Oasis Ukulele Humidifier Touching Inside of Uke

Brian W · Jan 16, 2014

I tried the Oasis once, but didn't like it. I don't like the idea of just humidifying inside the soundhole only, without also considering what humidity fluctuations will do to the neck as well; and I still have yet to see any difference in performance between using a $20 store-bought humidifier and using a wet sponge inside an open ziploc bag. As far a s damage to the instrument, I wouldn't worry about it touching the inside of the body, however there are some reports on the web of them leaking and damaging the inside of guitars; thought to be fair, I do not know if they were improperly used.

OldePhart · Jan 16, 2014

Brian W said:
I tried the Oasis once, but didn't like it. I don't like the idea of just humidifying inside the soundhole only, without also considering what humidity fluctuations will do to the neck as well; and I still have yet to see any difference in performance between using a $20 store-bought humidifier and using a wet sponge inside an open ziploc bag. As far a s damage to the instrument, I wouldn't worry about it touching the inside of the body, however there are some reports on the web of them leaking and damaging the inside of guitars; thought to be fair, I do not know if they were improperly used.

I don't think an Oasis could leak, honestly, unless maybe if it got squeezed pretty hard to "wring" the moisture out of the crystals inside. The humidifiers that I know of that have damaged guitars, including light damage to one of mine years ago, were those long tubular ones where you basically had a piece of surgical tubing with holes in the side and sponge inside. If you got the sponge too damp those would leak and sometimes the sponge inside would protrude through the large holes far enough that it would come in contact with the wood and "wick" moisture straight to the wood - that's what happened with one of my guitars.

John

Brian W · Jan 16, 2014

OldePhart said:
I don't think an Oasis could leak, honestly, unless maybe if it got squeezed pretty hard to "wring" the moisture out of the crystals inside. The humidifiers that I know of that have damaged guitars, including light damage to one of mine years ago, were those long tubular ones where you basically had a piece of surgical tubing with holes in the side and sponge inside. If you got the sponge too damp those would leak and sometimes the sponge inside would protrude through the large holes far enough that it would come in contact with the wood and "wick" moisture straight to the wood - that's what happened with one of my guitars.

John

John,

I agree. I think as long as you properly fill the tube with distilled water and let the crystals completely soak up all the water, you probably will not have an issue. I just wanted to bring it to the attention of the poster that there are reports out there of leakage failures; though it is possible they are all operator error. Was the damage to your guitar repairable?

OldePhart · Jan 16, 2014

Brian W said:
John,

I agree. I think as long as you properly fill the tube with distilled water and let the crystals completely soak up all the water, you probably will not have an issue. I just wanted to bring it to the attention of the poster that there are reports out there of leakage failures; though it is possible they are all operator error. Was the damage to your guitar repairable?

It wasn't major damage. It caused a discolored/stained patch roughly the size of a business card or a little larger. However, only a tiny fraction of that area was penetrated deeply enough that it showed under the finish from the outside (and it was on the back). I didn't bother to try to get it refinished or anything because it wasn't that valuable a guitar, but I did quit using those "worms" when I discovered it.

John

callmemario · Jan 17, 2014

I really gave those Propylene water jelly balls a try (or whatever they're called) I had to have 3 to 4 plastic pill bottles full of them in my uke case but they never let out enough humidity to reach the proper level according to my incase hygrometer. So I went the other way, pill bottles again 3 to 4 each containing a brand new/never used square piece of sponge rolled up filled with distilled water with excess water having been squeeze out and now it perfect for many many days!! Voila!

OldePhart said:
It wasn't major damage. It caused a discolored/stained patch roughly the size of a business card or a little larger. However, only a tiny fraction of that area was penetrated deeply enough that it showed under the finish from the outside (and it was on the back). I didn't bother to try to get it refinished or anything because it wasn't that valuable a guitar, but I did quit using those "worms" when I discovered it.

John

OldePhart · Jan 17, 2014

callmemario said:
I really gave those Propylene water jelly balls a try (or whatever they're called) I had to have 3 to 4 plastic pill bottles full of them in my uke case but they never let out enough humidity to reach the proper level according to my incase hygrometer. So I went the other way, pill bottles again 3 to 4 each containing a brand new/never used square piece of sponge rolled up filled with distilled water with excess water having been squeeze out and now it perfect for many many days!! Voila!

I've been using my own homemade humidifiers for about three years now. I use tubes that glitter comes in from wall mart. Drill a bunch of 1/16" holes and use the fine "water crystals" from the garden section at Lowes. Work great and I've recently gotten a chance to compare them with Oasis and they kept the same case at about 50% vs about 60% for the Oasis. They aren't as large as the Oasis so they do have to be filled more often - about once a week.

John

callmemario · Jan 17, 2014

Hi John,

Yes I was using those water crystals but they just weren't producing enough humidity somehow...even with my pill bottles with holes punched in all over. I even think it was you who had given me/us the tip on these water crystals. So I had to find an alternative.
I guess it's whatever works. Thanks!

OldePhart said:
I've been using my own homemade humidifiers for about three years now. I use tubes that glitter comes in from wall mart. Drill a bunch of 1/16" holes and use the fine "water crystals" from the garden section at Lowes. Work great and I've recently gotten a chance to compare them with Oasis and they kept the same case at about 50% vs about 60% for the Oasis. They aren't as large as the Oasis so they do have to be filled more often - about once a week.

John

clayton56 · Jan 18, 2014

I don't think it's necessary to put a humidifier inside the uke, anywhere in the case will be enough. I tried testing with a hygrometer inside the case, and a small humidifier inside the case. Position in the case didn't matter, the moisture gets around. I'm also in LA area, SFV, and in the house it's almost always 50%-60% anyway. Because of this I stopped putting any humidifier in the case, to avoid mold forming on the wood. I try to let moist air from the bathroom circulate into the closet where the instruments are (that's what Jobim used to do). I would not let a moist sponge get close to the wood.

mikelz777 · Jan 18, 2014

Humidifiers weren't made for users whose environment is already at 50 to 60% RH. It's made for those of us who are in colder, drier climes where RH levels in the house can reach 15% or lower. My experience with positioning of the humidifier differs from that of the poster above. Experiments in an empty case as well as a case with a ukulele in it have shown me that the positioning of the humidifier does matter. Imagine this on a larger scale. If you wanted to humidify your living room, you wouldn't put the room humidifier in the dining room. Your living room might benefit in higher humidity because of its proximity to the dining room, but you're not going to get the higher (desired?) RH levels you'd be experiencing in the dining room.

callmemario · Jan 18, 2014

I fully agree.
__________

mikelz777 said:
Humidifiers weren't made for users whose environment is already at 50 to 60% RH. It's made for those of us who are in colder, drier climes where RH levels in the house can reach 15% or lower. My experience with positioning of the humidifier differs from that of the poster above. Experiments in an empty case as well as a case with a ukulele in it have shown me that the positioning of the humidifier does matter. Imagine this on a larger scale. If you wanted to humidify your living room, you wouldn't put the room humidifier in the dining room. Your living room might benefit in higher humidity because of its proximity to the dining room, but you're not going to get the higher (desired?) RH levels you'd be experiencing in the dining room.

Oasis Ukulele Humidifier Touching Inside of Uke

Brian W

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Brian W

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