Sterilization question

[Gravity]

Should I or shouldn't I? Heh, kidding.


I got a 100 cigar desktop humidor from a buddy that used it for his pipe tobacco, and since he enjoys his aromatics, it smells like... whatever you can dream of, mainly cherries and the like. Obviously my cigars aren't going anywhere near this thing while it smells like this. But, my question is, is there a way to clean the humidor to get rid of the smell so I could use it for my cigars? Or, should I just continue to use it to hold my lighters and cutters?

Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys. :ccowboy:

 

[xFreebirdx]

You can try sanding the Spanish Cedar interior a bit and see if that helps.

 

[strife]

1) Wipe the inside lightly with alcohol.
2) Put some baking soda in an open container inside the humidor and let it sit for a couple of weeks.

If it still reeks let it air out for a while, season it and chuck a couple of rockets in there to see if they pick up any remnants of the pipe tobacco.

 

[daniyal]

1) Wipe the inside lightly with rubbing alcohol.
2) Put some baking soda in an open container inside the humidor and let it sit for a couple of weeks.

If it still reeks let it air out for a while, season it and chuck a couple of rockets in there to see if they pick up any remnants of the pipe tobacco.

This or you could make a 50/50 solution of bleach and water and use it to rub the inside of your humidor leave it open to let it dry for a day or two and then see how the smell is if it still persists repeat the process should be able to get it out in a couple of days.. and oh yeah don't dry it in direct sunlight.

 

[GoingPostal]

1) Wipe the inside lightly with alcohol.
2) Put some baking soda in an open container inside the humidor and let it sit for a couple of weeks.

If it still reeks let it air out for a while, season it and chuck a couple of rockets in there to see if they pick up any remnants of the pipe tobacco.

If you don't like the idea of rubbing down the humi I'd just let it air out for a day or two and then use charcoal or baking soda

 

[Jfire]

My guess is even with charcoal and a wipe down its not coming out.

 

[SuperKrishna]

Start smoking Acids. That's my advice.

At a herf, someone bought a group of us all a cigar to smoke together. It was something that was flavored like black licorice and was horrid. But we took one for the team and fake smiled.

 

[smokinghole]

Burn and buy a new one.....

 

[javajunkie]

i believe ripley said "fall back and nuke them from orbit. it's the only way to be sure."

in all seriousness, you have good advice here, which still may be a crap shoot, dependent on how long the aromatics were stored there. good luck!

 

[Gravity]

Thanks for all the advice guys, and I'm going to try all of it. But, it may very well be a lost cause, I've had the thing airing out with baking soda in it for several days now, and it still smells so strong that I can smell it in that part of my house. Not that it's a bad smell, it's actually kind of nice, but I'll be damned if my sticks are getting near it yet.

 

[ilikefishes]

Can you pull out the cedar and replace it?

 

[GoingPostal]

Thanks for all the advice guys, and I'm going to try all of it. But, it may very well be a lost cause, I've had the thing airing out with baking soda in it for several days now, and it still smells so strong that I can smell it in that part of my house. Not that it's a bad smell, it's actually kind of nice, but I'll be damned if my sticks are getting near it yet.

It's going to take much longer than a couple days. If the smell is that strong your probably looking 2-3 months completely get the smell out. so if you got the time go for it.

 

[Gravity]

Can you pull out the cedar and replace it?

No, all one piece.

 

[ilikefishes]

Is the cedar seperate from the box, or part of it? Can you take a picture of it?

 

[Gravity]

Is the cedar seperate from the box, or part of it? Can you take a picture of it?

Leaving for work as I type this, I will post a pic of it when I get home. The cedar seems to be part of it, though.

 

[Abhoe]

Autoclave it.

 

[Gravity]

So, I got online to see if I could find some info on this humidor, turns out it's about as cheap as you can get, a new one costs about $40. So, I'm not going to screw around with it, with my luck, I would put all this time into cleaning it only to find out it doesn't keep humidity.

Thanks for all the help though, guys, I really appreciate it!

 

[Abhoe]

AUTOCLAVE it and see if that actually would work... then tell me about it.

 

[The EVP]

You could buy a cheap bundle of crap cigars that are sold for like $20 (RP R4, Arganese, etc.) and toss them in there for a few weeks. Let them absorb the majority of the aromaric. Then sand the inside with a fine-grit sandpaper. Place baking soda or activated charcoal in a super-fine mesh container (a new stocking or leg off your wife's pantyhose would do), toss it in there for another couple of weeks. If that doesn't do the trick, burn it. Either way, it's going to be a long process.