 days of waiting; do it incorrectly or use too much water, and the wood can warp and bend, thereby harming your humidor and compromising the integrity of your humidor. Better to be safe than sorry, so do NOT wipe the interior of your humidor with water. 

2. Remove both the hygrometer and humidifier from Humidor. If your humidor comes with a hygrometer and humidifier, remove both of them out of the humidor before proceeding to the next step. 

3. Calibrate your Hygrometer. Whether you have a digital hygrometer or analog hygrometer, calibrating the hygrometer will ensure that the readings are accurate. To calibrate your hygrometer you can check our tutorial HERE. After calibrating the hygrometer, place it back in the humidor.

4. Season your Humidor. There are 2 main methods to season your humidor:

a. METHOD 1: New sponge with distilled water. Using a new sponge is crucial, as you do not want the impurities from an old sponge getting into your humidor. First fill the new sponge with distilled water only (tap, filtered, or bottle water contain impurities). Then squeeze out any excess water from the sponge, we want a wet sponge, not a drenched sponge. Now, place the sponge on top of a ziplock, aluminum foil, or tupperware container (anything that will not allow sponge be in direct contact with the interior of the humidor) and then place them inside the humidor. Now the hardest part, close the humidor and wait 7 to 14 days, by the end of that time, the humidor must be around 80% humidity. Now you can proceed to the next step.

b. METHOD 2: Boveda seasoning kit. Simply place the Boveda seasoning pack inside the humidor, then close the humidor and wait 7 to 14 days. At the end of that time, humidity level should be around 80% humidity. 

5. Charge your Humidifier. Now that your humidor is being seasoned, you can charge your humidifier, the humidifier should be out of your humidor by this step. Humidifiers need charging to trigger its function of humidification. There are three main types of humidifiers that typically come with humidors, each has its own way of charging. See below:

a. Foam type humidifier: To charge foam type humidifiers, first place the humidifier in any type of bowl, apply the Propylene Glycol solution (also known as PG solution) into the humidifier until it’s so saturated the solution is spilling out of it. You want to get the humidifier as soaked as possible, especially the first time. Let it soak up the solution for at least 15 minutes. Then place the humidifier on a paper towel, let the humidifier naturally drain out the excess solution, shake any excess solution. After your humidor finishes seasoning, place the humidifier back into the humidor and voila, a functioning humidor!

b. Crystal-based humidifier: If you have a crystal-based humidifier, first place the humidifier on top of a paper towel. Then, fill the humidifier with distilled water ONLY. You don’t need PG solution for this type of unit. Allow humidifier to naturally drip excess distilled water on the paper towel, then shake any excess distilled water. After your humidor finishes seasoning, place the humidifier back into the humidor and you are good to go!

c. Boveda Packs: With Boveda packs, you do not need to do anything. Boveda humidifier packs come ready to humidify your humidor hassle-free. After humidor finishes seasoning, place the Boveda packs inside your humidor and you are set!

It is important to maintain your humidor below the maximum temperature of 73°F (23°C) and between 65-74% humidity. Ideal conditions are 70°F (21°C) and 70% humidity. We recommend having a digital hygrometer/thermometer to better control the temperature and relative humidity inside your humidor.

Now that you know how to setup a humidor, take a look at our quality humidor collection by clicking HERE.