6 Cigar Humidification Methods
Now that you have a solid understanding of exactly what a hygrometer does and what can occur if your humidity is too high or too low, let us talk about how to really 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 method was my very first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it stressful. This is the"puck" that is included with humidors the majority of the time and needs you to soak it into propylene glycol. I discovered it for a little bit of a guessing game since you need to make sure that your"puck" does not run out of juice. It had been mainly stressful since I used the free version in my humidor so results may vary. I just had to re-soak each 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is quite easy. It takes approximately 30 seconds and you simply purchase the propylene glycol individually. This remedy is odorless and only replaces water as a pure form of moisture. Using tap water may cause problems due to chlorine or other chemicals, and distilled water will not stay moist provided that propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very easy to use products which you can merely open and pop it in a humidor such as this cigar humidor. These have a much more controlled method of handling humidity compared to the puck technique. The only bad thing is that you have to replace these completely most of the time each 3-6 weeks completely. I don't advise trying to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The beauty of these, particularly the tubes is that they don't take up much room in your humidor. However, depending on the size, the jar format may work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Like the tubes or jar from Xikar and Drymistat, it is possible to go with a very controlled system of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification strategy and ones that I use for the tupperdor today. But they can err a bit on the large side concerning humidity if you use them at a tupperdor. I would aim to go several percentages lower than your desired humidity as a consequence if you've got a tupperdor. (These packs are available in all different humidity levels.) Otherwise they do a great job of consuming humidity whether it is too high and growing if it's too low. Once your package is stiff, then you simply throw it away. That being said, many claim to have the ability to recharge these very easily simply by soaking them for a few days once they get stiff. Even though this might be a terrific way to spend less, the recharged packs certainly will not be as precise as a first. To discover more about the way to recharge, check out this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I really don't recharge since 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 recommend across java forums. This provider revolves around these beads and they've a great deal of diehard followers for their merchandise. These are popular with larger humidors or wineadors. These are probably one of the costlier options but last forever. They do require spraying of water following two or week though so you have to stick to a schedule. This method is somewhat more geared towards the more advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of those beads or a coating at the base of the wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There's nothing greater than the place it and forget of an electric humidifier, especially if you've got a large or precious collection. All these are a little expensive compared to the other options such as
wineador but there's the advantage of very little upkeep. The units work best if plugged -- so you'll be asked to conduct a level cable into the outside of your humidor. However a few of those units have a few really cool features like wi-fi capacities and can humidify around 1,000 cigars! (That would be a good deal of Boveda packs...) You really do need to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 months but it's relatively cheap.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a larger wineador setup, many recommend kitty litter as a viable option to control humidity. This is a really similar technique to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined above. The crucial thing is to get a kitty litter with no fragrance 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 scent.