One of the most commonly asked questions regarding the safety of guitars and similar instruments is do I need a guitar humidifier. It’s not a complicated question to answer, but it will mostly depend on where you live and how often you take out your instrument in foul weather.
These small devices are meant to fit inside your case. Inside, they keep the moisture levels at just the right level for the health of your guitar. If you didn’t have a humidifier in your case, then the wood might warp due to too much moisture. The strings would go out of tune and there’s a danger that the glue wouldn’t hold. The opposite would be just as detrimental as low humidity can cause the wood to shrink, leading to other equally serious problems.
Before you have to buy your own, it would be best to gauge the humidity in your area. If there’s too much humidity, then your skin will probably feel stick and clammy. If it’s too low, then you’ll feel too dry; even your sinuses and mouth can dry out. The perfect level is when you feel alright, which around forty five to fifty five relative humidity.
To combat these effects, your humidifier will control the levels inside your case. You simply have to fill it with a little bit of water as indicated by the manufacturer. It will then slowly release the moisture through evaporation. Newer devices now have the ability to absorb too much moisture if that is the case. Just make sure to leave it inside the case when you’re not playing.
These appliances are most useful during the winter months as there is too little humidity in the cold air. This is unlike warm air which holds more moisture. Even when it’s relatively nice outside, you might have your home’s heating system on which can suck away the little moisture there is in the air.
Not all areas are the same, and you may need to have a humidifier throughout most of the year. Check your local weather to see if the levels hold at around forty to fifty percent. The best method would be to get a hydrometer to gauge the levels inside your home.
You don’t need to have the device turned on all the time. Only when the levels start to reach below forty percent should you be worried. Anything lower than that and the answer is yes to the question do I need a guitar humidifier.
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