Is it necessary to acclimatise the humidor before storing the cigars?

The question whether the humidor needs an acclimatisation process before placing the cigars in it is a common and not trivial one. The simple answer is that no special procedure is needed. Humidor acclimatisation is a progressive process that happens over time.

Therefore, once you have the humidor at home, you can wipe the inside of the humidor with a dry or slightly damp cloth to remove any remaining sawdust. But this is not an acclimatisation phase as such, but a ‘cleaning’ phase to put the cigars or boxes in the humidor.

In any case, at no time should the walls inside the humidor be moistened with water. This is totally inadvisable, as water and excess humidity can deteriorate the wood. Some of the damages it can cause are:

• Swelling and warping: if the wood absorbs too much water, it can swell, warp, crack, twist and warp.
• Rotting: water can promote the growth of fungi and bacteria that rot the wood. In other words, with too much water, especially with prolonged exposure, wood can rot.
• Corrosion of nails and screws: an excess of water can cause nails, screws or hardware to rust and weaken its structure.
• Discolouration: wood is also susceptible to discolouration, especially if the water contains impurities or chemicals.
• Insect attraction: very wet or damp wood is more susceptible to insect attack (termites, woodworm…).

Humidor acclimatisation is a gradual process

For all these reasons, it is not advisable to wet or dampen the wood. As we said at the beginning, the process of acclimatisation of the humidor is a gradual process. The cedar wood inside will adapt to the humidity of the city where it lives, to the humidity of the home and to the humidity of the humidification system: natural (tray with sponge) or electronic.

In this way, the moisture released by the humidification system is gradually absorbed by the wood inside. Over time, it will be less necessary to humidify the sponge or fill the tank of the electronic humidification system because the ideal humidity levels (around 70 %) will be maintained for a longer period of time.

This way, you don’t have to wait to store the cigars in the humidor, you can do it as soon as you have it at home. The cedar wood inside is of tropical origin, i.e. from countries with humid climates. This means that it is a type of wood that already has moisture in itself, so the cigars will not be in a dry environment, but quite the opposite.

And as time goes by, the wood will also absorb humidity and keep the cigars like the first day. You just have to keep an eye on the hygrometer to see when you need to add more water (to the sponge or to the electronic humidification device). The humidor will therefore acclimatise over time.