About a week ago I purchased a new humidor. I really did my homework before going out and making the investment. But, I think I may have a problem and I hope you can help. I polled quite a few people, some of whom own cigar shops, on how to "break in" or condition a new humidor before storing cigars so that the cigars and the new spanish cedar lining won't compete for the moisture. The prevailing theory was to wipe down the inside lining with a brand new sponge dampened with distilled water and then mount the "hockey puck", as well as, laying another well dampened sponge on top of plastic wrap at the bottom of the humidor for a 24 hour period, then remove the sponge and plastic. Well, after wiping down the lining little black spots showed up almost immediately. And after going through this 24 hour period it seems that my new box has some sort of spotty black stain on the upper lid portion that I'm afraid is mold or mildew. But it's only been 24 hours. Do you think this is mold? If so how can I get rid of it? Sorry for the long email, but I have not been able to find anything on this subject. Any help you can offer is great!

Thanks in advance,
ChezWilly

For this question we decided to go to a true humidor expert, Eric Marzewski of Green Mountain Unlimited. Here is his answer. (Ed.)

Hope I can help. First, please spread the word to ANYONE that no one should ever wet down raw wood with water. Anyone in the industry who tells you to wipe down a humidor (Spanish Cedar) has probally no experience in woodworking. It will prematurely age, crack, warp, swell and generally is not a good practice with raw unfinished and un-coated wood. You should put a small cup of water (or yes sponge on plastic, but I don't like sponges because they tend to harbor bacteria and molds, generally they start to stink) in for 3-5 days to help season the cedar interior. Many people will have their humidifier working well and saturated their Spanish cedar, then it's still too damp and they put cigars in there and then they start rotting right away. If your humidification unit is large enough it can do it on it's own in 5 days, but we still tell people to season when purchasing a Limited so they don't have to wait. Generally, people want to rock and roll and get there smokes in there ASAP. Becareful! Most humidifiers are TOO small. Those tiny pucks (Rounds) and other small units should only be used for 25 cigars in a very small box.

About your spots.... huh? I need more info... mold dosen't form that quick? If it showed spotting immediately, it's some thing already in the wood/finish. Maybe an old peice, already starting to rot or something in the grain. Try to sand off the spots and let it dry 24hrs, then sand again lightly. Follow the cup of water trick to season for 3-5 days and let me know what happens. Please feel free to call Green Mountain Unlimited toll free at (888) 629 6742 with any questions. Hope this helps. Remember!!! DO NOT WIPE down wood with water. Wood is only washed with different chemicals when removing dust and preparing for tung oils and different finishes in certain applications.

An old wood workers trick is to drip a touch of water on a dented spot, if small enough the dent will swell and not be as visable.

Cheers,
Eric Marzewski
Green Mountain Unlimited
http://www.gmountain.com