Setting up a brand-new cigar humidor doesn't have to be complicated. With the right seasoning method, the entire process is hands-off, mess-free, and takes zero effort on your part. Whether you've just purchased your first humidor or you're upgrading to a larger cabinet, proper seasoning is the single most important step you can take to protect your cigar collection. Follow this guide and you'll be storing cigars at the perfect humidity in no time.
Overview: How to Season Your Humidor with Seasoning Packets
Take all cigars out of your humidor and store them safely in an airtight plastic container, a sealed bag, or a cooler with humidity control packets to keep them fresh during the seasoning period.
With your humidor completely empty — no cigars inside — unwrap your 84% RH seasoning packets by removing the clear plastic overwrap, then place them anywhere inside the humidor.
Close the lid and allow the seasoning packets to work for a full 14 days.
This waiting period is essential. The wood needs the full 14 days to absorb the right amount of moisture deep into its cell structure. Do not open the lid during this time — no matter what your hygrometer says.
After the 14-day period, open the lid, remove the seasoning packets, and discard them. These packets are single-use and cannot be reused once the seasoning cycle is complete.
Place your cigars back into your freshly seasoned humidor and add 69% RH two-way humidity packs to maintain ideal conditions. These packs will regulate humidity for approximately three months before they need replacing.
Pro Tip
Everything You Need Comes in a Starter Kit
Humidor starter kits bundle the seasoning packets and maintenance packs into one convenient package. They deliver moisture directly to the wood, create a better seal, and prevent the interior from stealing humidity away from your cigars.
Kits are available for 50-count and 100-count humidors. If you have a bigger humidor, simply double up on a kit. (Humidor not included.)
Why You Must Season Your Humidor
A standard 100-count wood humidor requires roughly 100 grams of moisture before it's fully conditioned. Each Size 60 seasoning packet delivers about 35 grams of moisture into the wood. For a 100-count humidor, using four packets is the recommended approach. Once those packets do their job, the setup process is done — it's that straightforward.
Why Seasoning Packets Make It Effortless
No messy sponges. No juggling distilled water. No monitoring required.
The entire process completes in 14 days with absolutely nothing to manage.
Only pure water vapor is released — it will never contaminate your cigar storage.
It protects the wood from shock, warping, and mold that can result from improper methods.
Why Do Seasoning Packets Use 84% RH? Isn't That Too High?
Great question — and you're right to think that 84% RH is far too high for storing cigars. Under normal circumstances, you'd never keep your sticks at that humidity. But here's the key: your cigars are not inside the humidor during seasoning.
When you're seasoning, you're flooding the empty humidor with water vapor to condition the wood. The majority of that moisture gets absorbed during the first week, and the remaining days allow the wood's cellular structure to slowly draw in what it needs. By the end of two weeks, those 84% packets will have stabilized the interior to around 65% RH — exactly where you want it. All of this happens gently, without disturbing the shape or integrity of the wood.
Important
Where to Store Your Cigars During Seasoning
Keeping your cigars at the right humidity level is a 24/7 commitment — even while your humidor is being seasoned. Store them in an airtight container such as a Tupperware, a sealable plastic bag with a 69% RH humidity pack, or a dedicated cigar storage pouch that comes pre-loaded with two-way humidity control.
Bonus: Once you transfer your cigars back into your conditioned humidor, you can reuse that storage bag for up to a year to condition new cigar purchases. Keeping fresh sticks at the right humidity before they go into your main collection makes for a noticeably smoother smoke.
What About Your Hygrometer Reading During Seasoning?
Forget about it — seriously. The relative humidity displayed on your hygrometer is irrelevant during the 14-day seasoning process. Simply ignore the reading the entire time.
Here's why: a hygrometer only measures the moisture present in the air inside the humidor. Seasoning packets work differently — they deliver moisture directly into the wood's cellular structure, not into the air. Since a hygrometer has no way to measure moisture content within wood, the reading it shows during seasoning is meaningless. Let it go and focus on the 14-day timeline instead.
Pro Tip
Calibrate Your Hygrometer While You Wait
Day 12 of the seasoning period is the perfect window to calibrate your hygrometer. A one-step calibration kit uses a salt-based test — the same method laboratory professionals rely on to ensure precision in humidity instruments.
It's good practice to re-calibrate your hygrometer or any humidor sensor at least once every six months to ensure accurate readings over time.
Do You Actually Have to Season a Wood Humidor?
Absolutely, yes. If you skip seasoning, dry wood will pull moisture directly from your cigars. You'll constantly wrestle with low humidity levels, your sticks will dry out and smoke poorly, and you'll burn through humidity packs far faster than necessary. Don't gamble with your collection — season your humidor first.
That said, if the seasoning process truly isn't for you, there's an alternative: store your cigars in an acrylic humidor, a cooler, a Tupperware container, or a dedicated cigar storage bag with 69% RH packs. None of these require seasoning since they're made from non-porous materials.
Good to Know
What About Seasoning a Wineador?
Yes — if your wineador or electric cooler humidor has wood trays and shelves, those wood components need to be seasoned before you add cigars. The process uses the same 84% RH seasoning packets, though the procedure is slightly different from a traditional humidor. The number of packets you'll need depends on the unit's size and the amount of wood inside.
Do You Need to Re-Season a Wood Humidor?
In some cases, yes. You may need to re-season your humidor once or twice a year if you live in a particularly dry climate, reside at high altitude, experience strong seasonal dryness, store cigars in a drafty humidor, or use a glass-top model that tends to lose moisture faster.
Signs that it's time for a re-season:
You can't hold the desired RH level inside your humidor no matter what you try.
Your humidity packs aren't lasting the full three months they're designed for.
How Not to Season a Humidor
Shot glasses. Sponges. Distilled water everywhere. Whether it sounds like a chemistry lab or a party cleanup, these old-school approaches to humidor seasoning are outdated, risky, and completely unnecessary. Here's why you should avoid them.
✗ The Shot Glass Method
After investing hundreds of dollars in a quality humidor, going DIY with a shot glass of distilled water is a puzzling choice. You fill a small glass, place it inside, close the lid, and hope for the best — for an undefined number of days. If anyone bumps the humidor or moves it accidentally, that glass tips over and you've just soaked and potentially warped the interior wood. It's an avoidable risk that offers no advantage over purpose-built seasoning packets.
✗ The Wipe-Down Method
Instead of an open container, some people wipe the inside of their humidor with a damp cloth or sponge. Think of it like staining wood with a thin coat of water — it simply doesn't penetrate deep enough. At best, you'll add two to three grams of moisture to the surface veneer, which is nowhere near what the wood actually needs. An insufficiently hydrated humidor will constantly steal humidity from your cigars, defeating the purpose entirely.
Skip the hassle. Place seasoning packets in your humidor, close the lid, and relax for two weeks. That's all it takes. And now you can save that shot glass for its intended purpose — cheers!
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