humidor

Ok.I'm having trouble getting my humidor to stay at a steady 70 percent.It's a couple of years old and the problem just started several monthes ago.I've seasoned it several times,just bought a gel jar for humidity,and humidity won't rise.Any suggestions?
Thanks

I have to put a shot glass of water in mine in the winter to keep it up at 70%. Even then I only get to about 65%RH.

I dohave a rectangular tray that holds water that came with the humidor but does't seem to work anymore.

I share your pain, BB. Living in the dry southwest I need to keep an eye on my cigars.

A few thoughts:

Are you sure your hygrometer is taking accurate measures? There is a chance that the cigars are humidified just fine and it is a false alarm. You would probably know if it is not the hygrometer because your cigars are dry. But if you are headed to a cigar shop, pull it out and take it with you. See how your readings compare to the professionals' after about 10 minutes.

When we do get humidity up over 80 percent during a storm, I will open it up and set it on the patio for extended time if possible. Also I have conditioned and left the paper towel in humidor. Likewise, I have conditioned with distilled water and left the damp paper towel in, careful not to directly contact cigars.

Good luck!

My cigars are dry.I did blow into the hygrometer and the needle pegged.Came back to approx. 58 %. within a couple of hours.Driving me nuts.

I found this online -
Check the hygrometer first. It might not be reading accurately. To check it, do the following two tests.

Wrap it in a damp cloth for a minute or so. It should go to close to 100%. If it doesn't increase, then you know that is your problem.

You can also do a salt test on it. Take a cap from a pop bottle and put some salt in it. Add a couple drops of water to make the salt moist but not runny. Put it in a ziploc bag with the hygrometer and seal it. Let it sit for a while. It should read around 75%. This will let you know if the hygrometer is bad. If it is ok, move on to the humidor.

There are a couple reasons the Humidor might not get above 55%. First is you did not season it enough. When you first get it, if you didn't already, you should use a clean damp sponge and wet all the surfaces of the humidor incliding the dividers, trays, the lid, walls and all areas that seal. Leave the damp spong in the humidor for 24 hours. Make sure you put a ziploc under the sponge though so that it is not making contact with the wood. Alternatively you can leave the humidor pad in there and make sure it is saturated with distilled water. After 24 hours, check to see if the sponge is still damp. If it is dry, wipe the surfaces again and repeat the process to ensure the wood absorbs all the moisture it can. Once the sponge is still damp the next day, you should be good to go. As long as you are in the 65% to 70% range your sticks will be fine.

If you have seasons the humidor properly and it still wont get higher than 55% then the seal is probably bad. When you let the lid drop is should make a wooshing noise and have a somewhat delayed closing. If it just slams shut, your seal is bad and you should return the humidor.

If you still have questions go to https://www.cheaphumidors.com/

when you load the page there will be a thing for a free ebook that you can download and it has lots of info on cigars and humidors. Good luck with the sticks.

You gotta stay on it. I heard a wet paper towel in a good humidor was a good mid term solution. Not true, the only solution is to keep a constant eye on the humidor. Every month at the very least. Weekly is perfect.

I stupidly let it go 6 months (Chicago Winter) and it was gross.

Thanks for all the responses.Will try the suggestions and report back if successful.

I've heard this is a great humidor.

I tried the salt test and it worked.Left it in the bag a few hours and the guage went up to 80%.Now I'll try the other suggestions.