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't just use a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag...

1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck method was my very first way to control the humidity in my humidor and boy was it trying. This is actually the"puck" that is included with humidors the majority of the time and requires one to boil it in propylene glycol. I discovered it to be a little bit of a guessing game since you have to make sure your"puck" does not run out of juice. It had been mainly stressful since I used the free version from my humidor so results may vary. I discovered that I had to soak the puck every 15 days or so using a humidor of 30 cigars. But after I upgraded to a Xikar puck, it was smooth sailing. I just had to re-soak each 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is very easy. It takes approximately 30 seconds and you simply purchase the propylene glycol individually. This solution is odorless and just replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can create problems because of 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 that you can just open and pop it in a humidor such as this
whynter arc-14s. These include a much more controlled way of managing humidity compared to the puck method. The only bad thing is that you have to replace these completely most of the time each 3-6 months completely. I don't recommend attempting to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The attractiveness of these, particularly the tubes, is they don't take up much room in your humidor. However, depending on the size, the jar format will work better:

3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Similar to the jar or tubes from Xikar and Drymistat, you can go with a very controlled method of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification strategy and ones that I utilize for the tupperdor today. However, they could err a little on the large side in terms of humidity should you use them in a tupperdor. I'd like to go a few percentages lower than your preferred humidity for a result if you've got a tupperdor. They do a great job of absorbing humidity whether it is too high and increasing if it's too low. Once your package is stiff, you then simply throw it off. That being said, many claim to have the ability to recharge these quite easily by simply soaking them for a few days once they become stiff. Even though this might be a terrific way to save money, the recharged packs definitely won't be as accurate as an original. To find out more about how to recharge, take a look at this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I don't recharge since if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on cigars, I don't wish to cut any corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.

4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a frequent humidity method which many advocate across cigar forums. This company revolves around these beads and they have a great deal of diehard followers to their product. These are probably one of the more expensive choices but continue forever. They do need spraying of water after week or two though so you have to abide by a schedule. This way is somewhat more geared towards the more advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of these a coating at the bottom of the wineador.

5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There is nothing better than the place it and overlook an electric humidifier, especially in the event that you've got a large or valuable collection. All these are a little expensive when compared with the other options such as
bey-berk humidor but there is the benefit of very little upkeep. The units work best if plugged -- so you'll be asked to run a level cord to the exterior of your humidor. However some of these units have some really cool features like wi-fi capabilities and can humidify up to 1,000 cigars! (That could be a lot of Boveda packs...) You really do have to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 weeks but it's relatively cheap.

6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a larger wineador setup, many advocate kitty litter as a viable option to control humidity. I've never done this but many swear by it. This is a really similar technique to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined above. The key is to obtain a kitty litter without a odor and spray distilled water every two to three weeks as needed. I have seen very positive reviews from Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor scent.