Yes, but just until the humidity got up to about 75. Maybe not long enough? Initially the cigar humidor would just drink up the water for a few days. I did not use the wipe-down method as I think that is a bit crazy to use on naked wood, I used a gel humidifier and some small pipe pouch humidifiers.Did you ever season this humidor?
Might be a good idea until you get that sucker stabilized! While you've got it emptied out, I definitely recommend re-seasoning and wiping the wood down with distilled water. The idea sounds silly, but it works. Spanish cedar is equally good at absorbing moisture and releasing it. So you won't ruin the wood. You just want to lightly dampen, not saturate it. Hope this helps.I'm thinking about "abandoning ship" and moving all the cigars into Zip-Locks with a Boveda. It's not a big humidor, about 12 cigars. I don't want to ruin the cigars.
Here is the info from the HCM website as to why you can't directly water HCM beads:That's weird that you can't add water directly to the beads. I know with heartfelt beads a little mist of water and they are good to go.
I thought at first the beads were bad but now I'm fairly certain it is the humidor , based on the feedback I have gotten. Apparrently, Cigar Mechanic beads are not considered the best, either, by some people with more experience. For whatever reason, they do not keep the most stable humidity. They are better than gel or foam but not as good as Heartfelt, HCM, or Boveda. I think I'll save the beads for scavenging ammonia, but they aren't very reliable for holding humidity.I am currently experiencing a similar situation. One of my humidors just wouldn't get up past 60.
You answered your own question. The humidor you have is probably one of the tiny 20-25ct desktops that are terrible humidors. Now that winter has hit in your area, you have turned on a heater. The cheap humidor is not holding RH. (It never was you just live in a fairly humid area.)I'm thinking about "abandoning ship" and moving all the cigars into Zip-Locks with a Boveda.
It's not a big humidor, about 12 cigars. I don't want to ruin the cigars.