You've got you new humidor. Congratulations.

Now what?

Well first off you have to go here and read about setting up your hygrometer, once you have done that then you can set up your humidor.

The interior of you humidor is lined with Spanish cedar, this wood has a couple of characteristics that makes it perfect for the inside of a humidor. It like the humidity around it to be 70%, which is the best for cigars, and it has no cedar smell. The Spanish cedar is very good at regulating the humidity in the humidor, once 70% is reached, if the humidity goes below 70% then the cedar will release some water stored within the wood to bring it back to 70%, if it goes above 70% then the cedar will extract some water from the air to regain 70%. Of course this ability is limited, so we have a reservoir of water in the humidor, the humidifier. You should only use distilled water in your humidor. The reasons for this are that the water has very little minerals in it, and it is very clean water. If you use mineral water, or tap water, there is a chance that mould could be introduced to your humidor, or that the minerals will build up on the surface of the sponge like material that holds the water in the humidifier, this would hurt the release of water into the air of the humidor.

OK, now I hope you have a better understanding of how a humidor works. To get your humidor ready to keep your smokes in prime condition place two small cups of distilled water in the humidor and charge the humidifier with distilled water as well, then just close the lid and wait. Once you have calibrated your hygrometer as per instructions here, then you will wait for the reading to be 70% humidity. If it is winter you may have to wait a week, in the summer the humidity is higher to start and you will not have to wait as long.

The important thing to remember is that the humidor wants to be at 70% humidity, and whatever you put in the humidor while the humidor is below that level the humidor will draw the water out of it, so if you put your cigars in there before the humidor has it's initial charge, then the humidor will take the water out of the cigars!! Not exactly what you bought a humidor for!

Once you have your humidor set up, then just make sure the reservoir of water, the humidifier is kept full. The amount of time it takes for the humidifier to run out of water can vary widely, so just check it every now and then, when it feels light, recharge it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to mail me or phone

E-mail info@masutoh.com

Phone 03-3351-1087