Things You'll Need
Instructions
Purchase a digital hygrometer to make sure it can measure the relative humidity of up to 72 percent as well as the temperature. Most cigar humidors already come with an analog hygrometer, which is usually cheaply made and not always consistent. However, it makes for a good showpiece when inserted it in the center part of the humidor.
Calibrate the hygrometer by placing it in a plastic bag. Include a small bowl filled with iodine salt and fill it with distilled water until it's damp. Wait until the relative humidity reaches 72 percent and the temperature reaches between 65 to 75 degrees. Sometimes it takes as many as 10 hours to achieve this, and, in some cases, it might take three to five days.
Season the inside of your humidor with a similar method. Place the hygrometer and a small bowl filled with iodine salt and enough distilled water to dampen it. Close the humidor and wait until the humidity levels reach around 72 percent inside the box. This means that enough moisture has been contracted into the cedar wood lining of the interior of the humidor. This pre-made humid environment will help season the cigars once they are placed in the humidor.
Pour propylene glycol activator solution (50 percent propolene glycol and 50 percent distilled water) on the top of your cigar humidifier so that the sponge inside it will absorb the liquid. This solution will help create the humidity in your humidor as well as preventing the formation of any mold and bacteria.
Install both the hygrometer and humidifier into the humidor by sticking them on the cedar interior of its lid. Both objects require the same type of installation process. Peel the tape off of the metal plates that came with the humidifier and hygrometer and stick them on the back of each item. Now add adhesive tape to the magnets that also came with the humidifier and hygrometer and stick them to the cedar lining of the interior lid. Connect both items to the magnets and they should be set up.
Pack your humidor with your cigars.