Dan Gleibitz
Well-known member
Note: I did search for an answer. Got a lot of threads but no answers.
I'm a bit curious about what people are aiming for when they try to control humidity around their ukuleles. Is the only important thing the _relative humidity_ (expressed as a %)? Or do you also control temperature? What about absolute humidity?
As I understand it, relative humidity relates to the amount of water in the air as a percentage of carrying capacity. Warm air can carry far more water than cool air. So the same amount of water in the air, at a higher temperature, will report a lower RH. If we wanted to control the quantity of water in the air, we'd need to control both temperature and RH.
Or am I overthinking things? Is the critical point simply to prevent the ukulele from drying out too much? Lower RH increases evaporation, as the air sucks up water (and sweat, which is why warm air can feel drier even when it has higher water content). We don't want the air to suck moisture out of the ukulele?
What about if we do humidify, and then temperature varies? Suppose I put a damp sponge in a plastic bottle in my uke case. The temperature rises to a delightful 27 C during the day. Relative humidity drops. Inside the case, the humidifier compensates by allowing the air to absorb its moisture. Great! The ukulele isn't getting dried out. But then the night gets cool, down to 10 C. Won't the ukulele then be subject to very damp air, perhaps even condensation?
I'm just curious as to how this all works.
I'm a bit curious about what people are aiming for when they try to control humidity around their ukuleles. Is the only important thing the _relative humidity_ (expressed as a %)? Or do you also control temperature? What about absolute humidity?
As I understand it, relative humidity relates to the amount of water in the air as a percentage of carrying capacity. Warm air can carry far more water than cool air. So the same amount of water in the air, at a higher temperature, will report a lower RH. If we wanted to control the quantity of water in the air, we'd need to control both temperature and RH.
Or am I overthinking things? Is the critical point simply to prevent the ukulele from drying out too much? Lower RH increases evaporation, as the air sucks up water (and sweat, which is why warm air can feel drier even when it has higher water content). We don't want the air to suck moisture out of the ukulele?
What about if we do humidify, and then temperature varies? Suppose I put a damp sponge in a plastic bottle in my uke case. The temperature rises to a delightful 27 C during the day. Relative humidity drops. Inside the case, the humidifier compensates by allowing the air to absorb its moisture. Great! The ukulele isn't getting dried out. But then the night gets cool, down to 10 C. Won't the ukulele then be subject to very damp air, perhaps even condensation?
I'm just curious as to how this all works.