Humidity control inside case.

[Fred3137]

Hello readers, 

I bought my first Gibson J-45 Standard Sunburst model, i've been saving cash for this model for the past 9 months.

Now, i'm probably the most rookie owner there is, and maybe i think too much about it but i'm making sure that i take care of it as much as i can.

I have a hygrometer at home and made various tests around my house to find a proper room to store it (inside it's original case) and the relative humidity(RH) is around 45-50% which is good.

But then i placed the said hygrometer inside my guitar case(Standard Brown gibson case that came with the guitar) and the RH goes up to 60-63% RH...which i'm reading is too high for an acoustic. 

So, my question :

• Is there anything to do to lower the humidity level in the case?
• I'm thinking, leaving my guitar outside it's case for a little while so the case can maybe lower the humidity level?
• Or should i just ignore this and leave it inside the case?

To put it in perspective, i play about 2 hours every evening after work, so yes it does spend time outside it's case. 

I'm also checking if my hygrometer needs to be calibrated.

Let me know guys, 

Thanks in advance.

[cunningham26]

45-50's awesome. i wouldn't be too concerned about low 60s, especially if that's just slow trends of rising or dropping over time. 

Humidity fluctuation is where it gets tricky- i'm in new england and we can go from around 35 up to 80+ % in the matter of a few hours if a low front thunderstorm rolls through. 

If there's going to be a big humidity change where you live, just pop it in its case. the humidity in a closed case will change more slowly than the air and certainly slowly enough not to damage it. sounds like you live in a solid spot for guitars though!

[duluthdan]

You could try Humidipaks from Plant Waves. Designed to release or absorb moisture to maintain everything at 50%.  I mostly fight dryness, but these have worked well for me. 

[kidblast]

I don't believe low 60s for RH is not really in the danger zone.    you could try the D'Addario Humidipak, which works as a  two way "system"  add and absorb moisture. 

Humidipak | The Automatic Guitar Humidity Control System | D'Addario (daddario.com)

edited: yea  Dan beat me to it...  

 

Edited July 30, 2021 by kidblast

[olie]

If the RH is 40-55% in the room, I'd just open the case for a day or so to let it dry to about what the room reads.

Moisture is like heat- it seeks stability. The fabric in the case has absorbed some water vapour. It will shed it when exposed to the ambient RH.

[Fred3137]

I live close enough to New-England, Quebec is where i am. 

My house has air exchanger and A/C, so it's very stable. 

Thanks for the info

[cunningham26]

i leave mine in cases all winter, and in summer with central air i can close the windows and have it be pretty normal when the humidity gets high. 

in winter i DIYd my own humidipak with a travel soap case and half a kitchen sponge. wet and squeeze the sponge about once a week and it works like a charm. 

[Dave F]

4 hours ago, duluthdan said:

You could try Humidipaks from Plant Waves. Designed to release or absorb moisture to maintain everything at 50%.  I mostly fight dryness, but these have worked well for me. 

Same for me when I was leaving them in the cases. I also have some of the humiditraks which I do not use anymore.

[Twang Gang]

If you want to lower the humidity inside the case you can put some silica gel packs inside it and they will absorb moisture.  Monitor it and when you get the inside of the case down to 50% or so take them out.  60% isn't too extreme, but too much moisture can do as much damage as too little.

[fortyearspickn]

First -  CONfreakingGRATULATIONS on your new J45!   Sounds like it's  a match !    Welcome to the club;  

Remember - not just the case, but everything in the room absorbs and expels moisture at a different rate.   You could put the case out in the sun for 20 minutes and dry it out.  Doesn't sound bad.    For me - I just keep the room between 40%  and 60% and find the guitars, which I leave out 24/7 - stay in tune.   G'Luck ! 

Edited July 31, 2021 by fortyearspickn

[Fred3137]

51 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

First -  CONfreakingGRATULATIONS on your new J45!   Sounds like it's  a match !    Welcome to the club;  

Remember - not just the case, but everything in the room absorbs and expels moisture at a different rate.   You could put the case out in the sun for 20 minutes and dry it out.  Doesn't sound bad.    For me - I just keep the room between 40%  and 60% and find the guitars, which I leave out 24/7 - stay in tune.   G'Luck ! 

Thanks bud!

[Fred3137]

5 hours ago, Dave F said:

Same for me when I was leaving them in the cases. I also have some of the humiditraks which I do not use anymore.

Will definitely check this out! 

[zombywoof]

The ideal humidity for a guitar is not set in stone.  With a new guitar much of it depends on the conditions in the factory where it was built.  If you recall Nashville-made Gibson acoustics, as example, were prone to problems because the plant in which they were built did not have even close to the ideal environment in which to build acoustics.  They were pretty much "wet" guitars right out of the starting gate which resulted in all kinds of problems if going to live in a dry climate or during the winter.  Assuming Bozeman is  far more efficient when it comes to environmental controls, anywhere in the  40% to 60% range should not be an issue.  You get above or below that for prolonged periods though it could well become a problem.

If you are talking about in-case humidifiers I like a perforated soap dish with water beads.  It is cheap and controllable.  You add or remove the beads as needed.

[Flatlander]

What is a water bead?