Homemade humidifier?

S

Stefan8708

Young Ape
Ok so i havent had time to go get any water pillows or anything, nor had the money actually. Im hoping to take about 15 - 20 cigars away with me to greece, zip them up in a plastic ziplock. But is there anything i can throw in there to keep them at a nice RH?
 
It's hard to beat a cheap water pillow,they normally run about $1.00 us dollar at my local b & m and can be recharged with just plain distilled water.If you dont have access to any i've seen people just use a moist napkin in a bag,but i have never done this & am unsure about how long it will last.Hope this helps :ss
 
Check with your B/M alot of times they have the humi packs that come in the Fuente boxes, they would work perfect, Or Fuente sells a zip lock baggie with the humi pack in it.

Not sure how long you'll be gone but I'd say your cigars will be fine for a week or more. I've left cigars in my carrying case for two weeks un humidified and they smoked perfect. I dont think cigars are as sensitive as we sometimes make them out to be, if there cigars you plan to smoke soon a week or so should be no problem.
 
I would just use a water pillow if you can't afford the beads. Or you could buy a couple Boveda packets for a couple bucks.
 
water pillows and stuff are chepa in US but its a few quid here ($10+), and as for humidified bags...they are about £10. im thinking maybe just a moist sponge inside a different ziplock bag, that will be left open and go inside the main ziplock bag with the cigars...so the sponge wont touch cigars but water will escape.
 
May want to try some of the green foam florists use for flower arrangements. Pretty much the same stuff used in the cheaper puck type humidifiers that come with most humidors.
 
Dgar said:
Check with your B/M alot of times they have the humi packs that come in the Fuente boxes, they would work perfect, Or Fuente sells a zip lock baggie with the humi pack in it.

Not sure how long you'll be gone but I'd say your cigars will be fine for a week or more. I've left cigars in my carrying case for two weeks un humidified and they smoked perfect. I dont think cigars are as sensitive as we sometimes make them out to be, if there cigars you plan to smoke soon a week or so should be no problem.
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:tpd:
If only a week or two they should be fine, as long as you remember to keep the zip-lock sealed. It wouldn't be much different than dry boxing.

If you do use a sponge make sure to squeeze all the water out, barely damp is all you need.

Sounds like a fun trip..Share some pictures if you can.
 
well it was going to be a fun trip but my gf just got told she has hyperthyroidism and a fast heart rate, they gave her beta blockers but told her to make sure theres a hospital near by, and not to get excited or stressed as it could cause a heart attack lol.

But you know docs and their worst case scenarios! Its not bothering her really, just means she cant drink much.

I went by the cigar shop before and after being very rude and patronising(them, not me). They gave me a water pillow for free that they'd already been using for a few days....said they dont stock them in shop for sale...but its better than nothing i guess!
 
During my recent escapades in greece i just used a water pillow in my 15 ct herf-a-dor
this lasted wonderfully...i would at least go tupperdor to keep smokes from getting crushed or otherwise damaged...

enjoy greece....I did at first;)
 
When in need, I'll make a ghetto humidifier out of a second ziploc baggie, thats got a few holes punched in it, and a water moistened paper towel inside. I keep a hygrometer in there so I know when the bag needs venting if the need ever arises.

Given I won't use this for longer than a few hours...it's primarily an easy way to get some cigars over to a friend's house while keeping them at near ideal humidity, that's about it.
 
Stefan8708 said:
water pillows and stuff are chepa in US but its a few quid here ($10+), and as for humidified bags...they are about £10. im thinking maybe just a moist sponge inside a different ziplock bag, that will be left open and go inside the main ziplock bag with the cigars...so the sponge wont touch cigars but water will escape.
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Glad you got a water pillow. It's ashamed about the cigar shop attitude, too many like that here also!

Your suggestion above IS an acceptable short term solution if necessary. I've used it before myself before I laid in a supple of water pillows. If you use that method, just make sure you do not use a lot of water on the sponge, and you can vary the closure amount of the sponge bag to increase or decrease the humidity rate. Be advised that the sponge method usually results in higher humidity than the controlled release methods suggested elsewhere in the thread, so you would have to keep a much closer eye on the cigars. Leaving the cigars in the cello would be a sort of regulator that would increase the time it would take to over-humidify the cigars.

Good luck on your trip. I hope your girlfriend make it safely and enjoyably.
 
I think it is more likely to over-humdify them (and possibly ruin them) than maintain a good rh in a ziploc bag. Just double bag them and put them in something that will keep them from getting crushed.
 
One simple solution is to just buy tubos. I have read that a tubo can stay fresh for up to a year even if it never sees the inside of a humidor. It also eliminates the problem of taking anything along to protect your smokes. A number of brands I like come in them, and I would have no problem finding the relatively small number you are talking about.
 
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