I'm kinda worried, I do use distilled water and everything, but on both of my desk tops the spongy humidifier part seems to be getting white fuzzies on it. I do not know what is causing it, if it's hazardous, or how to make it stop...
[Reply]

Pitch it and buy yourself some beads. Best investment you'll make. :-)
[Reply]

The best solution, as most people will say, dump the sponges and go with some humidity beads. Heartfelt or Shilala's to be more specific.

EDIT Peter beat me to it.
[Reply]

For small humi's get a jar or 2 of humi gel.
[Reply]

or Boveda packs...We've got you covered on all angles.
[Reply]

I suppose it works for some people but for me that crap is way too messy. Of course I was shipped one open.....but I had no luck with that in my 300 count with the 2 black rectangular pieces of crap it came with.

Took me like 7 days after getting my 300 count to switch to beads. I wouldn't have any other way.

EDIT and now I go with coolidors and vinos, I wouldn't go back to desktops either. No room in those things.
[Reply]

beads or Boveda packs.

Ix-nay on the el-gay.
[Reply]

Gel/beads work great for me :-)
[Reply]

What do you mean "humi gel"?
[Reply]

http://www.google.com/#q=Humi+care+g...w=1440&bih=817

Stuff like that.
[Reply]

I think I'll do beads. Shot-glass should hold enough, yeah?
[Reply]

IMO for smaller humidors go with a tube of beads. Follow the calculations on heartfelt and then go maybe 1 size bigger. It helps for recovering from opening the lid.
[Reply]

If it's a small humidor, a $1 water pillow will work fine.

:-)
[Reply]

I think these are all great ideas. I use Shilala beads supplemented by a very small amount of HF beads in my vinos. I also have Boveda packs, a Humigel jar (it came free with an order), and a pair of Drymystat tubes, all in my cooler and desk tops and they also work very well. It all depends on how much space you have, how much you want to maintain things, and how much you are willing to spend.
[Reply]

Ding, Ding, Ding...there's your sign!
[Reply]

As others have pointed out, you have found the Achilles Heel of most desktop humidors. There are several ways to get the humidification you want without the hazards of moldy foam. I would send a PM to RonC to see what options you may have to replace the foam puck (I'm assuming it is a puck) with a superior humidification system - one that fits in the same position as your current puck would be ideal, I would think.
[Reply]

All great info in this thread!
[Reply]

Not only is this good avice for any puck humidifer, it's your ONLY option once they grow hair.
It will never go away from here on out. BEADS my friend, beads...and not those HCM beads, either.
Good old fashion clear heartfelts. Or some of that gel stuff.
[Reply]

Shot glass is no good because they work on surface area. You want as many beads
in contact with the open air as possible. With a shot glass, you get ther top layer and maybe a few beads
underneath it. While this is not technically hard science, it is an effective lack of contact with the air
in general terms. Better off with a mesh bag, which you can find at any pet store, ask for media bags.
[Reply]

I can't get home fast enough to check my foams!
[Reply]