Humidity 39% and dropping.

[acousticdepot]

Advice on room humidifiers please. My guitar room is very small. Would prefer something that doesn't have to be filled everyday.

[ChaseA17]

I just got one of the cheap Vicks ones from Target and it is great. I have a cold and it has kept the room nice and humid, keeping me from being completely congested in the morning.

 

I have heard to get the "cool" ones rather than "hot", though as they can really heat a room up apparently.

 

This one only does 18 hours though...also you are probably looking for something that is specific to things not people. Check some cigar sites, maybe

[Samilyn]

Unfortunately, if it's a small humidifier, you're going to have to fill it every day. Otherwise, keep your git in a case with a case humidifier.

 

A cheap-but-effective case humidifier:

 

Needed: One ziplock bag or plastic soap box;

One plain kitchen sponge

 

Poke some holes in the baggie or soap box

Dampen the kitchen sponge and insert in the baggie or soap box

 

Store it in your git case. Keep your git in the case with the humidifier when not in use.

 

Other things that can help humidify a room are:

 

house plants

fish bowl

shower with the door open

keep a pot of gently simmering water on the stove (refill frequently!)

a pan of water placed on a radiator (if you have a radiator)

[FretFiend.]

I prefer the evaporative type. I suggest you try to find one with a "perma-wick" that doesn't have to be changed every year.

 

As far as one that doesn't have to be filled periodically, not a lot of options. Some of the higher capacity ones might go for a couple of days without filling if it's a small room. There are models that can be hooked up to your house plumbing, but they are pricey.

[acousticdepot]

I just got one of the cheap Vicks ones from Target and it is great. I have a cold and it has kept the room nice and humid, keeping me from being completely congested in the morning. I have heard to get the "cool" ones rather than "hot", though as they can really heat a room up apparently. This one only does 18 hours though...also you are probably looking for something that is specific to things not people. Check some cigar sites, maybe

I looked at the Vick units and didn't like the fact that there were only two settings. A variable humidity control would be nice.

Good suggestion on the cigar sites.

Thanks.

[acousticdepot]

Unfortunately, if it's a small humidifier, you're going to have to fill it every day. Otherwise, keep your git in a case with a case humidifier. A cheap-but-effective case humidifier: Needed: One ziplock bag or plastic soap box; One plain kitchen sponge Poke some holes in the baggie or soap box Dampen the kitchen sponge and insert in the baggie or soap box Store it in your git case. Keep your git in the case with the humidifier when not in use. Other things that can help humidify a room are: house plants fish bowl shower with the door open keep a pot of gently simmering water on the stove (refill frequently!) a pan of water placed on a radiator (if you have a radiator)

 

 

Thanks Sami, but I have 5 guitars hanging on the wall. If I had to open cases to play them ... I probably wouldn't play them. I am such a lazy ass!

[fastblueheeler]

 

Thanks Sami, but I have 5 guitars hanging on the wall. If I had to open cases to play them ... I probably wouldn't play them. I am such a lazy ass!

 

 

Same here. I have to fill the room humidifier daily but better than putting them in the case - for me.

Out of town this week though so they all went in their cases with the case humidifiers.

[Samilyn]

Thanks Sami, but I have 5 guitars hanging on the wall. If I had to open cases to play them ... I probably wouldn't play them. I am such a lazy ass!

 

Me too.

 

That's why I keep the whole house humidified as best I can. Our studio is climate controlled, but the rest of the house isn't, and there are a lot of gits out on stands, on the walls, etc. Fortunately, we have a wood-burning stove, so the steam kettle always on the top of it.

[katopp]

Recently had a cold snap here with temperatures AND humidity dropping. Not that there is much moisture left in -8 degree cold air anyway. The guitars start to sounf really, really good with the drop in humidity, but I have to refill the little sponges inside the planet waves soundhole humidifiers every three days, now. And yes, the guitars are kept in their cases.

But since this cold/dry weather is here for at max a week or two per year, I still don't think about room humidifiers...

[Nightwatchman9270]

FWIW I have been using the sponge/baggie trick, but the inside of my case is STILL only 35%! The room humidity is 20%.

Funny thing is, until I joined this forum I used to keep my guitars out on a stand year-round and never thought twice about it.

