Humidifier?

[Guy_H]

Yikes sorry to hear that Deirdre ! I live on the Canadian Prairie very dry winters. I tried to find a humidifier solution for my music room but after quite a bit of research, advice from fellow TACers and trying a room unit. I decided the best approach was to keep guitars in their cases with a guitar humidifier. No more hassle to keep those moist than filling a room unit. My other alternative would be to build a cabinet that could be humidified & you could also keep cigars in it! 😆

[lisa18wheels]

First thing is find a luthier and have the instrument examined. While you’re doing this, go on Amazon or one of the online music outlets and order an in-case humidicant pack and hygrometer. Let’s minimize any more damage. Good luck 😺

[JoeW]

While you find a luthier, I would suggest re-hydrating the guitar by taking 5 or 6 washcloths, soak them, wring them out a little and put them thru the sound hole into the guitar. Cover the sound hole with a baggie and tape it shut. Stand it up in the case) and leave it that way for at least 3 days, maybe more. And keep it away from the heat.

[jumpinjeff]

@JoeW said: “I would suggest re-hydrating the guitar by taking 5 or 6 washcloths, soak them, wring them out a little and put them thru the sound hole into the guitar.”

Just wondering if you have done that to one of your guitars and what results you got?

[JoeW]

Not a crack but, I had the top sink in where the body meets the neck causing fret buzz in the 11/12 frets. I did that technique for 6 days and it fixed it. Now I have to keep watch and make sure it’s the proper humidity comfort zone. I just figure a crack means its real dry and getting moisture back into the wood is a priority.

[jumpinjeff]

Amazing. That is certainly an unusual place for the top to sink. I have seen them sink at the end of the fretboard 14 fret to the sound hole. What kind of guitar was it?

[Maydog]

I know it’s a lot more fun to leave your guitars hanging on the wall, but keeping guitars in their case when not in use helps prevent some problems, mainly sun fading, and drying out. While it can still get dry in the case, it will do so more slowly. This is what I use to keep my acoustics hydrated: https://www.amazon.com/MN300-Humitar-Acoustic-Guitar-Humidifier/dp/B00DKAQGTG

[DoogleB]

Those are great and inexpensive. I’m wondering if the following is okay? May seem like a funny question but I’m sure others wonder the same.

If I place the humidifier in the sound hold, and wring out the Sponge really well; is it safe to place the guitar, in the case, Upright, instead of horizontal? the sponge is well wrung out, so it won’t leak into the guitar, right?

Any input on this thought is appreciated

[Deirdre]

Thanks for your advice. I have taken my guitar to a luthier and he seems optimistic about the rehab. I was hoping to avoid putting my babies away by humidifying the room, but it seems that all the advice is to store in case. I have only one hard case left as I have switched to the soft gig bags with the foam sides. *Sigh*

I have a think on it.

Many thanks!

[Deleted User]

hello, Deirdre. I see that you’re from BC like me. That makes the job much easier, in that we never get really low ambient humidity, nor do we get so much heat that you need the windows wide open on any given day. I had a similar problem with a very valuable vintage guitar. Fortunately I caught it before the damage was irreversible and was able to get the original luthier to rescue it. It is now an amazing 48-year old gem and my pride and joy. Obviously I am very careful with it and all my instruments. I do very well with this Levoit humidifier. It has the capacity to last me a few months between refills, and I’m able to keep it filled with distilled water. It is absolutely silent, and produces a gentle mist that does not condense on any surfaces. Wooden instruments need RH anywhere from 40-60% and the Levoit will keep it within a 5% range. I have mine set to 45, so it kicks in whenever the humidity drops to 40% and continues until it reaches 45, then shuts off. All of my instruments stay in perfect shape, and I don’t have to worry about locking them in cases. They’re all in stands or on the wall.

The only complaint I have about the Levoit is that the humidistat is not horribly accurate. It’s consistent, but I’ve discovered it always reads ~4% low. So the room is actually 44-49%. To know for sure, this is the best low-cost electronic RH meter that I have found. The manufacturer calibrates them manually before they’re shipped.

[Deirdre]

Hi David, Thanks for your reply. I think I will go with a room humidifier rather than put my guitar in it’s case – out of sight / out of mind!

Apparently Larrivees are built at 45% and are meant to stay at 45%. Like you said- being on the Island I’ve never worried about humidity until we moved to this house with in-floor heating. Our piano would not hold a tuning for more than a week. It was a mystery until the penny dropped after about 2 years of frustration and a lot of money spent on tuning and other repairs.

[JohnV]

the debate about humidify the room vs humidify the guitar in the case goes on and on and on.

