How to Season a Humidor: Step-by-Step With Humidity Packs

To season a humidor, place a high-RH (often 84 percent relative humidity) seasoning pack inside the empty, closed box, leave it sealed for 2 to 4 weeks while checking weekly, and swap in your storage packs once the interior holds steady near your target.

1. Place a high-RH seasoning pack inside the empty, closed humidor.
2. Keep the lid shut for 2 to 4 weeks, checking the hygrometer weekly.
3. Swap in storage packs once humidity holds steady near your target, then add cigars.

Many local cigar shops will season a humidor for you or include a starter humidity pack. If you do the work at home, use a high-RH seasoning pack.

Seasoning brings the cedar up to its target humidity so it stops stealing moisture from your cigars. If you add sticks to a brand-new, unseasoned wood box, the dry cedar pulls moisture straight out of the tobacco leaves.

Once conditioned, the wood buffers humidity swings. Read our breakdown on what is a humidor.

Acrylic or glass-top jars have no cedar lining and do not buffer swings the way a cedar box does. If you want a wooden container, review our recommendations for the best cigar humidors.

Valet and Boveda both sell pouch packs. A Boveda humidor seasoning kit makes the job nearly foolproof, while Valet sells an 84 percent pack for seasoning an empty wood humidor rather than everyday storage.

Pack	Intended Purpose
Boveda humidor seasoning kit	Seasoning an empty wood humidor
Valet 84 percent pack	Seasoning an empty wood humidor
Standard storage pack	Everyday cigar storage

Place the high-RH seasoning pack inside the empty humidor. Close the lid completely and leave the box undisturbed. Check the hygrometer reading once a week.

After 2 to 4 weeks, once the interior holds steady near your target, remove the seasoning packs. Replace them with your storage packs. For more on pack choices, read our guide on Boveda cigar humidity packs or compare brands in Boveda vs Integra humidity packs.

To pick up seasoning supplies, browse humidor humidity packs on Amazon, where we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

A hygrometer shows when the interior holds steady near your target. The traditional storage target is 65 to 70 percent relative humidity at around 70 F, known as the 70/70 rule. Many experienced smokers prefer 62 to 67 percent RH.

Explore our cigar hygrometers guide to pick a hygrometer. Once the interior holds steady near your target, swap in your storage packs and the box is ready for cigars.

Restock the seasoned box to roughly two-thirds to three-quarters capacity. A humidor runs best two-thirds to three-quarters full, while an empty box swings more. Browse our guide to humidor accessories.

Avoid wiping the inside with a wet sponge or spraying it directly with water. Too much water too fast can warp the wood or invite mold.

Mold in a humidor is almost always a humidity problem, not a hygiene problem. Mold shows up when RH sits above roughly 75 percent for an extended stretch, often from over-seasoning or a stuck-open pack. Mold appears fuzzy, colored, and smells musty, unlike harmless plume, which is a crystalline dusting of tobacco oils that brushes off cleanly. Read our breakdown on cigar plume vs mold to identify surface growths.

The 84 percent pack is for seasoning an empty wood humidor rather than everyday storage, and mold becomes a real risk above roughly 75 percent RH. For standard storage safety rules, consult our cigar humidity guide.

Cedar that has gone through a hard dry-out stops buffering humidity and starts pulling it from the air. An empty box left unsealed for months can go through this kind of hard dry-out. Re-seasoning fixes this in most cases.

Wipe down the interior every 6 to 12 months, only when empty. Remove all cigars and packs, vacuum out loose dust and cedar shavings, and wipe non-cedar surfaces like hinges, trim, or glass with a barely damp cloth. Never use soap, alcohol, or furniture polish inside the box. Let the box air out fully before re-seasoning and restocking.

Once aired out, place fresh 84 percent packs inside the empty box for 2 to 4 weeks. For more, read how to store cigars or explore hardware in humidifier for humidor setups.

Once the box holds steady and your storage packs are in, log the humidor in the Humidor Tracker so you can watch the readings over time.