Best ways to manage humidity

[colder]

Hey Greg,

Just wondering what you recommend as far as keeping your acoustic humidified in the winter time?

I once lived in Florida and had no problems, but now I live in a cold northern city, in a loft in a old building. The humidity gets pretty brutal here in the winter. I have a humidifier built in to the HVAC system that I run all the time, and at the opposite end of the place I have a "whole house" humidifier running most of the time too. 

I keep my J-45 in its hard case when not in use, and inside the case I have two Oasis humidifiers, one for inside the soundhole and one of the case-mounted ones. I keep these full with distilled water, per the instructions. (I used to use the d'addario packets, but I found that in this climate they wear out too fast to be economical)

Most of the time my case humidity hovers around 35%, and in the rest of the house with both humidifiers running, about 30%. 

 

So, I just wondered:

-What level of humidity does it take to damage an acoustic? How long would it need to be exposed to be damaged?

-What are the first signs you typically see on a dry guitar that we should take as a warning? 

-Are there any specific products you recommend to manage humidity? 

 

Thanks!

Edited March 21, 2018 by colder

[Fretless]

The topic Symptoms of a Wet or Dry Guitar includes much discussion on the topic, PDFs and links to helpful videos. I think you should find the answer you need there - and if not, feel free to join the discussion.

[colder]

Thanks! I was mainly wondering if 30% was bad, consistently, for an acoustic guitar's environment, and also what products Greg might think work the best. 

I think the Oasis ones are working better for me than the humidipaks, you just have to add a small amount of distilled water every couple of days. But even with two of those, the Minnesota air is still keeping the humidity lower than I'd like it 

[Grog]

I have a Taotronics Humidifier in my guitar room. I keep the doors shut, and the humidity at 45-48%. The Taotronics easily does it for me. They're $35 on Amazon. You set your desired humidity and keep the distilled water filled. It holds a gallon.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Grog

[columbo]

I do the same as Grog in my music room. Also from our last LMG forum site, learned to get some plastic soap holders for traveling, the ones that close. I drilled or poked some holes in the top place a new sponge and keep it damp with distilled water. I keep one by the neck of my Takamine and one near the sound hole in case. I place my digital read inside to control humidity and it seems to work really well and inexpensive vs buying expensive kits. I now have those in all my cases. 

Edited March 21, 2018 by columbo

[Greg Voros]

Hygrometer (Honeywell)- under $20

Room humidifier - under $20

Between 45%-55% is the healthy safe zone. If the room is kept at a constant 45% for a few weeks, you will not be in trouble if it slips under 40%, even into the mid 30's for a few days. The trouble really happens when its left in those conditions for some time (few weeks).

-Greg V.