Quick answer: To season a humidor, fill its cedar with moisture before cigars go in. Easiest: Boveda 84% packs, one per 25 cigars of capacity, closed 14 days. The faster way is a dish of distilled water inside the empty humidor for a few days, until it holds 65 to 72% on its own.
A brand-new humidor is drier than it looks. Spanish cedar is thirsty wood, and until it's full of moisture it pulls humidity out of whatever is closest to it, which is your cigars. Seasoning fills the wood first. Here are both methods, how long each takes, how to tell when it's done, and the mistakes that dry out or ruin a new box.
Does a Humidor Need to Be Seasoned?
Yes, if it has wood inside. Any humidor lined with Spanish cedar, or with cedar trays, drawers or dividers, needs seasoning before you add cigars. Dry cedar soaks up moisture, so an unseasoned humidor pulls humidity out of your cigars until they're dry and the wrapper starts to crack. The tricky part is that the air inside moistens fast: a hygrometer can read 70% within hours while the wood itself is still dry, and the reading drops as soon as you close the lid on your cigars. Seasoning brings the wood up to the same humidity as the air, so it holds steady and works for your cigars instead of against them. Humidors with no wood, like acrylic jars, plastic containers and coolers, don't need seasoning, though any cedar trays you put inside them do. A wood humidor that has sat empty and dried out needs seasoning again before you use it.
Two Ways to Season a Humidor
Both work. If you can wait two weeks, the Boveda method is the easiest to get right. If you need the humidor sooner, the distilled water method is faster but needs more checking.
How to Season a Humidor With Boveda
- Move any cigars out first. Keep them in a sealed bag or container with a 69% Boveda pack while you wait.
- Take the 84% seasoning packs out of their plastic overwrap and set them anywhere inside the empty humidor. Boveda recommends four Size 60 packs for a 100-count humidor, and about three 4-packs for a 250-count wineador.
- Close the lid and leave it shut for 14 days. Don't open it to check, and ignore the hygrometer during this time.
- After 14 days, take the 84% packs out and throw them away. They're spent and can't be reused.
- Add your cigars with a 69% pack to keep the humidor where you want it. Boveda also makes 65% and 72% packs if you prefer drier or more humid storage.
Boveda suggests calibrating your hygrometer near the end, around day 12, so the reading is right when your cigars go back in.
How to Season a Humidor With Distilled Water
- Check your hygrometer first. The salt test works: a capful of damp table salt sealed in a bag with the hygrometer for 24 hours should read 75%. If yours reads differently, adjust it or note the difference. Boveda's calibration kit is more exact than homemade salt.
- Wipe out any dust with a dry, lint-free cloth.
- Fill a small dish or shot glass with distilled water and set it inside. Or wring out a clean, new sponge in distilled water until it's damp, not dripping, and set it on a small plate so it doesn't touch the wood.
- Fill your humidifier with distilled water, or the solution its maker recommends, and put it in place.
- Close the lid and check once a day. Top up the dish if it runs dry.
- Leave the water in for at least two days, even if the hygrometer reads 70% sooner. Then take it out. If the reading holds at 65 to 72% for a day or two with only the regular humidifier, the humidor is seasoned. If it slides, put the water back for a few more days.
Some guides tell you to wipe the cedar with a damp cloth. Skip it. Boveda says a wipe adds only two to three grams of moisture, and Cigar Aficionado warns that wet cedar can warp and break the lid's seal.
How Long Does It Take to Season a Humidor?
With Boveda 84% packs, 14 days with the lid closed. With a dish of distilled water, usually two days to a week. A large cabinet, a humidor with lots of cedar trays, or a dry climate takes longer. Don't rush it because the hygrometer looks good on the first day. The air reaches 70% long before the wood does, and cigars added too early will lose moisture to the cedar.
How Do You Know Your Humidor Is Seasoned?
It holds steady. Once the seasoning source is out and only your regular humidifier is inside, the hygrometer should stay at your target, usually 65 to 72%, for at least a day or two without dropping. The humidifier shouldn't empty quickly either. If the reading slides down over a few hours after you close the lid, the wood is still drinking, and it needs more time.
What Humidity Should a Humidor Be?
Most smokers keep their humidor between 65 and 72% relative humidity, at about 65 to 70°F. The old 70/70
rule (70% at 70°F) is a fine starting point. Some smokers like 65% for an easier burn, and others prefer 69 to 72%. Pick one and keep it steady. Temperature matters too: a humidor in a warm room is where tobacco beetles start, so keep it away from windows and heaters. Our cigar beetle guide explains why.
