How low humidity is too low?

[mercy]

Most factories build about 50% so 40% is ok and even will make your guitar sound better. Still you need an accurate humidity gauge. Most Calibre III are good but it doesnt cost much more to get one that is calibrated. That way you know exactly what the figures are and you can determine whether other gauges you have are accurate. I have 3 only one of which is calibrated.

[EllaMom]

I use the Oasis for all my guitars, one humidifer per case. The reason you want to use distilled water is because it contains no minerals. Minerals will clog up the one-way fabric that the Oasis humidifiers are made of. I have very hard water at my house, so only distilled water for my Oasis humidifiers.

If you are using a homemade humidifier, such as was mentioned (i.e., a damp rag in a plastic container, or some use baggies poked with holes) then the distilled water is not needed.

[MikeRGR]

I hope I can put this message in this thread

We talk a lot about keeping the guitar humidified. Do we have to worry about tooo much humidity. In the North East this week the rh is about 65-70% It may stay like that for a month or more.

With no dehumidfiers in the case the guitar could easily get up to 65% Should I be worried about this and are Humidipaks effective in reducing the humidity in the case.

Thanks for your answers

Take care

mike

Originally Posted by MikeRGR

We talk a lot about keeping the guitar humidified. Do we have to worry about tooo much humidity. In the North East this week the rh is about 65-70% It may stay like that for a month or more.

Is that indoor humidity? If it's hot enough to have the A/C running, as it is here in KY, that will lower the indoor humidity to around 50%. That said, 65% RH is highly unlikely to damage your guitar. I wouldn't worry about it.

On the low end, my personal limit is about 30% for brief periods. If it looks like it's going to trend lower than that and stay there for a while, I'll add humidity. I realize that's lower than many prefer.

[MBE]

Originally Posted by Uncle R.

A very experienced jazz guitarist and dealer counseled me years ago that while 50% is often touted as the perfect figure I might find I prefer the sound of my acoustics at 40% relative humidity. He was right. He said 40% is perfectly safe for good guitars and in my experience that's been true. He also warned me that 30% should be considered rock bottom - the absolute red line - and even at that I would be pushing my luck. He advised anything below 30% for more than a few hours would be putting my guitars at serious risk. I've never had reason to doubt the wisdom of his advice. I strive to hold the entire house at 40% through the winter but it sometimes dips into the 30s during extreme cold spells. When the indoor RH drops to the low 30s or worse I make sure to keep damp humidifiers in my guitar cases. I've had no problems over several years with several guitars.
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Uncle R.

These have been my numbers to go by and my experience personally. I had an old Taylor crack when the humidity dropped below 30%, I prefer the tone at 40%, though I'm much happier with 45% than 35%. The incident with the Taylor was a number of years ago and I have never let my home drop below 35% since!

[jaymarsch]

My experience is similar to some that have already posted. In discussing this with Kathy Wingert, who made two of my guitars, I found out that my guitars were built at 38% relative humidity. I have taken my guitars to camps in the desert for a couple of weeks at about 20 to 25% humidity and just made sure I had a humidpak in the case and kept it in the case when I wasn't playing. My guitar did just fine, with my case interior not dropping below 35%.

I live in Northern California where the relative humidity in my house is between 40 and 55% most of the year. My guitars do just fine and I do keep them in the cases when they are not being played.

When I go to North Carolina for 2 weeks in late summer, that's when I get into the more extreme with high humidity. It can be anywhere from 80 to 100% relative humidity! I use the humidipacks and can keep the environment of my cases close to 50 to 55% which is close to what they usually live at.

I am fortunate that I live in a pretty friendly humidity for guitars but when I travel, I need to do a little homework on how to keep them at a maximum playing condition. I don't worry about it - just a little mindfulness and preparation and then it is just play the darn things!

Best,
Jayne