Here we go. Tip #1 and probably the one of the most important issues involving cigars; humidification. If you are going to put in all the expense and effort to buying a fine smoke you don't want to stick it in a box to desiccate and crumble into dust. Here is a simple and inexpensive way to protect your investments.
Building a humidification element is very easy. All you need are:
1. A small plastic container (that won't take up too much space in your humidor),
2. a piece of wet 'Oasis' foam (the green floral foam that florists use to make FRESH floral arrangements, NOT the dry stuff that's used for silk flowers), and
3. some 50/50 solution (which I'll get to in a moment).
First, take the floral foam and cut it to the approximate dimensions of the
inside of the plastic container, using a knife or even any straight-edge.
Next, place the foam in the container to make sure it fits. Adjust as necessary
- it's really easy to mold this rigid foam into any basic shape you might want.
Then, you can either remove the foam from the container to wet it down, or you
can leave in the container - it's up to you.
Mix up the 50/50 solution using equal parts of Propylene Glycol and DISTILLED
water. (Using any other kinds of water will only promote mold growth, create
mineral deposits in the foam, and all sorts of other nasty stuff.) You can also
buy this solution pre-mixed at most tobacconists, but you'll pay a little extra
for the pretty bottle.
Finally, soak the foam in the solution (preferably from the bottom up), but
don't completely saturate it. If you don't leave at least part of it dry, there
won't be anywhere for the excess moisture to go.
If you soaked the foam outside of the container, place it in there and you're
done!
If the container has a solid lid and you'd like to use it, perforate it with a
power drill or a rotary tool (like a Dremel), or remove most of the surface and
replace it with any form of screen material, hot-glued in place.
Works great in a Coolidor (see related article) Cooler Humidor
Hope this helps!