When to Re-Season a Humidor
- It sat empty or dried out for a few weeks.
- It won't hold your target humidity anymore, even with a full humidifier.
- You live somewhere dry or at high altitude, or the humidor is drafty or has a glass top. Boveda says these can need re-seasoning once or twice a year.
- Your 69% pack runs out well before three months. Boveda treats that as a sign the wood needs re-seasoning.
- Winter heating dried your house out and the reading dropped well below target for a while.
Re-seasoning is the same as the first time, just usually quicker.
Common Humidor Seasoning Mistakes
- Using tap water. Its minerals build up in the humidifier and the wood. Use distilled water.
- Using propylene glycol (PG) solution on the wood. Some humidifiers use PG solution, but it isn't for seasoning cedar.
- Soaking the cedar. Puddles or a dripping sponge can warp the wood and invite mold.
- Adding cigars too soon. A good reading on day one doesn't mean the wood is ready.
- Trusting an uncalibrated hygrometer. A cheap one can be off by several points.
- Opening it every few hours. Each opening lets moisture out and slows the process down.
For more storage habits, see 5 mistakes you're making when storing cigars and our cigar storage and aging guide.
After It's Seasoned
Check the hygrometer once a week, refill or swap the humidifier when the reading starts to slip, and rotate cigars every month or two so the ones at the bottom get air. Once a month, look for white fuzz on the wood or the cigars, which means the humidity has run too high. For how long cigars keep once they're in, see how long cigars last in a humidor. Once it's stocked, you can log what's inside with My Humidor on CigarFinder. Still choosing a humidor? Our humidor buying guide covers sizes and materials, and our picks for humidors under $100 and humidors for every budget compare them, and you can browse humidors and accessories or check the coupons page before you buy packs. No humidor yet? Here's how to store cigars without one.
Humidor not holding its number? Tap or click the chat bubble in the bottom right and ask Cigar Finder AI. Tell it your humidor size, your reading and how long you've been seasoning, and it'll help you sort it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you reuse Boveda 84% seasoning packs?
No. Boveda says to throw the 84% packs away after the 14 days, because they've given up their moisture to the wood and can't be recharged. Switch to a 69% pack, or 65% or 72% if you prefer, to keep the humidor steady from then on. Those maintenance packs last about three months in a well-seasoned humidor and also get replaced when they turn stiff.
Can you over-season a humidor?
You can overdo the water. Wiping the cedar until it's wet, leaving puddles, or using a dripping sponge can warp the wood, lift the lining and invite mold. That's why a dish of distilled water or 84% packs, which release moisture slowly, are safer than wiping. If the reading climbs above about 75%, take the water out, leave the lid cracked for a few hours, and let it settle back down.
Can I use tap water to season a humidor?
No. Tap water carries minerals and sometimes chlorine that build up in the humidifier and the wood over time and can leave a smell. Use distilled water for seasoning and for refilling a standard humidifier. It's cheap at any grocery store, and a gallon lasts a long time. Propylene glycol solution is a different thing: some humidifiers use it, but it isn't meant for seasoning the cedar itself.
Do you need to season a pre-seasoned humidor?
Check it before you trust the label. Put your humidifier and a calibrated hygrometer inside, close it, and watch it for a day or two. If the reading holds at your target, you're ready. If it drops after you close the lid, the cedar is still dry from shipping or storage, so season it like any new humidor before your cigars go in. It costs a few days and protects the cigars.
Do you need to season a wineador or electric humidor?
Only the wood parts. A wineador or electric humidor is usually a cooler with glass or metal walls, which don't absorb moisture, but most have Spanish cedar shelves, trays or drawers that do. Season those before you load cigars, either inside the unit with seasoning packs or a dish of distilled water, or separately in a sealed container. Boveda recommends about three 4-packs of its 84% packs for a 250-count wineador.
Can I keep cigars in the humidor while it seasons?
No. While the cedar is dry it pulls moisture from your cigars, and 84% seasoning packs are too humid for cigars to sit with for two weeks. Keep your cigars in a sealed bag or plastic container with a 69% humidity pack in the meantime. They'll be fine there for the few days or two weeks it takes, and they'll go into a humidor that's ready for them.
Our Pick
If you can wait two weeks, use Boveda 84% packs. It's the hardest method to get wrong, and you don't have to babysit it. If you just bought cigars and need the humidor this week, use a dish of distilled water and check it daily. Either way, give the wood time to drink before the cigars go in.
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