Monday, November 29 1999
Q. I purchased a 5-cigar Cigar Caddy which provides an airtight and waterproof environment for the cigars. I placed 4 cigars in the Caddy without adding water to the humidifier, and the humidity was 85% after 24 hours. I added one DryMistat stick (after adding distilled water) and the humidity remained at 85%. I even noticed a wet spot on my last cigar. I then tested using a DryMistat stick (still dry, without adding water) and the humidity came down to 73%. Is this common for airtight containers like Cigar Caddy, because there is no airflow to let some of the humidity from the cigars escape?
- Hector in Gilbertsville, PA
A. I'm not sure if I can explain exactly why the humidity dropped from 85% to 73% based on your test, other than the fact that the dry DryMistat stick in the second test was dry. But I can tell you this: Airtight, waterproof cigar cases like the large capacity Cigar Caddy and X-Treme brand travel humidors (shown) have a pressure release valve. The valve permits air to escape due to pressure build-up when the case is left closed for long periods of time. So, if yours doesn't have this feature, I'm not surprised the RH got so high, so fast. Coincidentally, the X-Treme 5-cigar travel humidor and X-Treme 10 cigar travel humidor do not have a release valve, and the same goes for the same size Cigar Caddy models. (BTW, both brands are virtually identical.)
Since you've found a way to get the humidity to a more "normal" level, my advice would be to use the Caddy "as-is" until you eventually find it necessary to add water.
