PSA: Hum-ditty time!

chazmo

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Here's my annual reminder. For folks in the northeast US, it's time to fire up the humidifiers. Cold nights, dry air, and heating systems have started dropping the RH to around 40% here and falling in central MA. Make sure your guitars are taken care of -- well, all your wood products, really.

Take this as a cautionary tale... Even 15 years after my own ignorance in guitar care caused major cracking of my two guitars with sentimental value, I STILL kick myself for causing that damage. Don't be one of those statistics, folks.
 

pagedr

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I live in coastal SoCal where guitars hang on the wall year round with no issues. But likely will be moving to Denver in the next year or so...going to be a big adjustment in terms of monitoring humidity.
 

GGJaguar

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humidity.jpg
 

Rayk

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Good reminder , I have a mobile home and irs hard to maintain humidity in the winter. It can get down to 24% but it eont hold there. Luckily all good so far but theres a NGD coming and this girl could be more sensitive to this issue .. I'll start looking for some sound hole humidifiers and possibly another humidifier. Thanks for the reminder ! 🙂
 

Guildedagain

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You can tell a lot about your humidity by the condition of the sponge in your case, as well as a gauge on the wall. If the sponge never goes dry when checking on a case that's hasn't been opened in a while, humidity ok. If the sponges are bone dry, you've got a problem.

I've seen a weight gain of a couple oz from super dry to hydrated on a dread. Wood can store moisture for a long time, at the microscopic level decades, so I think of the guitar and case both as having stored humidity to release for a good while if properly hydrated to start with.

Ray buy these by the 10pk if you got as many guitars as I do get 2 ;]

You just slip on in a ziplock bag, get it wet, squeeze it out, put it in case pocket and forget about it. Rewater occasionally.

But then again, I won't leave an acoustic out of the case ever unless it's a wall hanger.



These are also the only way to go for soldering.
 

F312

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I check the humidity by my window shutters. If they hold in place it's good, if they fall in place, it's time to increase the humidity.

Ralph
 

Rayk

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You can tell a lot about your humidity by the condition of the sponge in your case, as well as a gauge on the wall. If the sponge never goes dry when checking on a case that's hasn't been opened in a while, humidity ok. If the sponges are bone dry, you've got a problem.

I've seen a weight gain of a couple oz from super dry to hydrated on a dread. Wood can store moisture for a long time, at the microscopic level decades, so I think of the guitar and case both as having stored humidity to release for a good while if properly hydrated to start with.

Ray buy these by the 10pk if you got as many guitars as I do get 2 ;]

You just slip on in a ziplock bag, get it wet, squeeze it out, put it in case pocket and forget about it. Rewater occasionally.

But then again, I won't leave an acoustic out of the case ever unless it's a wall hanger.



These are also the only way to go for soldering.
Do you leave the bag open ?

I bought this as a start. Figured I'd try the one that barly any reviews . Lol
But I've never used anything for humidity other then the home humidifier.
 

Guildedagain

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Yeah, leave the baggie cracked open, usually in the case pocket, there shouldn't be enough moisture in the bag to leak out. When I 1st get a guitar, they're always super dry, the guitar is unstrung for a few days I put the baggie right into the body through the soundhole and get the top some more immediate moisture.

This is a trick for glueing up a crack in a dried out guitar from longtime local repairman and lute builder. After you're thoroughly cleaned the junk out of the crack with denatured alcohol, stick the whole thing in a trash bag with a couple hydrating sponges. The moisture will swell the wood and make that crack a lot tighter than it would be dry.
 

kostask

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Humidifying a dried out guitar with cracks, not only swells the wood, it tends to make the wood somewhat more flexible as well, making it easier to push into the correct position.
 

Rayk

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I just got the in hole humidifier for the soundhole .
Its pretty well made from what I can tell.

The gauge seems accurate to my digital acuerite meter a difference of 3 % also it has no adjustments.

Has a fill bottle which used through the two hole at the top on each side .

