I moved about 7 months ago and the box containing my humidor was lost in the move. 2 weeks ago, it showed up on my doorstep. Needless to say, the cigars are pretty dry, but I would really like to salvage them as about a dozen of them were a gift from my grandfather before he passed.

The humidor is small, all wood. There are maybe 20 cigars in total. I purchased a new Drymistat Humidifier tube and a Caliber III Thermometer Hygrometer. It has been a week and I can't get the humidity above 62. The average temp in my home is 75, the high gets close to 80 during the day (in South Florida and running the A/C all day would make me go broke). I realize that I don't want to much humidity in there right now as I slowly rehydrate, but I figured the Drymistat would have raised the humidity close to 70 by now.

Any suggestions on the best next steps? Thanks in advance!
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You really need to re-season it from the sound of it. Start here:
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ight=seasoning
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Put the whole humidor in a big garbage bag and tie it off. That'll move things right along.
It's going to take a good amount of time to rehydrate stuff. It didn't dry out in two days, it won't rehydrate in two days. Be patient and let time take time. :-)
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Thanks guys, didn't think it needed to be re-seasoned - but that definitely makes sense. Thanks for the link as well. I'll try and be patient, but if the garbage bag speeds it up I am all for it!
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reseason the humi as said. Put your sticks in a ziplock bag with the drymistat so they can absorb the moisture and not the humi.
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I realize that you are just starting out and are enthusiastic about sharing what you have learned. But please do not speak about that which you do not know. :-)

Placing very dry sticks in a bag with the drymistat gel will do more to quickly ruin his cigars than just about anything you can do. Very dry cigars need to be rehydrated slowly, placing them with a 60-70% source will lead to extensive damage. The previous posts lay out a reasonable method of doing this correctly.

That being said, the cigars may never recover. It depends on how dry they have become and how much of the oils remain in the leaves. There is nothing to lose trying to rehydrate. :-)
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I'm sorry......

I wasn't aware of the damage that could be done. No one ever told me and I guess I never read it anywhere.

I will just keep my mouth shut.
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I personally don't see anything wrong with RH 62. I aim for 65 and a 62 would make me happier than a 70. Like Scott said, it'll take time. I wouldn't worry with them for a couple of months, just monitor the RH and don't let is get too high.
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Spend some more time reading. Lots to be learned here. :-)
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You are new but still learning so much young padawan. You will be very wise with time and teachings.
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So to be clear, once my humi is reseasoned is it safe to put the drymistat tube back in with the sticks? It is a RH 70 tube, and from the sounds of it, ya'll are saying that will rehydrate too fast.

Should I get some RH 60 beads / tube for the transition?
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