Smelly Humidor ?

[Boobar]

I recently picked up a used desktop humidor from a buddy of mine. He used to keep flavored cigars in it along with his regular cigars and now it has a scent too it. My question is, is there anyway to get that scent out of the spanish cedar or is a lost cause. I swept it out, wiped it down with distilled water and I have been letting it sit with the top open for a couple of days now.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[leasingthisspace]

Maybe hitting up with a little bit of fine sand paper and reseasoning it will work.

I am sure some other fine BOTL's will be able to give a better answer but thats what I would do.
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[Darrell]

Maybe hitting up with a little bit of fine sand paper and reseasoning it will work.

I am sure some other fine BOTL's will be able to give a better answer but thats what I would do.
Posted via Mobile Device

Yeah, that might help. :tu

[MikeyC]

Try putting a dish of baking soda in there for a month or so. It takes the smells out of a fridge. So, it should help out a humidor.

[karmaz00]

baking soda works...is it ok to put it inthere with cigars though?

[leasingthisspace]

I wouldn't put the cigars in until the smell is gone. I would keep the baking soda in there with the cigars either.
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[Boobar]

Thanks guys, I will give your suggestions a try and see how I make out.

[Cyanide]

I would combine the two methods actually.

Many humis are constructed so the inner lining is a separate wood from the body (eg spanish cedar lined). I find many of those are fairly loosely put together. If so, you may wish to carefully remove the inserts, finely sand the inner-facing surfaces, air them out for awhile and put the baking soda in the rest of the humi. Then, reintroduce the liner wood and keep the baking soda in there for another week or so.

But, I wouldn't be surprised if this approach is well beyond "over the top"

[Boobar]

Try putting a dish of baking soda in there for a month or so. It takes the smells out of a fridge. So, it should help out a humidor.

Would you put the baking soda right on the wood or would you put it in a cup or some other holder and place that in the humidor?

[jledou]

I would put the baking soda in a cup or bowl. Similar concept to placing a box in your fridge to take the smell out.

You might be able to hit it with Fabreeze also, let it dry out and then reseason.

[GWN]

Never tried this product, but it may fit the bill:
http://www.pureayre.com/

[big a]

+ on baking soda plus i would leave it open for a while and try to air it out.

[nozero]

The last box of Arm and Hammer baking soda I purchased had a pull off side with a membrane underneath to keep the baking soda in the box. I used it in my Vinotemp to get rid of the plastic odor when I first got it. But, putting it in a tray or on a small paper plate or bowl insid a closed humidor may provide more surface area to absorb the undesired "flavors".

[Old Sailor]

The last box of Arm and Hammer baking soda I purchased had a pull off side with a membrane underneath to keep the baking soda in the box. I used it in my Vinotemp to get rid of the plastic odor when I first got it. But, putting it in a tray or on a small paper plate or bowl insid a closed humidor may provide more surface area to absorb the undesired "flavors".

:tpd:baking soda:tu:tu

[bookman]

Coffee beans are great odor obsorbers too. I'd put some beans in a small container and leave em in there. Now, if you did that with the cigars in the humi would the coffee "infuse" the cigars? I'd think not if it was only in there with the sticks for a short while. And if so, would that be a bad thing?

[bookman]

I forgot to say that I currently am trying to get a bad smell out of my humi. I accidently put a half-smoked stogie in my humi! Yikes! I took out the sticks and aired out the box. Now I've got the beans in the empty humi just for safe measure.

[stearns]

personally, i would think that using things like coffee or febreeze would be just as bad as the infused cigars that ruined it in the first place (since some of those crazy cats and the infuseries use coffee and fruit to make their tobacco smokable). but what would i know, im just a noob

baking soda is a big :tu, used it in my vino

stearns

[GreekGodX]

Baking soda+sand paper= the way to go :tu

[The Poet]

If all else fails, just switch to flavored cigars yourself. :D

[sboyajian]

For what it's worth, someone on another forum did a "coffee" infusion test where they actually went as far as putting the cigar fully submerged in coffee grinds for a few months..

When they opened it, it still smelled like strong coffee.

The Cigar hadn't changed one bit.

That being said, I would suggest seasoning the humidor to get the wood to open up a bit, then I would put the baking soda in there in a small bowl.

[shilala]

Set a dish of plain old ammonia in there, close the lid, and in three days any smell that existed will be gone.
Air it out for a day and you should be golden. :tu

[kelmac07]

Set a dish of plain old ammonia in there, close the lid, and in three days any smell that existed will be gone.
Air it out for a day and you should be golden. :tu

I did this with white vinegar...worked like a champ!!!

[shilala]

I did this with white vinegar...worked like a champ!!!
Ammonia will take the stink out of anything and doesn't leave any residue. There's ammonia in our cigars and in our humis all the time.
It's like a perfect match. :)

[CasaDooley]

Set a dish of plain old ammonia in there, close the lid, and in three days any smell that existed will be gone.
Air it out for a day and you should be golden. :tu

Trust Scott on this one!:tu

[Mark]

Trust Scott on this one!:tu

+1 for scott. I will do anything he tells me to...


...anything.

:r

Seriously though, trust him. He knows what he's talking about.

[ratpack]

If it was me, I would ditch it. I think those flavor cigars blend too quickly with your other smokes. If you want the flavored ones, I would put them in their own humi. But then again, that me.

[Bubba - NJ]

Baking soda+sand paper= the way to go :tu

:tpd: Definitely the way to go !

[shilala]

Just a warning...
A piece of sandpaper run on the inside of most humidors amounts to three or four rubs and there's no cedar left. It's veneer, and it's paper thin.
Add to that, when you sand spanish cedar it marks up and looks like hell, especially when you cant go with the grain.
Add to that the dust is toxic, and it pretty much makes a good argument against sanding. :)