Kitty Litter dust problem

[Lomey]

I'm using KL in aqua bags in my winedor and have a dust problem. Evidently when I pull them out to spray them with distilled water they release dust all over my cigars. Unfortunately I discovered this after it had happened a few times when going through my cigars tonight. I have cleaned them off as well as I could. Luckily I have most of them in cello wrappers. Has anyone else had this problem?

I'm using Exquisicat fragrance free crystals.

 

[AdamJoshua]

You pay so much for your sticks and go cheap on hydration? I just don't see it I have a lot invested in my sticks, I'm going to take care of them. Sorry bout your KL issue but can't say I've had it happen with beads.

 

[Lomey]

Yes, I do have a lot invested in my cigars, but honestly I didn't do it to go cheap, I did it for convenience and recommendation from research on this board. I will look into beads after this though.

 

[ATL]

Yes. I put mine in an old strainer and shook it out. Finally, I just used shallow containers and used the bags for beads.

 

[ATL]

You can rinse it and then put it in the freezer to dry out. And I agree, kl is cheaper but a solid choice.

 

[TravelingJ]

Get yourself some big-boy beads and watch the problems drift away!

 

[Jfire]

Yes, I do have a lot invested in my cigars, but honestly I didn't do it to go cheap, I did it for convenience and recommendation from research on this board. I will look into beads after this though.

Beads are just as recommended here with links to the supplier often in the same thread fwiw..... Sorry you have had issues brother.

 

[KcJason1]

Get yourself some big-boy beads and watch the problems drift away!

Beads are trash... Way overpriced and simply don't work.. Namely Heartfelt!

To the OP.. You shouldn't need to keep spraying your KL if your wineadoor seals properly!

 

[Jfire]

Get yourself some big-boy beads and watch the problems drift away!

Beads are trash... Way overpriced and simply don't work.. Namely Heartfelt!

To the OP.. You shouldn't need to keep spraying your KL if your wineadoor seals properly!

Myself and others (about half this board) have been using HF beads for years..... Without trouble or failure. (Five years for myself in 3 seperate Winadors that are 3 different brands)........ And they keep humidity SOLID.

 

[njstone]

Yes. I put mine in an old strainer and shook it out. Finally, I just used shallow containers and used the bags for beads.

I did this first, then just blew a high-speed fan on them to get the dust off. They seldom "drop" any dust now. Not that the dust is bad or anything, you won't see it on the expensive cigar beads because they clean them off.

For those who are unaware, these "kitty litter" beads that are being discussed are the same silica beads that Heartfelt or Cigarmony use, but without added salt to hold the rH to a specific level. Instead, you just add moisture or remove it yourself to get the desired rH. I personally use kitty litter beads to supplement the Heartfelt and HCM beads that I use, and find that adding a bag of the litter beads to my bins helps hold the rH for a lot longer than either the Heartfelt or HCM beads alone. (HCM beads are NOT silica, they are clay and totally different)

 

[Phaedron]

Count me among the Exquisicat users. 67% rh in my humidors with no worries. I've never seen dust. To the OP, I guess I don't know what an "aqua bag" is? The way I do it, I cut the end off a nylon stocking, fill it with the crystals, tie off the end, dip the nylon bag of crystals in distilled water, put the wet parcel inside a little Glad-brand storage container (you can use it with the lid, too, if you use a hole punch on it). Once in a blue moon, re-dip it in water (and you'll hear that cool fizzy sound it makes as it rehydrates). Here's photos of the thing. The litter costs something like $14 for seven pounds. So I've still got close to seven pounds of the stuff laying around that I don't know what to do with! (Wait... what am I saying? I have cats!)

 

[Shaunylw]

Get yourself some big-boy beads and watch the problems drift away!

Beads are trash... Way overpriced and simply don't work.. Namely Heartfelt!

To the OP.. You shouldn't need to keep spraying your KL if your wineadoor seals properly!

Myself and others (about half this board) have been using HF beads for years..... Without trouble or failure. (Five years for myself in 3 seperate Winadors that are 3 different brands)........ And they keep humidity SOLID.

Yep I have to agree. My heartfelt beads hold rock solid humidity. They really are not expensive considering most of us smoke $10 sticks regularly.

 

[Robertsndr68]

Get yourself some big-boy beads and watch the problems drift away!

Beads are trash... Way overpriced and simply don't work.. Namely Heartfelt!

To the OP.. You shouldn't need to keep spraying your KL if your wineadoor seals properly!

I'm gonna have to say you're in the minority on this. Jfire set me up with some HF beads about 3/4 months ago and I haven't had to do ANYTHING to control humidity since.

 

[UpInSmoke]

Beads are trash... Way overpriced and simply don't work.. Namely Heartfelt!

To the OP.. You shouldn't need to keep spraying your KL if your wineadoor seals properly!

WHAT?! Never heard anyone ever say a negative thing about beads. Heartfelt are the bee's knnes!!

 

[heavyd]

Beads are trash... Way overpriced and simply don't work.. Namely Heartfelt!

To the OP.. You shouldn't need to keep spraying your KL if your wineadoor seals properly!

WHAT?! Never heard anyone ever say a negative thing about beads. Heartfelt are the bee's knnes!!

I hear ya! I don't recall anyone complaining about humi beads before now. I use 65 beads in my cooler... Drop a splash of distilled on them once in a while, and the humidity stays at 64 to 66. Amazing little buggers!

 

[TravelingJ]

WHAT?! Never heard anyone ever say a negative thing about beads. Heartfelt are the bee's knnes!!

Don't worry about it man, he's so negative he makes me look like Optimist of the Year.

 

[Chief StrongLeaf]

I remember reading people using shallow containers for KL because of this very issue. Old cigar boxes and coffins are a good choice. The main thing is you don't want much depth as air wont be able to reach but the top layer anyway. I could see placing the mesh bagged KL into an open tuperware and limiting the dust while still maximizing air contact.

I also recall that certain beads can cause dust too.

All the best

 

[orangedog]

I hand picked each piece of KL that went in my humi. Only picked the large pieces, so no dust.

 

[Cigary43]

Get yourself some big-boy beads and watch the problems drift away!

Beads are trash... Way overpriced and simply don't work.. Namely Heartfelt!

To the OP.. You shouldn't need to keep spraying your KL if your wineadoor seals properly!

Gotta agree with the brother here as I've used beads of every kind and business and while some are better than others the cost is prohibitive for me. I changed to KL a few years ago and never looked back and the "dust" issue is probably because of an inferior brand...not all KL is the same. I've used Exquisicat Unscented with the blue crystals and don't have a "dust" issue at all and I have over 28 humidors of every size.

The seal on your wineador is most likely your culprit..check the back of it as many have that little hole that sucks out quite a bit of the RH so that necessitates a replenishing of DW. I have a Tupperador that holds 500 cigar with 2 pounds of KL in it..the bottom is lined with cedar and it's rock solid at 65% and has been for months with only a spritz every few weeks or so.

 

[Cigary43]

I remember reading people using shallow containers for KL because of this very issue. Old cigar boxes and coffins are a good choice. The main thing is you don't want much depth as air wont be able to reach but the top layer anyway. I could see placing the mesh bagged KL into an open tuperware and limiting the dust while still maximizing air contact.

I also recall that certain beads can cause dust too.

All the best

You read right...shallow containers are the best for KL...you want as much surface area exposed so that the KL can do it's job correctly. Mesh bags limit that exposure of surface area and thus you really are only using 1/4 of what it is you have in there...just doesn't make sense to do that. Yes, cheap store bought KL is not your friend and there are many many reviews on the best type of KL out there.