Cold weather typically brings with it a drop in humidity, and if we aren't careful, our cigars can seriously suffer. Even the most airtight cigar humidor is not immune to Old Man Winter's meddling, and over time, those hygrometer digits will gradually begin to drop.

This leads us to a question that we recently received from a gentleman who was wondering if he needed to reseason his humidor at the start of winter. The guy was genuinely concerned about the well-being of his humidor, as well as its contents, and had likely heard horror stories of split Spanish cedar and cracked cigar wrappers. 

So, to avoid being a casualty of winter's wrath, should you reseason your humidor when the temps drop? Or, is dropping in some fresh gel humidor crystals and swapping over to a winter humidor solution enough to get you by for a few months? Let's discuss...

Why Humidor Reasoning Matters

While it may seem a bit overkill, the act of wiping down the Spanish cedar lining that makes the insides of a cigar humidor so effective is never a bad idea during the drier months of the year. In fact, any time humidity levels drop, you can proceed with the humidor reasoning process if you feel like there might be a genuine risk of damage to the box itself, or the cigars stuffed inside.

This is especially true for humidors with wooden lining on the lid and around the edges, where the seal is formed. Your humidor is only as good as its seal, and being that wood tends to contract and split when it dries, having an extra bump in moisture on those porous surfaces will only help in keeping that seal nice and snug.

Since Spanish cedar releases humidity slowly over time, giving it a humidor solution wipe-down in winter will add an extra amount of moisture to cigars that is gradual. Just be sure to use Klaro's Winter/Dry Climate Solution, for it is far more concentrated and will help offset some of that dryness in the air. 

Parting Puffs

Essentially, deciding whether or not you should reseason your humidor or not every winter really depends upon what your hygrometer is registering once you have switched over to a winter humidity solution. If you've swapped in some fresh humidity crystals and refilled that tray with a stronger humidity solution, and your humidor is still struggling to make the cut in the cold or in the presence of a blasting furnace, then by all means, wipe that bad boy down. 

However, the majority of the time all that must be done is switching over to the stronger solution for a few months and staying on top of that weekly cigar rotation schedule. This combo is typically all that is required to keep those stogies and the Spanish cedar box they reside inside completely content.