Is it possible to bring back a dried out humidor?

[NJ Stogie King]

My uncle will e coming over my house this weekend with his humidor. He used to be big into smoking, but has since given it up due to some health reasons. He now wants to start smoking light again. His humidor has been sitting without any attention for about 1-2 years now with some really nice cigars inside. The cigars are obviously stale and not humidified, but my question is this: Can I re-season the humidor and bring it back like it is new? Also, can I bring the cigars back? Any help on what I should do is greatly appreciated!!

Jonathan

[jaycarla]

I would think you can sit some distilled water in there for a while and the humi will be fine. The sticks.....probably not.

Just get a dish with some water in there and let it sit for a week or so then test it with a calibrated humi. If it doesn't hold RH after 2-3 weeks with water, it probably won't ever get there, but I really think you would be fine.

[Lewshus]

I like to slightly warm my distilled water. Seems to get absorbed faster that way.

[smokin5]

Shouldn't be much different than conditioning a new humidor, but don't rush it - you don't want the dried-out wood inside to crack from rapid moisture.

[ucubed]

you can definitely use the humidor again, what do you think they are doing when they are sitting around being packaged?!?! just get a humidor seasoning kit or Propylene glycol and use a rag and apply to the inside of the humidor...close it and let it sit 24 hours without opening it and introduce new cigars and humidifier...i highly doubt your cigars can be brought back...if it was too humid in there then it would have mold, if it was too dry then it would be very dry. however you have a better chance if they were dry

[discdog]

The short answer is yes.

Do to the nonuse I would suggest sanding lightly just to open the grain. Wipe out the dust with a damp rag or sponge. Do NOT put anything on the wood unless it is distilled water. I would suggest not putting anything on it at all and just use the bowl of water for a couple of weeks. Go slow, there is obviously no hurry if it hasn't been used for a couple of years, so do it slowly and avoid the urge to rush it in a day or two.

Now, if the humi has been stored where it was to dry, you may have to wipe the seals down a couple of times to allow them to swell enough to do their job, but everything else should be fine in a couple of weeks.

After that, slowly add some sticks and verify the humidity. You should be good to go.

[SilverFox]

[SIZE=3][SIZE=4]Actually you can bring both back up at the same time, it is tricky however as the cigars need to be brought back up very slowly over weeks or even as much as a month. The process will take patience or the cigars will absorb too much humidity and likely burst. The question is will they still be tasty, given that you will probably throw them out otherwise, can't hurt to try.

Start by adding only a little distilled water to your humidification device, I wouldn't season the humi yet allow it and the cigars to absorb the water slowly over time. About half charge the device then let them rest for a week, after the week fully charge the humidification device and leave it rest again, watch your hygrometer and see if the RH is coming up at all, again be patient, you are looking for a couple degrees a day or so.

Keep the humidification device full and again be patient it can take a long time.

When you get up to 65% RH both the cigars and the box should be ok. You might want to use a little masking tape around the seal during this process so all that humidity doesn't just leak out.

To check your sale take a dollar bill and lay it over the lip close the lid, you should be able to pull the bill out easily. Do that all round the edges to ensure good seal. If the seal isn't good, either season the lip to get the wood to swell (quick method, but the cedar might crack or split) or use painters low tack masking tape around the outside edge when its closed to get the seal good to bring your cigars and your humi up.

When you get everything up to 65% before smoking one of those sticks, check it with light finger pressure it should be a bit springy, if it is still dry and crackly it will burn hot and fast and likely be very harsh.

Good luck.
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[SMOKESTACK]

if the cigars have been sitting longer then a month without the proper humidification- you might as well get rid of them, but there's no doubt a table top humidor which has been neglected for what ever reason can be brought back to life, and brought back to life QUICKLY. Just fill your humidification elements with distilled water and you can put the cigars right back in the humi. You don't even have to wait. Of course, it helps tremendously to drop a digital hygrometer in the humi to check on the new r/h and temp. However- ...it's definitely possible. I have a Nat Sherman humidor that I didn't use for about 2 years... followed the steps I just mentioned- and it was good to go instantly!!!
Good Luck!

[ucubed]

i've heard that you could bring back your damage cigars from somewhere else as well, but like fox said it would take months, however I myself never tried it nor would I smoke one, I'd let someone else try one first =)

[andrewsutherland2002]

you can put your sticks back up to par too, but I hear they are not good after sitting in dry conditions for a while. They lose their oils and flavor, or so i've been told.