Ukuleles: Dry Air and Moisture

Perhaps this is in the wrong place because my post isn't about building a uke but rather caring for one. I see so many posts by those concerned about their instrument and how to care for it within local weather conditions. Some seem to believe that because they live on a coast or near water that they need to take special precautions.

I live on the Gulf Coast of Florida where it's pretty humid year round. I always thought that dry air, not moist air, was the enemy of wood instruments. The dry air of centrally heated northern homes in winter I thought particularly bad. Air conditioning in warmer climates dries the air too but not I think to the same extent.

I asked a local Luthier and ukulele maker if I needed to be concerned or take any special care of a classic Kamaka by keeping it stored in a humidified case and was advised that in this area it wasn't much of an issue.

I'm interested in the opinion of forum woodworkers and Luthiers. What are "bad" conditions for a ukulele and under what situations would you advise storage in a humidified case? Are laminates, as is commonly believed, less susceptible to these problems?

Solid wood instruments generally are "happy" in a temperature and humidity environment that humans are comfortable in. The Hawaiian islands are a good example of such an environment. If you have to modify the environment by heating or humidifying, or you have to wear many layers of protective clothing outdoors then your uke needs care and protection too.

If you have an instrument that you really want to give the best care to.

Buy a white fiberglass case and put in three Boveda 2-way 49 percent Humidity Control Packets. You can buy them on Amazon etc. Only buy the 49% packets. Changes in humidity will eventually destroy every wooden instrument not destroyed by other means. What you are trying to do is to not have that happen in your lifetime. You want a white fiberglass case because at some point you are going to leave that case with uke inside in the sun, by a window or in a car. You can control the humidity in a fiberglass case or abs for that matter.

I build ukuleles in Hawaii and interior Alaska. The humidity in Hawaii averaged about 75%. My shop in Fairbanks Alaska averages about 15% to 45% depending on season. When I build in Hawaii I pump out water and in Alaska I pump it in. I build as close to 40% humidity as I can. I feel that is a good place to start from as it is in the mid range. I feel an uke can handle high humidity better than low to very low humidity. High humidity tends to push everything tighter together where low humidity pulls things apart. The biggest problem with high humidity is the tendency to push inlays out of their settings. I also find that high humidity swells the top enough to cause a noticeable rise in action height. I actually have different saddles that I change out for each environment. Low humidity makes everything smaller (except the frets) It is easy to feel a dry uke.
Building at 40% humidity can only help to mitigate the effects of humidity. What humidity an instrument is built at is it's starting point. You can build at any humidity and if it stays within that range it will survive. I have my personal collection in my uke room that is humidity controlled at 40% and 68F year round.
So...I tell all my customers.... Not to hot, not to cold, not to dry, not to humid. Do that and you will be fine.