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How to clean a spill in the humidor?

tomthirtysix

tomthirtysix

Wishing I was as cool as Phil
Joined
Dec 27, 2006
Messages
7,063
Now, before I start the topic, I have to preface it with 2 things: (1) I searched. I couldn't find anything that matched this predicament. I searched high and low because by me posting this thread, I don't think you will believe that (2) this is my friend's humidor. He did this on his own. Came up with this crazy idea all by his lonesome. Never said a word of it to me until it was too late.

It's a small desktop - probably 25 or so count. He enjoys a nice scotch with his occasional cigar, so he thought it would be a good idea to try and "blend" the two. He thought - along with his little humi gel jar, he would put a little scotch in a glass inside the humidor to try and impart the flavor.

Well... he couldn't find a glass small enough that would fit inside. So, he cut down a small paper cup, one of those waxy ones. Poured a little inside, closed the humidor, and went back a few days later to grab a smoke. And during the time while the humidor was closed, the cup gave way, and the scotch soaked into the wood.

So, he gave it to me to try and fix it. I've had it open for like two weeks to air / dry out. Put it up in the window every now and then to get some sun. When I thought it was sufficiently dry, I started the seasoning process again. Opened it up about a week into the process, and I can still smell the scotch.

Anyone have any ideas on how to go forward and try to clean the wood? The good news is, there wasn't much scotch, so it was mainly confined to the one corner where the cup was. Thanks for the help.
 
Well . . . hasn't he achieved his aim? His humidor will now automatically impart a little Scotch aroma to all his cigars!

Seriously, I think you'll need to get it wet, carefully, to get the Scotch lifted to the surface of the wood where it can be blotted up. Probably several times.

Just how nice a humidor is this?

~Boar
 
Pack it full of maxipads, im sure you have a few thousand laying around in your dungeon. :D
 
Tom...this is definitely one of your funnier posts.

It may still be damp underneath or in the corners and not fully dried. I would think that you should be able to remove the cedar and then letting it further dry out.
 
I like the way he started out, "you know, this friend of mine..."

:laugh:
 
I'd go with a combined effort from suggestions listed above. Remove the cedar if possible and soak it down a few times and be generous as the distilled wated will eventually dry. If that doesn't work, air dry it for another few weeks and then a light sanding and then reseasoning. The worst your friend will have is a scotch infusion box for future use...... :) :thumbs: :cool:
 
Never tried this, just throwing it out there.

If you're going to wipe/wet the wood further, could you consider a baking soda solution? This may help eliminate the odor. Just a thought.
 
Not A Nice Person said:
Just how nice a humidor is this?

~Boar
Click to expand...

Quality-wise, it's pretty nice. Has a good, tight, uniform seal. Has a little badge on top with his monogram engraved. More important than the quality of the humi is that it was a gift from his wife. So, getting rid or it isn't an option.

Thanks for the help guys. I don't think I can get the cedar out, but I will look a little closer to double check. I think I'll be going with the blotting/sanding/re-seasoning suggested. The baking soda solution sounds interesting... but I'd rather not try it with someone else's humidor.
 
I've heard of people doing this a lot in the last week or so.

IMO, you have ruined the humi, I would try to give it a serious soak of distilled water and leave it open for a week to dry, but you may have to face that it's gone.
 
You could store a handfull of Kuba Kuba Acids in there for a few weeks... It may not actually smell BETTER, but it shouldn't smell like Scotch anymore!
 
How much Scotch are we talking about here? It can't be that much can it?
 
While helping out modo22 in another thread with getting rid of a foul smell in his humi, it was brought to my attention that i never updated this thread.

When I was re-seasoning and realized you could still smell the scotch, I took the water out, and let the humi dry back out. I then put some baking soda directly on the wood of the humidor. A teaspoon or 2, tops. I spread it out over the area of the spill, and closed the lid.

I waited about three weeks, and then dumped the baking soda in the garbage. I knocked around the bottom of the humi to make sure I got as much out as possible. I then ran the hose from my vacuum along the bottom to get any remaining baking soda out.

Once I was convinced that I got as much of the baking soda out as I could, I re-seasoned the humidor. I opened it a couple days into the seasoning, and it smelled fine to me. Continued the seasoning process, and then gave the humi back to my friend. He's had it for a while now, and hasn't said anything about any problems with it, so I'll assume it's working fine. Next time I see him, I'll double check, and if there's any problems, I'll update the thread.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.
 
OK, how good was the Scotch? Are we talking Lagavaulin or are we talking Safeway bottom shelf? If it's the good stuff, load that sucker up. :thumbs:
 
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