First step in breaking in a new humidor is to be certain that your hygrometer is accurate. To do so, perform a calibration test on your Hygrometer. You can test the accuracy of your hygrometer with a Hygrometer Calibration Kit available on this website. A calibrated digital hygrometer is recommended.
A brand new humidor requires time to come up to the appropriate humidity. Depending on your climate and how dry the wood is, this can take as little as a few days to upwards of a few weeks. You can speed up this break-in period by wiping the insides down with a towel moistened with distilled water. BUT be very careful to not over do it, because if you do you will cause an ugly water stain on the inside of your pristine humidor. THIS IS NOT recommended; it is much better to be patient and allow your humidor to come up to humidity on its own. Adding a small Tupperware tray of distilled water will help to speed up the process. Just place it in the bottom of your humidor. The more surface area of the water the better. Just don't let your cigars come into contact with the water.
Make sure that your humidifier is charged with propylene glycol (PG). If not, then go ahead and begin with an Elixir of 50/50 charge of PG and distilled water. Our Elixir is pre-mixed 50/50 PG and distilled water. Once added, only use distilled water to recharge your humidifiers. After your humidor reaches 63% or so it is a good idea to introduce cigars to it. A humidor will stabilize better and more evenly when 75%+ of its volume is full. Try to maintain this volume of cigars at all times if possible.
Add distilled water to your humidifier when the relative humidity begins to dip. After the humidor has been stabilized this dip should occur slow and steady... 69%, 68%, 67% and so on. Typically, add distilled water at 64% or so. Remember to NOT saturate the humidifier, but to only moisten it! This is the biggest error most new humidor owners make, keep in mind that a humidifier not only raises the humidity to 70% RH, but it also lowers the humidity when it exceeds this level. Therefore it is essential that there be room left within the humidifier's volume to absorb the excess moisture if necessary.
Only use distilled water or water purified by reverse osmosis. Tap water has chemicals and minerals that you do not want in contact with your cigars as they age. Also tap water contains organics and is prone to developing mold. Distilled water is the only readily available water that is free of both mineral and organic impurities. Any number between 64% and 72% is fine. Every cigar smokes different. Some will be best at 68%, while other less tightly rolled cigars will burn better at 72%. Ignore what everyone tells you about 70/70 and experiment with slightly drier and wetter humidities until you find what you like best.
Temperature control is not nearly as critical as the humidity. Any temperature between 50-75 degrees is fine. A couple of notes though, at the lower temp the aging process slows down, while at the higher temp the hatching of the dreaded tobacco beetle is a potential risk. Always keep your humidor out of the sunlight - being bathed in the sun's rays drastically escalates the internal temperature within the box. Also never place it on a television set or near a stereo system, as any such device will generate considerable heat.
This information was compiled by Steve Saka, one of the most knowledgable people in the cigar world.