I don’t have recommendations about a room humidifier. I also do not know much about them other than what i’ve read on the forums. Seems like using distilled water is key and also the type (vapor, mist, evaporative) is also important. If memory serves me correctly, the evaporative is the one to get as it actually adds humidity and not water vapor. Water vapor is not a good thing. That being said, never keep your guitar in bathroom while showering. Despite what some may say, this is really a bad thing as that is water vapor and the wood will soak it up like a sponge.

What you need to do is 1) get a room hygrometer and a case hygrometer. You need to know what the RH is before you do anything. 2) you need to decide what is best for you and where you live. A lot of players humidify the room. Others the guitar in the case. Some neither. Tony does both. He has guitars on his walls in his home studio and humidipaks for the ones he keeps in his cases. Your local luthier will probably be your best source of information as they live in your area.

I have 1 good guitar and I keep it in it’s case with a hygrometer. Currently in my neck of the woods (Centralish North Carolina), the RH in my case is in the mid 40’s. So I don’t need to humidify it. Earlier this year I had to take the humidipaks out because they were not working correctly and the RH in my case was 60 and above. I also have a big bag of what feels like rice I got from Amazon to remove excess humidity in the case.

Hope this helps.

John

[Deirdre]

Thanks John. I didn’t know about the water vapour. I’ll keep an eye on that. I am going to try a room humidifier first and see how that works out. Living on Vancouver Island I don’t usually worry about dry air (think rain forest). This new-to-us house we moved to has in-floor heating and it is sucking the moisture out of all things wooden including our piano.

[ChuckS]

@Maydog – I have a question wrt those “in-the-sound-hole” guitar humidifires that I have never received an answer on, so perhaps you can weigh in – When using an “in-the-sound-hole”guitar humidifier, do you need to keep the guitar/case laying flat vice the normal standing on its side.

@Deirdre, I use a Vornado EVAP40 Room humidifier and it works very well with all the guitars hanging on the wall. Holds 4 gallons which is nice. When I am going to be away for more than a day or two, all the guitars go in the case with an in-the-sound-hole humidifier.

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

I think we’ve all encountered some humidity issues with our guitars… I’ve had cracks in the top, as well as sharp fret edges sticking out the side of the neck. All resolved with some good proper hydration…

Winter season is very hard on our delicate guitars as indoor heating makes the relative humidity plummet. A hygrometer is a must especially in the winter. Target range is 40-60%. If it’s lower than that, it’s time to hydrate.

The cheapest way is to store in a hard case with a “Dampit”. (Same thing would be a homemade damp sponge inside a ziplock bag with a few air holes) The drawbacks of that are it needs frequent checking, to re-moisturize the dampit/sponge, and having your guitar in the case all the time can discourage you from practicing/playing.

I prefer using the D’Addario Humidipaks, just chuck one or two inside the case with your guitar and it will keep the humidity within a set range. They need to be replaced periodically tho and they are not cheap, but if you don’t open your case often they last a long time and don’t need much maintenance.

I know they now make little humidity sensors you can keep inside the guitar case and it will bluetooth the humidity level to your phone app or your computer. If you like to keep your guitars out of the case for display or convenience, then a room humidifier is pretty much a necessity. We pay alot of moolah when we first purchase our lovely beautiful guitars, and it doesn’t stop there… But it’s all worth it 🙂

[Jerrbear]

When I bought my Kevin Ryan guitar, he recommended the Venta humidifier..https://www.venta-air.com/en_us/guitar-maintenance-humidification/

I use one to keep 1 room at a consistent 50% for my instruments.

It’s also low maintenance and very quiet.

[Greg_Weber]

I have 3 acoustics. The nicest is a Martin D-X2E. When I’m not using that guitar, it stays in the case. I recently bought a MusicNomad soundhole humidifier from Sweetwater which has been easy to use in the case and helps protect the guitar. My other 2 acoustics are Epiphone which were both under $200. I just keep those on guitar stands in my home office which always stays between 74-78 degrees. Having these less expensive guitars in the stands are nice when you want to try out a new technique or song as you can readily get to them easily. Hanging guitars on the wall looks cool, but not a good way to store guitars in my opinion.

[Loraine]

Hi @Deirdre I’m so sorry you had a crack in your baby. I agree that most of the time it is best to have a humidifier, but to store your guitar in their case with humidipaks or something similar. I do tend to keep a few hanging on my wall and one in the stand that I use the most. The only reason I do this is because I have a large humidifier in the room and keep it at around 50% humidity year round. I have an Aircare 831 000 whole house humidifier just for my guitar room, which is only about 120 sq. feet. It gives me the comfort of knowing it will work, and it has a very large reservoir for water. I actually have 2 of these – one down stairs and the guitar room one, and I have smaller humidifiers in all the bedrooms too. It’s very comfortable in the winter.