The wood in a cigar humidor contains bound water and free water. Bound water is deep in the wood’s cell walls. It is what it is—you can’t affect bound water.

It’s the free water you can control. Free water is the moisture inside of your humidor. Think of seasoning with Boveda as “ultra-filling” the free water.”  The Boveda maintenance packs that you’ll add after seasoning keep that tank “full”.

Without a “full” free water tank, your cigars will provide the moisture. This dries out cigars and they become truly awful to smoke. So let’s avoid that.

By seasoning a wood humidor with Boveda 84% RH, you’ll:

• Prevent moisture from evaporating from your cigars
• Help Boveda maintenance packs work more efficiently and last longer
• Protect your cigar investment

Boveda 84% RH is especially for seasoning a wood humidor. And, yes, 84% RH is too high to maintain most humidors. Remember during seasoning, your cigars aren’t in the humidor. (You’ll keeping them safe and sound in a Boveda Humidor Bag or tupperdor with Boveda 69% RH.) As you season, you’re filling the environment inside the humidor with water vapor. We call that the free water. Boveda scientists found to fully season a 100-count wood humidor, it needs about 100 grams of water. Each Size 60 Boveda 84% RH can release about 35 grams of moisture. We recommend using four seasoning packs for a 100-count humidor and two seasoning packs for a 50-count humidor. In the end, those Boveda 84% RH will have raised the moisture in your humidor to about 65% RH—without disturbing the integrity and the geometry of the wood.

Precision takes time, yes? When you invest in premium cigars, why rush through creating safe storage for them? Controlled, careful seasoning of a wood humidor takes time. If you season a humidor faster using a higher RH, you’ll risk damaging the wood. Use a lower RH and seasoning will take even longer—up to eight weeks. Over the years, Boveda scientists have tested many methods to find the safest, most effective way to season a wood humidor. We’ve tried everything from 95% RH all the way down to 32% RH. After trying them all, we determined that 84% RH is just right. Most of the water vapor is released within the first week. The rest of the time, the cell structure of the wood slowly absorbs the moisture it needs, based on your specific humidor.

What about the wipe-down method for seasoning a humidor?

On YouTube, you might see people using the wipe-down method to season wood humidors. Do not wipe down the inside of your humidor with a wet cloth or sponge. It doesn’t humidify the wood. At the most, you’ll provide two to three grams of moisture to the veneer of your humidor. (Think of it like staining a piece of wood with water.) You’re also introducing 100% moisture to the surface, which can warp the wood. When you use Boveda 84% RH Size 60 for seasoning, each one releases 35 grams of moisture into your humidor. We recommend using four Boveda Size 60 to season a 100-count humidor.  

Watch Myths Busted: How to Set Up a Humidor

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No. After you season your wood humidor with the Boveda 84% RH, you’ll notice the seasoning packs might still feel jelly-like inside. Usually a “squishy” Boveda signals it’s still working—not in the case of the seasoning packs. These special Boveda are designed to release a lot of moisture in a short amount of time. They’re “super powered” to have more than enough moisture to get a wood humidor up to the right RH—no matter how dry it is. So if your Boveda 84% RH are “still squishy” after using them for seasoning for 14 days, that’s normal. The Boveda have done their job. Thank them, then remove them from your humidor and dispose of the seasoning packs. You cannot use them again. After seasoning, it’s time to add Boveda maintenance packs. For a wood humidor, we recommended Boveda 72% RH. Learn more about what RH you need for cigars here.

Sure, Boveda can 100% come in contact with cigars. Boveda is FDA compliant and food safe. Since Boveda is made from only natural salts and water, it won’t change the taste of your cigars. But Boveda will enhance those flavors as it protects the oils and sugars in the tobacco. So feel free to slip Boveda in, among and on top of your cigars. If you like to keep your cigar storage tidy, check out the Boveda holders in Tobacco Accessories. You can  attach them to the lid, shelves or sides of a humidor to suspend your Boveda up and out of your way.

The Boveda Humidor Starter Kit comes with everything a cigar smoker needs to prepare a new wood humidor for storing cigars. And your first set of Boveda to mitigate low relative humidity (RH) that affects the flavor, condition and burn of your cigars.

Before you add cigars, you must season a new wood humidor. (Why you’re seasoning your new wood humidor.)

A Boveda 50-Count Humidor Starter Kit (pictured below) contains:

• Two Size 60, 84% RH for Step 1
• Two Size 60, 72% for Step 2

 

A Boveda 100-Count Humidor Starter Kit (not pictured) contains:

• Four Size 60, 84% RH for Step 1
• Four Size 60, 72% for Step 2

STEP ONE: SEASONING

1. Remove the clear overwrap from the Boveda 84% RH: for seasoning. (Why you use Boveda 84% RH to season a humidor.)
2. Place all of the unwrapped seasoning packs inside the EMPTY wooden humidor. (Where to store your cigars while you’re seasoning a humidor.)
3. Close the lid and DO NOT open the humidor for 14 days—no matter what the hygrometer readings are. (Why seasoning a humidor with Boveda takes 14 days.)
4. After 14 days, open the humidor. Remove the seasoning packs and discard them—they aren’t reusable. (Why you can’t reuse Boveda 84% RH after seasoning.)

STEP TWO: MAINTENANCE

1. Remove the clear overwrap from the Boveda 72% RH: for maintenance.
2. Place all of the unwrapped Boveda 72% RH inside the humidor. For best results, you want Boveda’s water vapor to circulate in and around your cigars. So feel free to place Boveda:
   • Under the cigar tray or shelf (If there are vertical slots, make sure your cigars don’t block these air holes.)
   • On top of your cigars (FYI, Boveda is safe to touch cigars.)
   • Inside a Boveda Holder that’s affixed to the lid. (If your humidor didn’t come with a holder, you can order yours here.)
3. Now you can move your cigars into your new humidor.
4. Congratulations, you’ve made it the 14 days. Time to celebrate and light up a cigar.

Don’t mix RH levels within the same humidor. And do not use Boveda in the same humidor with other humidification products because they will fight against each other and reduce the efficiency of Boveda.

How do I season a wineador?

If your windeador has wood trays and shelves, you should season the unit before adding cigars. Seasoning conditions the wood components inside the wineador. Remove the clear plastic overwrap before using. Do NOT open the humidity packet inside. Place the Boveda 84% packs inside an EMPTY unplugged electric cabinet/cooler. Close the door and don’t open the cabinet for 7 days. After 7 days, open the cabinet, remove the Boveda seasoning packs and discard them—they aren’t reusable. Move your items back in, plug in your cabinet & add new Boveda 69% RH maintenance pack (sold separately). NEVER MIX the 84% with any other %RH.