# How to Rehydrate Cigars: 2025 Edition Saving a dried out cigar is possible. Learn how to rehumidify cigars with tips from Cigar World. ![](https://cigarworld.b-cdn.net/public/cigarworld/prod/Uploads/CW_Blog-v2.jpeg) [Cigars 101](/education/category/cigars-101/ "Cigars 101") # How to Rehydrate Cigars: 2025 Edition Tagged [Rehydrating Cigars](/education/tag/rehydrating-cigars/ "Rehydrating Cigars"), [Rehydrating](/education/tag/rehydrating/ "Rehydrating"), [humidity](/education/tag/humidity/ "humidity") Posted [18 months ago](/education/archive/2025/5/16/)   \|   3 Minute(s) to read Have you suffered from a bad smoking experience lately? The reason might be poor humidification. Thankfully, we’re here to explain how you can rehydrate dried-out cigars. Let’s break it down. ## Do Cigars Go Bad? Yes. Cigars are made almost entirely from tobacco leaves. And tobacco leaves — like any other kind of leaves — will eventually crack and break. The only way to prevent cigars from deteriorating over time is to house them in a controlled environment (near 70 degrees and 70% humidity), i.e., in a humidor. In a perfect world, you’d never let a cigar go bad in the first place. So, before you make another big cigar purchase, check out our guide to **[achieving perfect cigar humidity](https://www.cigarworld.com/education/achieving-perfect-cigar-humidity/)**. Stored in a well-maintained humidor, a cigar can stay in good smoking condition for years or even decades. ## How to Tell if a Cigar is Dry? If you know that a cigar has been left out of a humidor for more than a few days, then odds are it’s not in great smoking condition. Other tell-tale signs that a cigar has become too dry include: - It is rock-hard to the touch with no give. - The wrapper is not oily and smooth, but coarse and dry. - The flavor has gone stale. - The cigar burns too hot and too fast. A cigar with a seriously cracked wrapper is probably beyond saving. You may be able to fix a cracked wrapper (if the tear is small) with a substance like pectin (a tasteless, odorless sticky substance), but re-humidifying a cigar with a torn wrapper on its own won’t work. ## How to Rehydrate Cigars Can you rehydrate a cigar? Yes. Again, it’s not ideal to let your cigars go dry in the first place, so we recommend storing your cigars in a **[quality humidor](https://www.cigarworld.com/education/the-top-24-cigar-humidors-for-2024-cigar-world/)** at all times. On the plus side, though, you can rehydrate cigars without a humidor. Here’s what you need to do: - Step #1: Store your dried-out cigars in a container separate from your other cigars. - Step #2: Add a 69-72% humidity packet to your container. - Step #3: Wait around a month for the cigars to regain humidity. Remember to be patient. Cigars lose humidification quickly but gain it back slowly. It may take closer to a couple of months to achieve proper humidity if a cigar has dried out completely. ## Tips to Rehydrate Cigars Some notes you’ll want to keep in mind when rejuvenating cigars include: - Store your dried-out cigars in Ziploc bags or Air tight Tupperdors containers because they — and this is important — provide an air-tight seal. Without that air-tight seal, you’re asking for trouble. - We’re fans of Boveda packs for humidification purposes here at Cigar World. (RELATED: **[How to Use Boveda Packs](https://www.cigarworld.com/education/how-to-use-boveda-packs-for-cigars/)**.) - Store dried-out cigars separately from cigars that are in good condition. - Don’t mix humidification packs of different humidity levels in the same container. ## Can You Rehydrate Cigars Gradually? Sure! While the easiest way to rehydrate cigars is to directly place them in a sealed container with a 69-72% humidity pack, you can slowly bring cigars up to higher humidity levels if they have particularly fragile wrappers. ## How to Tell When Your Cigars Are Rehydrated Rehydrated cigars that are in ready-to-smoke condition will feel a little spongier to the touch, burn evenly and smoothly, and produce a wide range of dynamic tasting notes. Note that the more dehydrated a cigar has become, the less likely it is to fully recover its original flavor profile. ## How NOT to Rehydrate Cigars You can’t believe everything you read on the internet. Don’t microwave your cigars, don’t dunk them in water, and don’t sponge them down. (Pro Tip: Don’t use tap water to humidify cigars. Doing this can cause mold.) There is no sure-fire way to rehydrate cigars quickly. Simply put, patience is required to rehydrate cigars. We hope you found this article helpful!  **[Sign up for Cigar World](https://www.cigarworld.com/profile/register/)** for more information on all things cigar! [ ![Join Cigar World Testing Lab](/images/tl-sq.jpg) ](/testing-lab/) Unfollow {{ slotProps.text }} Follow {{ slotProps.text }} [ Comment (2) ](/education/how-to-rehydrate-cigars-2025-edition/#comments-holder) #### Comments - [![Member Avatar](https://cigarworld.b-cdn.net/public/cigarworld/prod/ProfileImages/IMG_1334.jpeg?width=200&height=200&face_crop=true)](/profile/member/jeromy/) ### 17 Jeromy (17 months ago) I've been smoking and storing cigars for over 30 years and I agree with this method 100%. Sealed, cool, containers and Boveda packs are the best recipe for success. - [![Member Avatar](https://cigarworld.b-cdn.net/public/cigarworld/prod/ProfileImages/20220914_185130.jpg?width=200&height=200&face_crop=true)](/profile/member/olu/) ### 10 olu (18 months ago) Great advice.... No one has commented on this page yet.