Time to put those humidifiers to work!

I don't know if you can just get away with tap water, but it says in the instructions to use distilled.

I wondered the same thing, but I play it safe and buy a gallon for a buck. It can be challenging to pour water from that gallon jug into the tiny opening on the Oasis. :D
 
As far as I know only the Oasis brand requires distilled water. I taught band and violin in public school. I had some students who used a humidifier that was a long thin flexible tube. They used tap water.

I figure what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I have some of those green Dampit humidifiers, and I soak them in distilled water. All my humidifiers get distilled water.
 
Yep, they recommend using distilled water for Humileles.

That makes sense from the manufacturer's point of view. Distilled water is theoretically free of any contaminants. With the thousands of different water supplies people around the world are using, who knows what weird things are in tap water?
 
I got mold growing on the sponges that come with the Music Nomad Humilele humidifiers that I used last winter. I never used anything other than distilled water. The sponges started discoloring at the end of the winter/early spring. I assumed it was mold ..... dark gray spots & patches all over the sponges. All 4 sponges looked the same. I tossed them & cut my own sponges for the Humileles this year. I prefer the Humileles because they are so easy to put in & take out of the strings at the sound hole. I struggled with the Oasis & after dropping it inside my ukes several times, I gave up on them.

Yeah, those Humileles are nice, but I haven't gotten any mold after a couple of years. I'll keep an eye on them.
 
I don't have any solid wood ukuleles, but even laminates can lower the action. So I use a room humidifier.

It is as much for me as for my wooden instruments. In Finland and central battery heating, the humidity without is very low. There is the electricity cost of course to consider.
But I trust only the hot water humidifier type. No mold etc. bacteria that way. And simple tried way.

At half power setting it consumes maybe 150 W and evaporates about 6 liters/day of water.
 
Yeah, those Humileles are nice, but I haven't gotten any mold after a couple of years. I'll keep an eye on them.
This is what all the sponges looked like. Maybe it wasn't mold, but I didn't want to take a chance. I only used distilled water. The regular sponges that I trimmed to fit in the Humileles dry out faster than the ones that came with them, but not a big deal to keep them wet.
 

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I've mentioned this before, I have a friend who is a classical guitar player and he is obsessed with humidifying his guitars. I'm pretty sure that he was over humidifying them, I mean, he is that kind of person who takes everything to excess. Anyway, he got mold growing inside two of his guitars. I don't know what worked for him to get the mold out, he tried several things, but it was quite the subject of conversation with him for a month or two.
 
I wondered the same thing, but I play it safe and buy a gallon for a buck. It can be challenging to pour water from that gallon jug into the tiny opening on the Oasis. :D
I got a little syringe to fill it with mine. I got a package of the crystals to change the gel out and they sent me another one. I will send you one of them if you want and if I can find the other one. You can PM me.
 
Last winter I used half a gallon of distilled water to keep 6 acoustic guitars and one ukulele well-humidified. This is with two humidifiers per case, checking humidity levels twice weekly and adding water as needed. My opinion: the easiest way to keep humidifiers wet is to keep a gallon jug of water handy.... what's the big deal if that gallon of water is distilled and costed $1?
Maybe this winter, having added a bunch of ukes, I'll end up using the entire gallon:eek:
 
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I am very excited for this Ohio winter; we had a whole house humidifier installed with our AC unit last spring. We do have to watch relative humidity so condensation doesn’t form on windows, so we may have to drop it below 40%. So the ukes could still need the extra help. There is so much wood in my house, though, I am happy to keep everything from drying out.

As for distilled water, that is what I have always used in my Oasis humidifiers. It’s so cheap and a gallon will last a long time.
 
I am very excited for this Ohio winter; we had a whole house humidifier installed with our AC unit last spring. We do have to watch relative humidity so condensation doesn’t form on windows, so we may have to drop it below 40%. So the ukes could still need the extra help. There is so much wood in my house, though, I am happy to keep everything from drying out.

As for distilled water, that is what I have always used in my Oasis humidifiers. It’s so cheap and a gallon will last a long time.

That is my understanding too. Well, compared to Finland, Ohio is very south lol.

To keep something like 40% humidity is not really possible when outside is like -20C freezing temperature in the coming winter and inside is maybe 23C. So the air coming in gets warmed and while outside it is ok, it looses all the moisture passing in to over warm room temperature.

So yes I agree with all of you keeping your ukes in cases and humidified besides some room thing too.
 
That makes sense from the manufacturer's point of view. Distilled water is theoretically free of any contaminants. With the thousands of different water supplies people around the world are using, who knows what weird things are in tap water?

Yep, that's why I didn't take any chances with tap water.
 
Being new to having a koa ukulele, I will be using a humidifier for the first time. Is it really necessary to use distilled water. I live in the Bay Area, CA and the water quality is good and the humidity is not awful. If crystals are being replace periodically, wondering if it is worth the trouble and expense of using distilled versus tap water.

I don't think that would be a problem as long as you replace the crystals and clean it out.
 
Being new to having a koa ukulele, I will be using a humidifier for the first time. Is it really necessary to use distilled water. I live in the Bay Area, CA and the water quality is good and the humidity is not awful. If crystals are being replace periodically, wondering if it is worth the trouble and expense of using distilled versus tap water.

Distilled water is cheap, $1 gallon. Tap water will leave behind impurities and clog up your humidifier...

BTW, in Arizona my humidifiers work 24/7/365.
 
Yep. Here in Los Angeles today the humidity dropped a good deal, slid open one of the water tray covers in my humidified display cabinet. The hygrometer is now at 54%.

Shelf 7 ukes 800.jpg



8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

I completely failed my original plan to cut down on my ukes this year due to this tedious task every winter.
Can't. Let. Go.

I started wondering about getting or having made a cabinet like yours...
How does that water drawer work?
And are there plans out there, or units for sale?
 
We have had rain here at least every other day for months. I long for dry weather! I think I've bought every kind of humidifier made, and I've finally settled on an "automatic" humidifier. It's the D'Addario Humidipak. When the case is dry, it gives off moisture. When humidity is too high, it absorbs the excess. These are made for guitars, so they are larger than we need. You get three in a package. I put one in the sound hole, and the other under the headstock. I don't have very many of these, so I also use the various other kinds.

If you want to buy one, be sure to get the whole kit, not just the refills - although they are probably all you need.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000OMG...9f29-b01cba1a344c&ie=UTF8&qid=1541849503&sr=1


I know there are many ways to make your own humidifier, but I feel better paying for one

I am intrigued by this product that wouldn't require twice weekly filling (even though the disposable nature goes against my grain).
How are you using them with ukes? Have you found a way to place it in a small sound hole of a soprano?
Does it really require buying the saddle bag? (The guitar packs seem big enough not to fall inside.)
Would it be dangerous for these pouches to touch the finish on the side of the sound hole?
Or should one buy instead the ones designed for a tobacco humidor?
 
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The tobacco humidor packs keep a different humidity percentage. The guitar ones are made to keep a 45% RH. (Sorry, that should have read 49%.)

I use the Boveda packs. Also available on Amazon.
 
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The tobacco humidor packs keep a different humidity percentage. The guitar ones are made to keep a 45% RH.

I use the Boveda packs. Also available on Amazon.

So how do you place the Bovedas in the ukes?
Do you buy those holders for each one?

Thx for your advice,
 
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