D'Addario Humidipak Question

I hate it when people ask my advice because I am not (yet) an expert in every field, and I don't want to give them the wrong advice.

I'm sure you know about the D'Addario Humidipak. It dispenses moisture to the uke when it needs it, and it absorbs moisture when the humidity is too high. A friend asked me about storing it and reactivating it.

I store mine in a Ziploc bag. If it has started to dry out, I put it into a Ziploc with a damp sponge, while it's still inside the black pouch. That's the advice I gave to my friend. I've never had to dispose of one. D'Addario wants you to keep buying new ones. I wonder why.

Any other opinions?

Yes, they can be kept going in that way. Once they start getting a little "crunchy", sitting in an airtight container with some moisture will rehydrate them. While I like D'Addario products, if you look up the Boveda packets online you will find they are a bit cheaper than the D'Addario branded version. If you need to replace them at some point you can save a few bucks.

EDW said:

While I like D'Addario products, if you look up the Boveda packets online you will find they are a bit cheaper than the D'Addario branded version. If you need to replace them at some point you can save a few bucks.

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Thanks. Good to know.

Unless something has changed, Boveda is the one making those packets for D'Addario. I got Boveda last time too. I've had the same ones since before Fall last year. I also enclose them in a zip-lok bag with some moist foam, paper towels, etc. to keep them hydrated. I was mostly switching them out daily. Some recharge in the bag for a day while the others are in the instrument case. I only had one instrument to humidify this past Winter....so pretty easy for me this year.

We use em at work so they are plentiful, but I hate to just toss into the landfill. A couple getting rehydrated in my homemade rehydration chamber...lol

Last Summer I had a number of D'Addario HumidPak/Boveda Packs that I had taken out of cases and sitting around. It was particularly humid then and to my surprise all of the packs started to regenerate! I squeezed the packs to make sure that they were completely renewed, but some still had crystals in them. So I let them all go longer until they were all soft.

A WARNING! I think I punctured the inner envelope when I squeezed the pack, because two developed a damp area on the outside envelope. A third developed a damp area without being squeezed. Fortunately, I had them in sleeves and none of them touched the finish of the ukes.

So a sleeve is a useful thing to have. However, the makers seem to now only offer them in kits.

I am playing it safe an only using new paks in my uke cases. And swapping them out once a year for a new set.

Dang, wish I knew about the rehydration process a couple years ago. It was really expensive for me to use them but now maybe I will try them again.

badhabits said:

We use em at work so they are plentiful, but I hate to just toss into the landfill. A couple getting rehydrated in my homemade rehydration chamber...lol
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Is that water in the bottom of the cup? You take them out of the pouch to rehydrate?

Martinlover said:

Dang, wish I knew about the rehydration process a couple years ago. It was really expensive for me to use them but now maybe I will try them again.

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That works very well, especially if they're not completely dead when you start. Being able to rehydrate them proves that what they say is true: they do absorb moisture.

Jerryc41 said:

Is that water in the bottom of the cup? You take them out of the pouch to rehydrate?

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yes, water and yes, out of the pouch (because I rotate several). you don't really need a pouch....but for peace of mind I use cheap microfiber sunglass bags that can found at the dollar store or on ebay (the really cheap ones without the plastic tip on the drawstrings, just a tied knot)

Well if you're going to go through the trouble of re-hydrating and re-using them for extended periods of time, I think a purpose built humidifier would be more durable and easier to refill.

I just had my first experience with these 'disposable' Boveda sachets with my recent purchase from The Ukulele Site.
I think the main reason they are considered disposable is due to the limited durability of the paper.

If I wanted something to humidify with, I'd rather just get an Oasis or Herco and fill it with purified water every now and again. Much easier, and made of durable parts intended for constant re-use.

(that being said, I've never had to humidify my instruments. The climate is relatively mild where I live in Australia)