 

I guess I may have to try one of those dampit things

[riffmeister]

I use an evaporative unit, $75 from the local hardware store. It has variable fan speed and a humidity sensor for automatic shut off. I use this in addition to a whole house humidifier that is on our furnace. Between these two, the RH in the music room never drops below 40% in the winter. I have a dozen+ guitars in cases and always two out on stands, and a 6.5 foot grand piano to look after!

[Joshua Borsack]

This is the one that I use. http://www.honeywellcentral.com/product/0-92926-34591-4.html You don't want ones that put out the visible mist, they are useless. You want the evaporation ones. I like this one as it can go a couple of days before needing to be filled in my current house. The place I lived before had forced hot air, and it got so dry that I ran it on full and would have to fill it in the morning and in the evening, so it has the ability to dump 18 gallons a day into the air if needed.

[bluzboy]

I bumped this thread because I figured this topic has been kicked around a bunch and didn't see the need for a new thread. My question, quite simply, is do laminate guitars--specifically vintage Yamahas--require humidifiers? I know it can't hurt to use 'em (and I do), but I'd still appreciate a definitive answer. Also, while I'm on the subject, do humidifiers help if the guitar is in a gig bag as opposed to a HSC? Thanks!

[Tartanlad]

Fortunately being from Scotland i was told we dont need them as we are a cold sorty damp country

fortunate for not needing them BUT unfortunate we dont get enough of warm weather cant win all ways

bluzboy im not to sure but sure one of your countrymen / or woman shall answer shortly

about your above ^^ Q/ Gd Luck

[FretFiend.]

The big worry in low humidity is a solid wood top, side, or back cracking. Laminates are pretty much impervious to cracking, but the wood in them still shrinks when it dries out, and that can cause other problems. You'll see stuff like tops or backs sinking in, causing the action to get too low, or fret ends sticking out of a shrunken fretboard. In extreme cases, the shrinkage could cause a glue joint to loosen, but that's not likely. Once the humidity returns to normal, these problems will probably go away tho.

[Flatline]

I picked up two new humidifiers today, one for my guitar room and one for the living room. Over the past week the humidity in my guitar room dropped from around 40% to about 28%. I had a cool mist one in the past but it filters were getting hard to find and then it broke at the beginning of this winter. This time I went with a couple warm mist ones that don't have filters. So far so good. In just a few hours the humidity is back up to around 45% in both rooms and much more comfortable to be in. The ones I picked up hold a little over a gallon of water and are supposed to last 40hrs between refills.

[bluzboy]

The big worry in low humidity is a solid wood top, side, or back cracking. Laminates are pretty much impervious to cracking, but the wood in them still shrinks when it dries out, and that can cause other problems.

 

 

 

Thanks. That was kind of my assumption as well (I mean...there is *real* wood inside them, after all). Any thoughts about the gigbag vs. HSC? I'm using soundhole humidifiers, btw.

[recordingtrack1]

For home made, in case, humidifiers, use flower arrangement wet foam,the green stuff. It's cheap and it will hold a ton of water. You can get it at your local flower shop. I'm sure most will sell you a piece of it for a couple of bucks. Put it in a cannister with holes poked in it. It will hold twice the water that a regular sponge will hold and they will not leak. Try it, it works better than any in case humidifier. I use them religiously in my guitar cases.

I also have to of the Vicks, cool mist humidifiers in my house. It's been pretty comfortable.

[bluzboy]

^^^^Good idea! I've been using cellulose sponges in mine.

[Neal]

If your humidity drops for a day and it's back up again (you folks in the islands) don't worry about it. If it drops and stays, and you have an actual room with a door, get a Hunter or an evaporative as FF suggests. I like the Hunter, it's under 100, filters last forever and are meant to be cleaned, not replaced.

 

http://tinyurl.com/699h74s

[Emory]

send your guitars to me in Thailand with return postage. I'll send them back when things return to normal where ever you are....

[Hudman]

I bought a Holmes cool mist humidifier a few weeks ago. It is the "large room" model (unsure of the model number - but they sell them everywhere). It holds 2.4 gallons and can run up to 48 hours on low (it has 3 preset settings plus 3 auto settings). It doesn't throw any visible mist or make the walls feel damp like warm mist humidifiers (I owned a few of them in the past). I prefer the cool mist. It seems to be healthier. The only downside is that cool mist humidifiers require filters. They last 3 months and cost between $10-$15 each.