How accurate is my hygrometer?2

If it is an analog (dial-type) hygrometer, it’s next to useless. If you care anything about your cigars, you should own a good digital hygrometer. Most digital hygrometers are accurate to +/-5-7% RH, which means the 70% reading on your display could translate to 65% to 75% in actual humidity in your humidor. Even if the manufacturer specifies your humidor is accurate to +/-5%, it doesn’t tell you the calibration of your particular hygrometer. A difference of 5% will make a big difference to your cigars, so you should calibrate your hygrometer annually.

Along with using distilled water to maintain your humidor, Vigilant recommends changing the filter every 3 to 4 months. The filter can be cleaned periodically by rinsing it (with distilled water), but if it does not come clean, it’s time to replace! Replacement humidor filters can be ordered here.

Distilled water is usually recommended for most cigar humidification systems because it has no minerals, chemicals or bacteria. Minerals and chemicals can clog the absorbent materials of most passive systems and can add unwanted flavors into your cigars. While your cigars contain their own natural varieties of bacteria, foreign bacteria in tap water can contaminate your cigars. Distilled water is sold by the gallon in most supermarkets for about a $1 per gallon.

Examine your cigars and look for the appearance of mold or plume on the wrapper or swelling at the end. A wet cigar will smoke hot, give you a sour taste in your mouth, a hard draw, and won’t stay lit. The wrapper may be slightly split at the end and it won’t bounce back as fast when squeezed between your fingers. It may actually feel soft. If you light a wet cigar, it will burn hot. The heat is from the steam created at the lit end, which travels through the cigar and into your mouth. It may also be hard to draw such a cigar and equally difficult to keep it lit.

When cigars are subjected to extremely high humidity (+75% RH), depending on the severity and length of the exposure, the structure of the cigar and/or the tobacco leaves may be affected. Wet tobacco leaves will swell as they absorb moisture and the wrapper may split. A split wrapper spells the end for most cigars. We’ve seen some unique shapes and sizes after desperate people have cut the ends off of their damaged sticks. Moderate over-humidification may result in interior swelling, the appearance of plume and possibly mold. If you catch the problem before mold appears, you should be able to fully revive your smokes without permanent damage. If mold appears, you should take immediate action.

It depends on how wet they are. If your three-year-old son used them as props in the aquarium, then you probably should call your insurance agent. If the cigars have plume or mold, gently wipe them off with a dry paper towel, being careful not to tear the wrapper. Immediately place your cigars in a humidor that you know has 70% RH. If you don’t have a reliable humidor, take them to a tobacconist in a sealed box and plead with him to let you keep your cigars in his walk-in humidor for a month. It’s important that you don’t dry the cigars at room humidity for even an hour. This may cause rapid evaporation of the water from the tobacco, causing the leaves to shrink. Tobacco leaves that are exposed to repeated changes in humidity will eventually lose all their elasticity, resulting in a permanently damaged cigar.

The key to restoring hydration in dried out cigars is to do it very, very slowly (about a month) so the cigars do not swell up and crack (much like a boiled hot dog that splits open). Start at a low humidity level of around 50 % RH and increase it by 3% each week until you get to around 70% RH. If you have a passive humidification (sponge) device, this can be challenging since they are difficult to monitor. Electronic systems will give you more accuracy so you can control and monitor the humidity.

The white spots on your cigars may be a very good sign that things are going well. Not all cigars need to be at 70 degrees F. White powder on cigars is called “bloom” and it is a sign of a well-aged cigar. Bloom is what happens when the oils in the tobacco disperse throughout and reach the wrapper. The oils then dry to create a white power on the outside of the cigar. Some avid cigar smokers prefer to smoke only cigars that have aged to bloom.

Bloom (often called plume) is the slow rising of essential oils to the surface of the cigar. It first appears as tiny crystals and will eventually make the cigar appear dusty. A more advance bloom gives an opaque white look to the entire cigar. Bloom isn’t harmful to cigars. It’s an indication that the cigar has been maintained at a 70+% RH for a long period of time. Many smokers prefer a cigar in the bloom state. Mold is a fungus. It appears on the surface of cigars when the relative humidity in your humidor exceeds 80%. It looks like blue/gray fuzzy patches on the surface of the wrapper and will spread by producing spores. If mold appears, you should remove the affected cigars and check for any mold on the wood of your humidor. It’s important to separate the affected cigars immediately and to wipe down the interior lining of your humidor with isopropyl or denatured alcohol. This will kill mold and may leave slight stains on your humidor’s interior wood. Click here to see photos of mold. Gently wipe the mold off of your cigars and leave them at room humidity for 36 hours, then place them back into your humidor (obviously after addressing the moisture problem that caused the mold in the first place). Check these cigars every few days to ensure that mold growth has stopped. Some people recommend more drastic measures such as placing your cigars in the freezer to kill the mold. Try our method first before going to such extremes. If your problem continues, you may need a new humidor.

Try keeping the cigar(s) in a Ziploc bag. If it gets a little dry, add a couple drops of water to a very small piece of paper towel to get the humidity back. If it’s a box you’re storing, use Tupperware.