Humidity and guitars (again)

Soupman

^ Very interesting discussion with a few good ideas. 
However, getting all that clobber out of the guitar every time to play it would be a pain.... 

guitarjack66

Unless you play professionally I'm not sure all this hassle is worth it. Just leave it in it's case or gigbag.

Cig35

@thermionic I notice that your hygrometer shows a max of 97% and a min of 65% which is a huge swing. Do you know over what time-frame that shift has been registered? If possible I would recommend resetting the memory and try to look at how big the fluctuations are during a couple of days. That would tell you if the possible main problem is the fluctuations or a rather stable high humidity level. And after that you can think about if something needs to be done and in that case what to do.   

thermionic

Well spotted! That was actually when I was er, testing it and breathed into the tiny hole in the back to see if the reading jumped up (it did).

Anyway, it’s been at a much more sensible 62% over the last 24 hours. I picked a bad time to buy a new hygrometer - some sort of rain almost every day for a week, and so mild the heating had only been on for a couple of hours in the past week.

Vintage65

I always check the outdoor humidity level and open/close the windows accordingly. It's currently 46% indoors at the moment with the windows open a bit. I keep my guitars in a room with a sealed door and a humidifier, but I don't leave it on all the time, and I only use it when I need it.

chickenbonejohn

guitarjack66 said:

Unless you play professionally I'm not sure all this hassle is worth it. Just leave it in it's case or gigbag.

Putting a guitar in a case doesn't do anything to reduce the humidity, unless its got a completely airtight seal..and there aren't many cases like that.

digitalkettle

chickenbonejohn said:

guitarjack66 said:

Unless you play professionally I'm not sure all this hassle is worth it. Just leave it in it's case or gigbag.

Putting a guitar in a case doesn't do anything to reduce the humidity, unless its got a completely airtight seal..and there aren't many cases like that.

I thought the thinking was that it slowed the effects of a swing in temperature/humidity/etc.

guitarjack66

digitalkettle said:

chickenbonejohn said:

guitarjack66 said:

Unless you play professionally I'm not sure all this hassle is worth it. Just leave it in it's case or gigbag.

Putting a guitar in a case doesn't do anything to reduce the humidity, unless its got a completely airtight seal..and there aren't many cases like that.

I thought the thinking was that it slowed the effects of a swing in temperature/humidity/etc.

Well put. I would think somewhere along the same lines,just less well put.

ToneControl

chickenbonejohn said:

Drying clothes in the house is pretty much the worst thing you can do to, it puts gallons of moisture into the air. In traditionally built houses, coal fires constantly pulled fresh air though the house...old houses can be quite cold and draughty, but not inevitably damp.  Modern windows and closing up fireplaces and chimneys are a great way of making a perfectly good house a damp one. The main cause of moisture is....people. Breathing pumps out loads of moisture, and cooking adds to this. A lot of people attribute damp houses to moisture coming through the fabric of the building, but if the place isn't heated and ventilated properly, you get what is known as interstitial condensation....warm moist air inside the house reaches the "dew point" as it gets colder and condenses within the brickwork and other parts of the building structure..and the moisture condenses in the fabric and the whole place goes through a constant circle of worsening damp. Most of this moisture comes from the residents and their activities rather than up from the ground or through the walls and roof. Also, humidity will percolate right the way though the internal fabric of a house - if one room is damp it will inevitably cause the whole property to become humid.

Not always:
I often dry clothes on the radiators when it is icy weather, since the humidity in the house drops to 30%.
House is over 100 years old, we do heat it properly, and icy cold air from outside when warmed up is dry!

ToneControl

I humidify my guitar room when it is dry
My guitars are currently going sharp because of the high humidity recently

I just ordered a Meaco dehumidifier
Watch out - most of these don't work properly at UK room temperatures, whereas some of the Meaco ones do, and they are quiet.
5 year guarantee on some too.

DrJazzTap

Okay so I've had the new taylor a few days so far. I waited about half a day to keep it in the box and then the case. 
I have humidity meter in the room which is showing around 55% at 17c. 
Given the cost of the taylor I purchased the taylorsense system. This was initially showing the guitar at 73%. Its gone down to 71% when it's been left in its case. I bought a daddario humidipack system and fitted that yesterday. Its still showing 71. 
Granted I know it takes a few days, I just don't know if I'm being super paranoid? Should I trust the system or something else I can do? I may try the Phillip mcknight suggestion of putting some dry sponges into the guitar.

thermionic

I’ve experimented with a couple of small silica gel sachets in the case of my GS Mini. I put them in the oven for half an hour at a low heat and they weighed 15g after I took them out. After being in the case for a day or two they weighed 18-19g, then I repeated the process. I doubt a sponge would be as effective but I may be wrong.

The advice on Taylor’s website about using a hairdryer on the inside of the case occasionally seems sensible to me as well - I have long suspected that plush linings could retain a lot of moisture.

DrJazzTap

Thanks @thermionic.

Just tried the hair dryer advice. I've been all around the house trying to find the driest room. I'm gonna leave it in its case for a bit and try and pick up some silica packs. 

I did read online that the v1 of the taylor sense was out by as much as 18% on some guitars. I did notice the action was a bit high but nothing drastic.

thermionic

Incidentally, I bought a tumble dryer so no more clothes drying on racks and radiators! In the recent colder, drier weather the humidity in the living room has been down as low as 52%; however it’s been raining all day and is up to 62% at the moment. Both my Taylors are inside their cases now but I will be taking the GS Mini to a tech after Christmas because it needs a neck angle adjustment (I don’t think humidity is the major factor in the high action).

thermionic

January 2024 update - the very cold and dry weather of the last two weeks has meant the heating has been working a bit harder. No damp washing on a clothes horse or on the radiators due to my new tumble dryer. Humidity has been hovering around 50-52% and tonight is at a spectacular 46%. My acoustics are lounging around out of their cases!

Low pressure, rain, and warmer temperatures coming on Sunday though…

sev112

Been 36 to 39 in Wokingham for the past week or so in Wokingham

thomasross20

It's been lowest RH here since forever - down to 35RH at one point and I can feel the action has changed on my acoustics. 
I've had my humidifier on constantly.

ToneControl

sev112 said:

Been 36 to 39 in Wokingham for the past week or so in Wokingham

if it goes below 40%, put wet washing on radiators