Humidity and guitars (again)

thermionic · October 2023

I lost my little hygrometer when I moved house a few years ago, and didn’t get round to replacing it because my new house was so much nicer it didn’t occur to me that it could have as damp an atmosphere as the old one. I wanted to rule out humidity as a contributing factor to the high action suffered by my Taylor GS Mini which is on a stand in the living room, so ordered one from amazon. It’s not good news.

https://i.imgur.com/qGyCdmn.jpg

It’s the time of year when it’s probably rained in the last 24 hrs and I only have the heating on for a couple of hours once every 3 days, so I didn’t expect it to be lower than 60%. Not sure what I can do, except wait for the colder weather when the heating is on for longer.

razorbill · October 2023

You could get a dehumidifier. I rent and therefore have very limited control over where I live. It’s an old property and sealed pretty poorly.

I have a Meaco arete 20l running practically 24/7 to maintain 50% RH at 18-20c and have to empty it once a day, thinking about getting a second.

It’s expensive upfront and uses electricity (a benefit is it slightly heats the air as a byproduct of dehumidifying), but it works

fishfingers · October 2023

I'd be tempted to get some professional advice if that reading is accurate and consistent throughout the house. I think a dehumidifier is probably a good idea, at least in the short term

chickenbonejohn · October 2023

That is rather high humidity for a house, I'd be more worried about the property than the guitar. What sort of property is it, what sort of heating have you got? Things like drying clothes, poorly ventilated bathroom/shower or kitchen can really badly affect the whole house in terms of humidity. A dehumidifier should only be a last resort, its best to try and tackle the root cause. Things like poorly sealed windows can be a good thing in terms of humidity, as it helps to ventilate the property and get rid of a build up of damp air. A draughty house may cost more to heat, but it helps get rid of damp air.

drofluf · October 2023

Have you checked the calibration of the hygrometer? I have 2 and there can be a 10% difference between the two.

This https://www.holts.com/clubhouse/cigar-101/calibrate-hygrometer is aimed a cigar enthusiasts but explains the process simply.

And if all else fails you can smoke the guitar

thermionic · October 2023

I am going to keep an eye on it, especially as it's set to get colder over the weekend and I will probably turn the heating on. Hopefully it will go down a bit. I will also move it around to a couple of other rooms.

I think high humidity is quite common in terraced houses built at the start of the 20th century. The only real damp problem is on a wall above a disused fireplace, but that's at the far end of the house. I should open windows more often (but maybe not when it's been raining like the last couple of days).

I don't think it's possible to calibrate the hygrometer, but my choice of model was influenced by an amazon review where somebody had bought 2 and the readings were within 1% of each other. Of course that doesn't say anything about mine, but I think they are reasonably accurate.

drofluf · October 2023

@thermionic you probably won't be able to calibrate but test I linked to will then show how far out it is. So if you do the test and it says 85% then a reasonable assumption would be that if the meter reads 70% the RH is actually around 60%.

JAYJO · October 2023

razorbill said:

You could get a dehumidifier. I rent and therefore have very limited control over where I live. It’s an old property and sealed pretty poorly.

I have a Meaco arete 20l running practically 24/7 to maintain 50% RH at 18-20c and have to empty it once a day, thinking about getting a second.

It’s expensive upfront and uses electricity (a benefit is it slightly heats the air as a byproduct of dehumidifying), but it works

We use 2 . 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs. They're on casters and easily moved.
Downstairs one goes in downstairs shower room in winter (which is a small space) and drys out washing on the Maiden. Upstairs moves from bedroom to landing when needed etc.
The house has poor ventillation. I made sure of it. stuffed the chimneys to stop the draft etc but unfortunately the french doors and windows have no vents.
Too cold to leave windows open so would rather pay for the dehumidifier than let the heat out. They do make the home feel much more pleasant in winter and as you say the little bit of warm air is welcome also.
I think you may need to be careful where musical instruments are concerned,i'm not 100% but i think a Dehumidifier may potentially dry out some wood. not sure tbh.

razorbill · October 2023

JAYJO said:

razorbill said:

You could get a dehumidifier. I rent and therefore have very limited control over where I live. It’s an old property and sealed pretty poorly.

I have a Meaco arete 20l running practically 24/7 to maintain 50% RH at 18-20c and have to empty it once a day, thinking about getting a second.

It’s expensive upfront and uses electricity (a benefit is it slightly heats the air as a byproduct of dehumidifying), but it works

We use 2 . 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs. They're on casters and easily moved.
Downstairs one goes in downstairs shower room in winter (which is a small space) and drys out washing on the Maiden. Upstairs moves from bedroom to landing when needed etc.
The house has poor ventillation. I made sure of it. stuffed the chimneys to stop the draft etc but unfortunately the french doors and windows have no vents.
Too cold to leave windows open so would rather pay for the dehumidifier than let the heat out. They do make the home feel much more pleasant in winter and as you say the little bit of warm air is welcome also.
I think you may need to be careful where musical instruments are concerned,i'm not 100% but i think a Dehumidifier may potentially dry out some wood. not sure tbh.

My humidifier has a hygrometer on-board so will just stop running when it gets to the desired humidity level. I don't think there would be any issues unless you hang a guitar directly above the fan (I keep my guitars in cases). It lowers the humidity level in the room to the ideal range for storing guitars, so I can't see how it could be harmful.

They really are a lifesaver in this climate when you aren't in a position fix the underlying causes (try getting a landlord to fix damp coming in through the brickwork haha)

chickenbonejohn · October 2023

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.

thermionic · October 2023

Lots of good info and interesting points here. I generally keep any drying clothes away from any rooms where there are any guitars. Closed up fireplaces/chimneys are probably a big factor here - two unused fireplaces in the living room (with another in the dining room and three upstairs!) There’s only me here most of the time but I’ll try breathing out less

sev112 · October 2023

My dehumidifier costs 20p an hour according to the smart meter. It goes on for ever clothes wash. It also heats the upstairs rooms as a result ! Which is cheaper than the radiators.

70s are onky a problem is they are continually at that level. You should be able to get down to low 60s at this time of year bu opening windows and doors , although it has been a bit weird and high these past 2 week's.

thermionic · October 2023

I’ve ordered a couple of these cushions for the lounge, should help a bit.

https://i.imgur.com/Z2W5v5y.jpg

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Humidity and guitars (again)

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