***How to Care for your Guitar***

sfmartins · Unread post by **sfmartins** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:28 pm

Buy a hygrometer to measure humidity and temperature. Then make sure your guitar is in the 45-55% range.

thesavageguy · Unread post by **thesavageguy** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:36 am

In the summer I usually keep my guitars out, but I live in Florida. Washington's climate is a whole different story.

Yeah, Seattle stays pretty mild year round. My main concern was the actual condo heating up to a temperature that was undesirable.

Buy a hygrometer to measure humidity and temperature. Then make sure your guitar is in the 45-55% range.

I assume you can buy one of those on the internets? Got any suggestions?

Putting it in perspective, how long would it really take in severe weather to do noticable damage?

Again, your imput is very appreciated!

sfmartins · Unread post by **sfmartins** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:00 am

I bought this one and it's very nice:

http://www.oasishumidifiers.com/hygrometer.html

About time to damage:

http://www.larrivee.com/flash/features/ ... idity.html

There is also a nice video here:

http://www.taylorguitars.com/see-hear/

And this is a discussion about high humidity:

http://p082.ezboard.com/Whats-quotdange ... 2891.topic

p1trick_82 · Unread post by **p1trick_82** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:19 am

you can get any type of analog hygrometer and do the salt test

(bottom of the page)
http://www.sciencecompany.com/barometri ... meters.htm

I did that test on my cheapo hygrometer and it was spot on

sfmartins · Unread post by **sfmartins** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:18 am

^Page's not working for me...

sfmartins · Unread post by **sfmartins** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:01 am

Fuck these bots!!

p1trick_82 · Unread post by **p1trick_82** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:45 am

sfmartins wrote:^Page's not working for me...

Testing hygrometer accuracy.

You can test an hygrometer's accuracy in two common ways:

1. Wrap a damp cloth on the back of the hygrometer for 6 hours. The indicator should then read approx. 95%. If it reads lower or is off scale completely, merely adjust the indicator to read 95% using one of the methods described above.

2. Another way to check calibration uses table salt, a see-through container such as a Ziplock baggie, and a small shallow open container, like a bottle cap.
Place a teaspoon or so of salt in the shallow container and add a few drops of water - just enough to get it wet. Remember, you don't want a salt water solution, just damp salt. Place the shallow container in the baggie along with the hygrometer. (Make sure the salt does not get on the hygrometer, this may damage it).
Seal the baggie with some air trapped inside and let it sit for 6 to 8 hours. Check the hygrometer reading without opening up the baggie. It should read 75%. If not, remove the instrument from the baggie and adjust the reading to 75% with a small screwdriver.
To maintain accuracy of the instrument, it is advisable to recalibrate every six months.

http://www.cigarextras.com/index.asp?Pa ... ustom&ID=1

this site doesn't recommend the salt test on digital humidifiers,so i'm not sure how to calibrate those types

heyofficer · Unread post by **heyofficer** » Wed May 23, 2007 1:23 am

ok so when i took my guitar to the local guitar shop, he said i needed a humidifier and sold me one that can add water or be placed in dry. i live in iowa. do you guys think i should add water or not?

sfmartins · Unread post by **sfmartins** » Wed May 23, 2007 3:17 am

heyofficer wrote:ok so when i took my guitar to the local guitar shop, he said i needed a humidifier and sold me one that can add water or be placed in dry. i live in iowa. do you guys think i should add water or not?

Do you have a hygrometer to check the humidity? (your guitar should be between 45 and 55% humidity)

If you want opinions for hygrometers, just read above...

heyofficer · Unread post by **heyofficer** » Wed May 23, 2007 5:42 pm

sfmartins wrote:
heyofficer wrote:ok so when i took my guitar to the local guitar shop, he said i needed a humidifier and sold me one that can add water or be placed in dry. i live in iowa. do you guys think i should add water or not?
Do you have a hygrometer to check the humidity? (your guitar should be between 45 and 55% humidity)

If you want opinions for hygrometers, just read above...

well the humidity around where i live is typically 70%. so if i want to lower humidity, do i get my humidfier wet or dry?

Grachi · Unread post by **Grachi** » Thu May 24, 2007 2:10 am

heyofficer wrote:
sfmartins wrote:
heyofficer wrote:ok so when i took my guitar to the local guitar shop, he said i needed a humidifier and sold me one that can add water or be placed in dry. i live in iowa. do you guys think i should add water or not?
Do you have a hygrometer to check the humidity? (your guitar should be between 45 and 55% humidity)

If you want opinions for hygrometers, just read above...
well the humidity around where i live is typically 70%. so if i want to lower humidity, do i get my humidfier wet or dry?

get a de-humidifier. They are probably like a foot and a half tall and they de-humidify the whole room. My basement gets above 55% sometimes i run the dehumidifier for an hour or two it gets down to 48-50%

heyofficer · Unread post by **heyofficer** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:41 am

Grachi wrote:
heyofficer wrote:
sfmartins wrote:
heyofficer wrote:ok so when i took my guitar to the local guitar shop, he said i needed a humidifier and sold me one that can add water or be placed in dry. i live in iowa. do you guys think i should add water or not?
Do you have a hygrometer to check the humidity? (your guitar should be between 45 and 55% humidity)

If you want opinions for hygrometers, just read above...
well the humidity around where i live is typically 70%. so if i want to lower humidity, do i get my humidfier wet or dry?
get a de-humidifier. They are probably like a foot and a half tall and they de-humidify the whole room. My basement gets above 55% sometimes i run the dehumidifier for an hour or two it gets down to 48-50%

where's a good place to buy a de-humdifier

GuitarGuy305 · Unread post by **GuitarGuy305** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:51 pm

I live in Iowa too and I still have a room humidifer running in my guitar room. It usually stays between 45-50%, but if I turn it off, it will drop to around 40% or so. But I notice that when the AC kicks on is when the humidifier usually kicks on as well. The AC is probably what "drys" the room as it is.

Ricky the Pilot · Unread post by **Ricky the Pilot** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:40 pm

heyofficer wrote:
Grachi wrote:
heyofficer wrote:
sfmartins wrote:
heyofficer wrote:ok so when i took my guitar to the local guitar shop, he said i needed a humidifier and sold me one that can add water or be placed in dry. i live in iowa. do you guys think i should add water or not?
Do you have a hygrometer to check the humidity? (your guitar should be between 45 and 55% humidity)

If you want opinions for hygrometers, just read above...
well the humidity around where i live is typically 70%. so if i want to lower humidity, do i get my humidfier wet or dry?
get a de-humidifier. They are probably like a foot and a half tall and they de-humidify the whole room. My basement gets above 55% sometimes i run the dehumidifier for an hour or two it gets down to 48-50%
where's a good place to buy a de-humdifier

70% humidity is not too bad. Check the manual on your wet/dry humidifier to see if if "De-humidifies" if you put it on dry. I bought my dehumidifier at an appliance store in Florida. I think they sell it at Sears. Google it. You can always get one from Ebay. A cheaper way also is to buy Silica packs and drop one in your case, with the guitar. It will bring down the humidity in the case for a few months depending on the size of the pack.
I have some of those too. I live in South Florida. The humidity here is 80%-90% all the time.

heyofficer · Unread post by **heyofficer** » Fri May 25, 2007 1:32 am

thanks for your help. i want to de-humidify. too bad i threw the packaging away already

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How to Care for your Guitar

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