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How to reduce humidity
There are plenty of in-case humidifiers for acoustic guitars but what about TOO much humidity. I live in the Chicago area and this time of year the humidity has been 80% or higher outside while the temp is from the 50’s to 70’s. When it is in the upper 80’s and 90’s my air conditioner does a good job of keeping the humidity in the house between 50% and 60%. In the winter I have humidifiers. I tried a DE-humidifier one year and it doubled my electric bill. I do not know what to do as this past week I spent adjusting the necks on both my acoustic and electric guitars. I fear for my classical guitars, as they have no truss rods to adjust. I put packets of silica gel in all my cases but I believe once they absorb their limit they are useless. Is there a simple solution or ANY solution to this problem because almost everyone must be affected? Winter, no problem, hot summer days, no problem but HUMID springs-major problems.
Tags: guitar, humidity, repair, set, up
Views: 365
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jerry T. Yates on
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Hello Richard,
I know just how you feel. I live about 40 miles south of Atlanta, GA., and I don't believe there is a more humid state in the Country! And I'm talking about year 'round! It's awful, because I just walk around and sweat constantly. My wife found something, and I don't know the name of it, but she got it at Wal-Mart. It's a plastic bag, with some sort of chemical or something in the bottom of it, and it pulls moisture out of the air, just like a de-humidifier. The bag gets full of water in about two days, you throw it away, and get another one. In the summer, especially, I don't keep my guitars in their cases. I just have them sitting on the stands, in my studio, where the bag hangs. I practice a good bit everyday, so its not like I just leave the guitars sitting out in the open all the time. But it has really helped my guitars with the humidity problem.
Take care, and I hope you find something that works.
Jerry
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Permalink Reply by John Bjorkman on -
Yep - the chemical stuff is called "desiccant" and it's purpose is to keep stuff dry. You find those little packs in pill bottles, new electronics, even some instrument strings - they're desiccant. And they are intended for a single use. Once they "fill up" they're done - though I've never tried to bake one dry. Plus, you'll notice all those little packs that come in new stuff are also in sealed packages. So if you use them in a guitar, they're most effective in a closed case. Check with the manufacturer about drying them out.
It sounds like you already have a handle on the concept, but two things I'd add: first, get a hygrometer for each case to check humidity to make sure you don't inadvertently dry them out too much. Second, when I was in Florida, I found that putting a dry soundhole humidifier in each guitar (I used Kysers) kept the instruments more evenly humidified. A dry sponge is all it is, and that might be a less expensive way to go.
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Anthony Zarola on -
Check out "Humidifix"...it will be released in Spring 2011
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Anthony Zarola on
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The website just opened up...check it out.. http://www.humidifix.com/
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Anthony Zarola on
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