Dry, crumbly marijuana produces harsh smoke that can irritate your throat and cause lung infections. Moreover, it produces a poor aroma and flavor.

So if you found a bag of dry marijuana under your couch or at the back of your stash drawer, it’s time to rehydrate it before smoking up.

But how to rehydrate weed to bring the buds back to life? Numerous methods can rehydrate your weed to help you get the most out of your dried bag of marijuana.

Why Rehydrate Marijuana?

The marijuana buds require a set amount of moisture. When it starts to dry out, the terpenes and cannabinoids in the weed start degrading, which results in a loss of aroma and flavor. As a result, you no longer enjoy the aroma or receive the therapeutic benefits of weed.

You must learn how to rehydrate weed to preserve its flavor, aroma, and essential compounds.

However, these methods are only applicable to marijuana that has recently dried out. You cannot restore buds that dried out months ago as their terpene and cannabinoid content completely degrades over time.

How to Rehydrate Weed?

There are numerous methods to restore the relative humidity of your weed buds. All the methods aim to expose the marijuana flowers to moisture.

Since weed is porous, it quickly absorbs moisture from the surrounding air and becomes soft with a flexible consistency.

Here are the various methods to restore the relative humidity of your cannabis.

Cannabis Humidors

If you commonly have dry marijuana, it’s best to invest in a high-quality humidor. A humidor will help restore hydration in your buds. Moreover, humidors keep your cannabis at optimal moisture levels for months.

A typical humidor is a cedar-lined box equipped with a hygrometer that controls humidity. These humidors keep the humidity levels below 65%.

However, cigar humidors maintain 70% relative humidity. Therefore, you need to avoid these as excess humidity will do more harm than good.

To rehydrate your marijuana, place it in the humidor. Some humidors require a damp sponge or a wet cloth. You have to place them inside the box.

Next, calibrate the hygrometer and seal the cannabis inside the box for two hours. When you take out the cannabis, your leaves should be flexible and soft.

Most humidors have different instructions. It would be best to read the instructions carefully before rehydrating marijuana.

Distilled Water & Airtight Container

Another method to rehydrate your weed is using distilled water and an airtight container to rehydrate your cannabis buds. This works as a makeshift humidor because you place dry bud in a Tupperware container or a mason jar with a tight lid.

The container should have a considerable size to fit the cannabis and damp paper towel. First, soak the paper towel in distilled water.

Ensure that it is not dripping wet, as you only need to dampen 75% of it. Excess moisture has a mold risk.

Next, place the cannabis buds and the paper towel in the container. Seal the container for two hours.

Only use distilled water for rehydrating weed as it is chemically pure and prevents contamination of marijuana.

Fruit Peel Method

Using fruit peels is another excellent method to rehydrate your weed. Using fruit peels to rehydrate cannabis also introduces new flavors as it transfers terpenes. Therefore you can use this method to enhance the aroma and moisture of your dried marijuana.

Since fruit peels are naturally moist, they work as a short-term preventive solution to rehydrate the marijuana that has just started to dry out. However, this isn’t suitable for a long-term rehydration solution as it causes mold growth.

Start by peeling your fruit of choice. Most cannabis consumers prefer citrus peels. However, you can also use apple peels, grape peels, grapefruit peels, kiwi peels, citrus peels, and banana peels.

Place the fruit peel of choice on the cannabis and seal them in an airtight plastic bag. Leave the cannabis and the fruit peel in the airtight bag for two to three hours. Occasionally check the dry weed buds.

If the peel dries out but the buds have not reached optimal humidity, you can remove the existing peel to replace it with fresh fruit peels.

You can also add herbs such as mint and rosemary to your sealed bag with dried weed to enhance the aroma of the buds.

Lettuce Leaf

Using lettuce is another popular method to rehydrate your weed. For example, you can use lettuce instead if you want to use the fruit peel method, but the peels do not provide sufficient moisture to dry weed.

Lettuce leaves can rehydrate your cannabis because lettuce is primarily made up of water. You have to leave the lettuce in the airtight container or a ziplock bag for 12 hours.

Occasionally check the buds. Also, this method works well if you do not want to introduce new aromas to the buds.

Bread

Using a fresh slice of bread to rehydrate dry cannabis buds works well. You can moisten a slide of bread and place it in an airtight container or glass jar.

Make sure that the bread does not come in contact with cannabis because you won’t like smoking bread crumbs.

This method for rehydrating cannabis works well, but you may have to repeat the process a couple of times for the best results.

Hot Water

If you want to rehydrate your marijuana quickly, you can use a pot of hot water. The fruit peel, bread, and lettuce require hours, but the hot water method for cannabis rehydration works within minutes.

However, this method may introduce too much moisture to your buds, so you must be extremely cautious. Here are the steps to hydrate weed by using a pot of hot water.

• Boil water.
• Fill up a pot with boiling water.
• Place a cloth or paper towel over the pot and carefully secure it around the pot’s rim.
• Place your marijuana buds on top of the washcloth and allow the cannabis to absorb the rising water vapor.
• This porous plant absorbs the vapors within 30 to 45 minutes.
• Turn the dry buds a few minutes to ensure thorough absorption.
• Remove the cannabis from the cloth after 30 minutes if it has reached an optimal moisture level.
• Make sure that the water vapors don’t overhydrate your weed.

Humidity Pack

When your cannabis dries out, you can restore the moisture by using a humidity control pack. The ideal humidity level for cannabis is 55 to 62 percent. You can rehydrate the weed by buying a disposable humidity control pack to restore this humidity.

The pack’s exterior lets the moisture flow out into the surrounding air. As weed is porous, it quickly absorbs moisture and rehydrates.

If you like this method for rehydrating your weed, you may consider investing in a humidifier. Humidifiers are excellent accessories for ensuring that your cannabis buds stay fresh all the time.

Storing Cannabis

If you are concerned about the flavor and potency of your weed, you must take vital measures for proper storage.

First, you must store marijuana away from pets and kids. Beyond fundamental safety concerns, the right storage conditions can preserve your buds for longer.

Properly storing cannabis is vital if you wish to preserve its aroma and flavor. You should always store your cannabis in an airtight jar or container, so it does not lose moisture. Never place the sealed container under direct sunlight as cannabis loses its terpene and cannabinoid content.

Moreover, purchasing a humidor to safely store cannabis can prevent it from drying out. But if you want to use jars or containers to store cannabis, make sure to place them in a cool and dry place, away from direct light, so they do not lose their moisture or texture.

Bottom Line

If you open a bag of cannabis to find crumbly and dry weed, it is time to rehydrate marijuana by using these various methods. But how to rehydrate weed by using the best method?

The best method for rehydrating weed is purchasing a humidor or humidifier, as it will save your cannabis from drying out in the future. Therefore this long-term solution is ideal for preventing your cannabis from losing moisture.