But Guildedagian's way is cheaper especially for a large inventory. Lol
 

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davismanLV

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Ray that seems better than the stupid Planet Waves one I have. Cheap plastic with a sponge inside that dries out so quickly and then you have to pry it out from between the strings and the cheap plastic top breaks and it's a MESS!! So if this thing works out, let me know. I was thinking of getting a Damp It, the long skinny ones that Bob Taylor uses in his videos. Seems like they hold more water and last longer but I don't want to get the inside of the guitar wet at all. I dunno. Lemme research some more. I need something good that doesn't cost too much, that works and is easy to use.

Anyone ever tried one of these ------ >> Prolix Music Pet-1 BLU
 

fronobulax

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Cheap plastic with a sponge inside that dries out so quickly and then you have to pry it out from between the strings and the cheap plastic top breaks and it's a MESS!!

I've got six of them. You just suck it up and humidify on a schedule. Some time things are dry after a week but other times they are still damp. Some of it may be the guitar case and how tightly sealed it is. I'd rather deal with distilled water than crystals and hanging from the stings is easier, IMO, than fishing around inside the soundhole for the baggie or soap dish. I had one top break but I can still use it. This is one of those tasks that the easier it is for me, the better, so I'm fine with spending $25 (each) for something I find I am willing and able to use.

But anything that you use is better than ignoring the need to humidify.
 

chazmo

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... and having said all that, New England weather has warmed up and humidity has risen, so my PSA is a bit premature... It won't be long, though.

In any case, be well folks. Don't let your gits get damaged.
 

Rayk

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Ray that seems better than the stupid Planet Waves one I have. Cheap plastic with a sponge inside that dries out so quickly and then you have to pry it out from between the strings and the cheap plastic top breaks and it's a MESS!! So if this thing works out, let me know. I was thinking of getting a Damp It, the long skinny ones that Bob Taylor uses in his videos. Seems like they hold more water and last longer but I don't want to get the inside of the guitar wet at all. I dunno. Lemme research some more. I need something good that doesn't cost too much, that works and is easy to use.

Anyone ever tried one of these ------ >> Prolix Music Pet-1 BLU
Ah just get one . You see the humity gauge in the pic . I wont have a chance to use it effectively for a while .
They say it wont spill so it holds the water good which is something i can try . Im not sure how long it lasts and I thought I watched a vid that had more details but I cant find it now .

What I will say is when you get it put up against a meter you know to be accurate so it measures up . 😊
 

Cougar

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Ray that seems better than the stupid Planet Waves one I have. Cheap plastic with a sponge inside that dries out so quickly and then you have to pry it out from between the strings and the cheap plastic top breaks and it's a MESS!! .... I was thinking of getting a Damp It, the long skinny ones that Bob Taylor uses in his videos. Seems like they hold more water and last longer but I don't want to get the inside of the guitar wet at all....

I tried a Damp It. They hold much less water than what I use. And that is: a simple sponge you get at the grocery store that you cut in half and regulate your humidity by how much water you squeeze out of two or three half-sponges. They are placed inside a sealable sandwich baggie that you've shoved some sharp object through numerous times, making air holes for your new humidity emanatorTM And the baggie is placed under the headstock. I don't go near the soundhole. Yes, you do have to re-wet the sponges (I use three halves) every so many days, a week? But that just proves that the water in the sponges has transferred as humidity throughout the case and guitar. I use very small, cheap $5 hygrometers in all cases, which seem to work fine - I don't need precision. 🤠

... and having said all that, New England weather has warmed up and humidity has risen, so my PSA is a bit premature...

North Idaho weather went from a drying trend at the end of summer to now a prolonged rain storm, which brought that humidity right back up. 🌧
 

davismanLV

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It hasn't rained here in 155 days!! If you can believe that. We usually get some summer precipitation from the monsoon season when the thunderstorms roll across the desert. But this year nothing. Thunder, lightning, and dry as a bone. It's been a rough year. Last year was a record for rainfall. Now we've got record drought. I thought Damp Its held MORE water, thanks for the clarification.
 

chazmo

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Damp-its are great. They do hold less water, but they are very easy to use to prevent getting water damage. Anyway, whatever works, folks.
 

kostask

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i use the Kyser sound hole humidifiers. They work well, as long as you remove the factory installed plastic ring. They are good for about a year, then need replacing.
 
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