It's only natural that you will feel in a hurry to start filling your new humidor with your stash of cigars as soon as you get it home and out of the box. But good things come to those who wait!

Any new humidor, regardless of size, needs to have the wood re-humidified before you can start using it to store your cigars. This same process also holds true if you haven't used your old humidor in a while and want to get it back into action. If you are anxious to place your cigars into your new humidor without going through this important seasoning process, the wood in your humidor will start to drain moisture out of your cigars. You'll reach in expecting to pull out a pleasant smoke and you'll be sorely disappointed by a dry, dull, tasteless cigar. First things first!

Get a clean sponge or white cotton cloth, dip it into distilled water and completely wipe down all interior surfaces of your humidor. Make sure you have wiped over every piece of cedar, especially under the lid and the trays. And no cheating -- don't substitute tap water for distilled water.

Now wet a clean sponge with distilled water, squeeze slightly to remove excess moisture and place it inside the humidor atop a zip-lock plastic bag. You don't want the sponge to be in direct contact with any wood. Now fill your humidification device with distilled water until it is full but not dripping or leaking with moisture, and place this device back into the humidor.

Close the humidor lid and wait 24 hours. Repeat the distilled water wipe-down procedure, remove the sponge, and close the lid again for another 24 hours. Check the cedar to see if there are any signs of dampness. If so, close the lid and be patient again for another 24 hours. If your humidor comes equipped with a hygrometer, a device that registers humidity, it should not read less than 72%. If the cedar wood doesn't look or feel damp, your humidor is ready for storage.

The optimum humidity level for cigar storage is between 68 and 72 percent. Check the location of your humidor to make sure it is not in the path of air vents or windows which might cause temperature fluctuations or positioned in direct sunlight.

In order to keep the cedar wood environment inside your humidor a properly hydrated place for your cigars, remember to add distilled water to your humidification device often enough to keep humidity levels within the optimum 68 to 72 percent range.