Humidification

blodzoom · Dec 1, 2015

I spent a bunch (for me) of money on a nice uke recently for my own birthday present and I want to keep it in good shape. I bought a hygrometer and I see that running the furnace is bringing down the humidity in the room to a little below 40% and winter is just beginning, so I'm assuming it will go lower.

I have a ko'olau hard case and I'm wondering if there's a type that fits in the case without having to hang it from the strings into the sound hole. I already don't play that uke as much because I keep my cheap ones laying around, I don't want to add an extra step to getting it in and out (I have a toddler and a dog and a wife so a lot of times I grab a uke and then my session gets cut short by some sort of chaos)

I've seen the clay ones but I'm not really sure how they go into the case, I don't want something rolling around loose in there.

johnson430 · Dec 1, 2015

I use this one,
http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Hu...r=8-3&keywords=Humistat+Instrument+Humidifier

I am very happy with my purchase.
I used distilled water only though to keep the unit clean and free of mineral build-up.

blodzoom · Dec 1, 2015

johnson430 said:
I use this one,
http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Hu...r=8-3&keywords=Humistat+Instrument+Humidifier

I am very happy with my purchase.
I used distilled water only though to keep the unit clean and free of mineral build-up.

It says "Simply attach it to your instrument case" but I can't imagine where it goes in my instrument case. I think it's pretty snug in there except maybe for under the neck but I don't know how much that moist air would flow to the body. Am I over thinking this? how does it "attach"?

Also funny that it says "Also comes in brown" as if anyone has ever said "I wish this also came in brown" about anything ever.

Rllink · Dec 1, 2015

blodzoom said:
It says "Simply attach it to your instrument case" but I can't imagine where it goes in my instrument case. I think it's pretty snug in there except maybe for under the neck but I don't know how much that moist air would flow to the body. Am I over thinking this? how does it "attach"?

Also funny that it says "Also comes in brown" as if anyone has ever said "I wish this also came in brown" about anything ever.

Regardless of what you end up putting in there, I think a little bit of imagination is going to have to take place. Just saying.

blodzoom · Dec 1, 2015

Rllink said:
Regardless of what you end up putting in there, I think a little bit of imagination is going to have to take place. Just saying.

I like to follow the path of least resistance. The only reason that I would need to imagine a solution is if nobody with a Ko'olau, or similar case has ever successfully used a humidifier that doesn't hang from the strings before. That seems unlikely to me, but I guess it's possible.

DownUpDave · Dec 1, 2015

blodzoom said:
I like to follow the path of least resistance. The only reason that I would need to imagine a solution is if nobody with a Ko'olau, or similar case has ever successfully used a humidifier that doesn't hang from the strings before. That seems unlikely to me, but I guess it's possible.

Get a plastic pill bottle with a screw on cap. Get a size that fits snug in the recess in front of the heel of the neck of your uke. This is in the main body compartment. Drill holes around the exterior, lots of them. Buy the moisture absorbing crystals, pore some inside and then fill the bottle with water. Once water is absorbed pore out excess and jam sideways in the location listed above. You can do the same thing with a zip lock bag and a sponge. Just leave the ziplock bag slightly open.

That being said I do this and hang an Oasis inside my ukes. It is not worth the risk to under humidify.

johnson430 · Dec 1, 2015

blodzoom said:
It says "Simply attach it to your instrument case" but I can't imagine where it goes in my instrument case. I think it's pretty snug in there except maybe for under the neck but I don't know how much that moist air would flow to the body. Am I over thinking this? how does it "attach"?

Also funny that it says "Also comes in brown" as if anyone has ever said "I wish this also came in brown" about anything ever.

Haha. Also in brown...too funny.
It has little Velcro attachments.
You are over thinking this. I attached the humidifier near the headstock area in my case because there is more room there.
I use a Uke Crazy case.
This will humidify the entire case. It will not use too much water either. I filled up about once every two weeks last winter.
Now I live on an island in south Texas and don't have to worry about humidity so much.

bookoo · Dec 2, 2015

DownUpDave said:
Get a plastic pill bottle with a screw on cap. Get a size that fits snug in the recess in front of the heel of the neck of your uke. This is in the main body compartment. Drill holes around the exterior, lots of them. Buy the moisture absorbing crystals, pore some inside and then fill the bottle with water. Once water is absorbed pore out excess and jam sideways in the location listed above. You can do the same thing with a zip lock bag and a sponge. Just leave the ziplock bag slightly open.

That being said I do this and hang an Oasis inside my ukes. It is not worth the risk to under humidify.

I use sponges in baggies. They are ultra-cheap, and can be cut to whatever size and shape you want. Violin players have been doing this for a long time.

wayfarer75 · Dec 2, 2015

johnson430 said:
I use this one,
http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Hu...r=8-3&keywords=Humistat+Instrument+Humidifier

I am very happy with my purchase.
I used distilled water only though to keep the unit clean and free of mineral build-up.

I didn't like the Humistat, personally. Hard to refill without spilling all over myself. I prefer the Oasis.

I also have used Herco humidifiers. I took out the clay, punched more holes and put in a small sponge. It's so light I don't worry about it bumping into the neck. If it doesn't go in the body, it goes where the headstock is. Although, my newest uke came with a case that has a good bit of room by the heel, and I can put a humidifier there. It's a Rockcase by Warwick.

I keep a hygrometer inside the uke cases, inside the compartment. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004167OY4...UTF8&colid=3V966G577AFTD&coliid=IOXKC4TGJ49AD

johnson430 · Dec 2, 2015

wayfarer75 said:
I didn't like the Humistat, personally. Hard to refill without spilling all over myself.

That is a drawback. I remember now.
I haven't used it since I moved to an island in south Texas though.
The humidity on the island is pretty consistent.

hoosierhiver · Dec 2, 2015

Buy a large room humidifier, having decent humidity in your house will also keep your skin from drying out and help prevent you from getting sick by keeping your respiratory system from getting too dry, you'll also sleep better.

sukie · Dec 2, 2015

hoosierhiver said:
Buy a large room humidifier, having decent humidity in your house will also keep your skin from drying out and help prevent you from getting sick by keeping your respiratory system from getting too dry, you'll also sleep better.

We tried that once. Keeping our house at 50% fogged all our windows.

Donalson · Dec 3, 2015

nothing really constructive to add beyond I find the subject amusing... I've lived way too long in the tropics/sub tropics... 6 years in Panama... had a dehumidifier in the maids quarters room that we used for storage and we had to drain it fairly regularly... but was a comfy room to hang out in... if you just left things in the room without things would start to mildew :-/

then moved to Panama city, FL, pensacola FL, and now south of houston... all gulf coast super humid... prob a good thing as even the "low humidity" in winter here gives me serious issues...

also funny thig is the lowest avg humidity in all 3 locations is right around 50%...

Jeffelele · Dec 4, 2015

I have a toddler and a dog and a wife

Something tells me you shouldn't let the wife see this post.

Jeff

sculptor · Dec 4, 2015

50% not needed

sukie said:
We tried that once. Keeping our house at 50% fogged all our windows.

The low 40s would be fine for a Ukulele. Also you might try bumping up the insulation factor in the windows. Try triple pane EnergyStar windows (I assume you have double pane windows now) and your heating will will go down too.

Humidification

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