Cigar humidor humidifiers: what you need to know

Cigar humidor humidifiers and humification are probably one of the most important and most discussed aspects of the hobby. Many people have different ideas about proper humidity, which humidifiers to use, and what the correct humidification percentages are. Since humidifiers can make the difference between a delicious cigar and a moldy (or dry) one, it's very important to take a closer look at cigar humidor humidifiers and humidification. On this page, we will provide you with some "best practice" answers to these important questions.

Cigar humidifier ranges: how to reach and maintain them

Although it seems most cigar aficionados have their own ideas about what the perfect humidification percentage is, there does seem to be some concensus about the range that you can use. In general, most people keep a humidity of between 64% and 72% in their humidors, with the 70/70 rule being quoted most often (70% humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit/21 degrees Celsius).

The above numbers mean that you generally don't have to worry about your cigars if the humidity is within these ranges. If you want to reach a specific percentage, like certain people do, go ahead and add or subtract humidifiers as needed, but it's not really necessary. Your cigars will be tasty regardless of the exact percentage as long as you keep them within this range.

You should start to worry if the humidity is higher than 72% or lower than 64%, however.

• If the humidity is too high, your cigars may start getting moldy. Moldy cigars are unsmokable and what's worse, they may "infect" other cigars as well!
  
  
• If the humidity is too low, your stogies will start drying out and you may start seeing the cigar wrappers crack and peel. Dry cigars lose their flavor and may equally become unsmokable.

So how do you reach and then maintain that perfect humidity range? The first step is seasoning your humidor correctly, as described here. Maintaining humidity should then be the simple process of making sure your humidifiers don't dry out.

Which brings us to the question: which cigar humidor humidifiers should you use?

Cigar humidor humidifiers: which one do you use?

There are many, many humidor humidifiers out there. Here, we'll try to make sense of them all and help you decide which method of humidification you'd like to use. We'll discuss the most-used humidifiers below, go over their usability, and then point you in the right direction for further information.

Traditional plastic cigar humidor humidifiers

These are the cigar humidor humidifiers that usually come with a humidor such as this one. They're usually circular or brick-shaped black plastic and have some kind of sponge material on the inside. They're the oldest method of humidification and probably also the most unreliable; most cigar experts will tell you that you shouldn't rely on them for good humidification. I myself do not use them at all in my humidors; I prefer different kinds of cigar humidifiers discussed below.

These days, you can replace these standard plastic humidifiers with gel humidifiers (see an example at Amazon) which is much better than the old-style, cheap sponge. If you want to use the plastic humidifier that came with your humidor (or just replace it with something similar), consider replacing the sponge humidifier with this decidedly more high-tech solution.

If you want to use the spongy foam after all, consider using a cigar activator such as this one to keep the correct humidity in your humidor.

Humidity packets & tubes

Humidity packets are pre-activated packages that you can just put in your humidor and let them sit till they dry out. The most popular brand is Boveda, who sells these packages in different humidity percentages ranging from 62% to 84%, the highest ones (called EZ Humidor Seasoning) being for seasoning your humidor. They don't take up much space (the packages are mostly flat) and don't need any kind of interference from you to work; simply place them in your humidor and forget about them.

They get rave reviews online and I have personally have had good results with the 72% packages. They are, however, one of the more expensive ways to humidify your humidor and you will need multiple packages (one package humidifies about 25 cigars for up to three months). The humidity packages need to be replaced when they are dry and are not (easily) re-activated.

Humidity tubes are plastic tubes filled with gel that you can activate simply by adding distilled water. The specially formulated gel will slowly release vapors to keep your humidor at around 70% humidity. The most well-known brand is Drymistat, which I also use and am very happy with. The tubes are refillable several times and only need to be checked once a month. An additional advantage: the tubes are cigar-shaped and you can easily place them anywhere in your humidor - they don't take up much space at all.

My tip: use a combination of both these methods of humidification. In my 100-count humidor, I have four 72% Boveda packages and several Drymistat tubes, and I have had the combination last much longer than each would have individually.

Gel humidifier

One type of gel humidification is the Drymistat tube discussed above, but there is another: gel beads. These work similarly to the Drymistat tubes except that you have to provide your own container. Simply put the beads in your container of choice, add distilled water, place the container in your humidor, and voila. You can find an example of the beads HERE LINK.

Electric humidifiers

Electric cigar humidor humidifiers are usually reserved for larger humidors and walk-in humidors. They tend to be more expensive and are larger-sized; walk into any cigar shop humidor and you will find one of these buzzing to keep the room at the right temperature and humidity. If you're interested, you can find some examples of electric humidifiers here and here.