How to season a cigar humidor
Updated 31 August 2026 · 5 min read
Season a new humidor before putting cigars in it. Untreated Spanish cedar is dry and will pull moisture out of your cigars until it reaches equilibrium. Wipe the interior with distilled water or use a seasoning pack, leave it closed for two to three days, and only fill it once the hygrometer holds steady around 68–72% relative humidity.
Why a new humidor has to be seasoned
A humidor works by holding wood at the same humidity you want your cigars at. Spanish cedar arrives kiln-dried and thirsty. Put cigars straight into an unseasoned box and the wood takes moisture from them rather than giving it, which is how people end up with cracked wrappers within a fortnight of buying an expensive humidor.
Seasoning simply brings the wood up to working humidity first, so the box holds cigars instead of drying them.
- 1Wipe the interiorWipe every interior surface with a clean cloth lightly dampened with distilled water. Damp, not wet — no standing water, and never soak the wood, which can warp it or raise the grain.
- 2Charge the humidifierFill the humidifier with distilled water or propylene glycol solution and put it in the box without the cigars.
- 3Close and waitShut the lid and leave it two to three days. Larger humidors can take up to a week.
- 4Check it holdsCheck the hygrometer reads steady in the 68–72% range. If it has not come up, repeat the wipe and wait again before loading cigars.
Always use distilled water
Tap water carries minerals and micro-organisms. In a warm, sealed, humid box those are exactly the conditions for mould, and mould in a humidor means throwing out both the cigars and often the box. Distilled water costs very little and removes the risk entirely.
Your hygrometer is probably lying
Cheap analogue hygrometers are frequently out by five to ten points, and a digital one is not automatically accurate either. The standard check is the salt test: seal the hygrometer in a bag with a cap of damp salt for around six hours, at which point it should read 75%. Whatever it actually reads tells you the offset to apply.
This matters because the difference between 65% and 75% is the difference between a cigar that draws well and one that is either tight and damp or dry and fast-burning.
Keeping it steady afterwards
Stability beats precision. Cigars cope better with a steady 70% than with a box swinging between 62% and 75% every week. Keep the humidor out of direct sunlight, away from radiators and off exterior walls, and top the humidifier up before it runs dry rather than after.
Open the lid as briefly as you reasonably can — every opening exchanges the air, and the wood has to make the difference back up.
Common questions
- How long does it take to season a humidor?
- Two to three days for a small desktop humidor, and up to a week for a larger cabinet. It is finished when the hygrometer holds steady in the 68–72% range without needing another wipe-down.
- What humidity should a cigar humidor be kept at?
- Between 68% and 72% relative humidity is the usual target, with around 70% the common default. Consistency matters more than hitting an exact number — a steady 68% is better for cigars than a box that swings between 62% and 75%.
- Can I use tap water in a humidor?
- No. Tap water contains minerals and micro-organisms that encourage mould in a warm sealed box, and mould usually means losing both the cigars and the humidor. Use distilled water or a propylene glycol solution.
