Paul December
Well-known member
Our home humidity here in Chicago is around 20%, so I keep my ukes in our music studio that is humidity controlled.
Often I see it recommended here to keep your uke in a case with a humidifier if you can't control the room humidity. I thought I'd put this "common knowledge" to the test. Using 3 different humidifiers (one at a time) I checked the humidity inside 4 different foam/soft cases that most of our ukes come in. I put 2 different hygrometers in the cases to measure the humidity. After 72 hrs. these were the readings inside the cases:
Room Humidity 18%
-------------------
Dampit - 21% (23% inside the the uke's sound hole)
Herco - 26%
Homemade - 33%
I understand my hygrometers are measuring the humidity of the air in the case and not the wood, but even making allowances for that, these numbers are terrible. I can only hypothesize that either the case is letting the moisture escape or the fabric & foam is absorbing it.
Often I see it recommended here to keep your uke in a case with a humidifier if you can't control the room humidity. I thought I'd put this "common knowledge" to the test. Using 3 different humidifiers (one at a time) I checked the humidity inside 4 different foam/soft cases that most of our ukes come in. I put 2 different hygrometers in the cases to measure the humidity. After 72 hrs. these were the readings inside the cases:
Room Humidity 18%
-------------------
Dampit - 21% (23% inside the the uke's sound hole)
Herco - 26%
Homemade - 33%
I understand my hygrometers are measuring the humidity of the air in the case and not the wood, but even making allowances for that, these numbers are terrible. I can only hypothesize that either the case is letting the moisture escape or the fabric & foam is absorbing it.
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