Be Careful with Boveda Humidipacks...

[sbpark]

I've been a fan of these for a few years now. Recently ordered a 12-pack. Four of them were leaking inside their individual packaging. 

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

43 minutes ago, sbpark said:

I've been a fan of these for a few years now. Recently ordered a 12-pack. Four of them were leaking inside their individual packaging. 

 

I had the same issue on a 4 pack. Got ahold of them and the send me a replacement set. They must have had a bad batch. There was no visible puncture to the bag. My thread was in the Lounge under Great Customer Service. 3 days later my replacement's came.

[BoSoxBiker]

Are they the makers of the ones for D'add? I have a 12-pack coming in Monday.

[Sevendaymelee]

3 hours ago, BoSoxBiker said:

Are they the makers of the ones for D'add? I have a 12-pack coming in Monday.

I don't have too much experience with those, but when I ordered a twelve-pack, only the first four (I used them on two guitars and only in the sound holes) worked as they should. The next round dried out a lot faster, and it was a continuous thing from there to the point where at the end, they were drying out in a month despite putting them in sealed baggies when playing etc. So maybe the problem is in the packaging. When you buy your standard pack and use it, they are completely air-tight and sealed properly. When you buy a twelve-pack, they all just come in a reusable bag, which obviously isn't nearly as good.

[BoSoxBiker]

4 hours ago, Sevendaymelee said:

I don't have too much experience with those, but when I ordered a twelve-pack, only the first four (I used them on two guitars and only in the sound holes) worked as they should. The next round dried out a lot faster, and it was a continuous thing from there to the point where at the end, they were drying out in a month despite putting them in sealed baggies when playing etc. So maybe the problem is in the packaging. When you buy your standard pack and use it, they are completely air-tight and sealed properly. When you buy a twelve-pack, they all just come in a reusable bag, which obviously isn't nearly as good.

Thanks for the warning. I'll do as air tight as I can when I open it up for the first batch.  I might *prom-date the rest (*=double-bag).  I do use your re-sealable bags while the guitar is on the stand. Glad to see I'm not the only one. I was starting to think I was being a bit too anal(?) about it.

Do you think the dry Winter months are making them wear out faster, too? Every guitar I've taken out for about a month has needed 1 of 3 packs replaced.

 

[sbpark]

6 hours ago, Sevendaymelee said:

I don't have too much experience with those, but when I ordered a twelve-pack, only the first four (I used them on two guitars and only in the sound holes) worked as they should. The next round dried out a lot faster, and it was a continuous thing from there to the point where at the end, they were drying out in a month despite putting them in sealed baggies when playing etc. So maybe the problem is in the packaging. When you buy your standard pack and use it, they are completely air-tight and sealed properly. When you buy a twelve-pack, they all just come in a reusable bag, which obviously isn't nearly as good.

This was not the case with the 12-packI bought. They came in a box, and each pack was individually wrapped. 

[sbpark]

1 hour ago, BoSoxBiker said:

Thanks for the warning. I'll do as air tight as I can when I open it up for the first batch.  I might *prom-date the rest (*=double-bag).  I do use your re-sealable bags while the guitar is on the stand. Glad to see I'm not the only one. I was starting to think I was being a bit too anal(?) about it.

Do you think the dry Winter months are making them wear out faster, too? Every guitar I've taken out for about a month has needed 1 of 3 packs replaced.

 

The would make perfect sense given the humidity drops on the winter, sometimes to single digits depending on where you live. Since that's the case, the guitar needs more moisture, so it draws that moisture from the humidipacks. As they draw the moisture out of the humidipacks the packs dry out. That's what they're supposed to do. 

[Sevendaymelee]

9 hours ago, BoSoxBiker said:

Thanks for the warning. I'll do as air tight as I can when I open it up for the first batch.  I might *prom-date the rest (*=double-bag).  I do use your re-sealable bags while the guitar is on the stand. Glad to see I'm not the only one. I was starting to think I was being a bit too anal(?) about it.

Do you think the dry Winter months are making them wear out faster, too? Every guitar I've taken out for about a month has needed 1 of 3 packs replaced.

 

I think the winter months speed it up, but ultimately, it's probably  how they (A-ddario) all come  in one resealable pouch instead of their own pouches. I went to great lengths to keep mine from drying out. I kept the bag sealed, put it inside another ziplock baggie, then put that baggie inside a sealed tuperware container lol. They still ended up drying out in a month after putting them in my guitars... which was significantly faster than when I used the ones which came in their own pouches (those lasted between four and six months long). So I really don't know what's going on. Maybe I got a bad batch? Whatever the case, I'm not spending 60 dollars on a 12 pack anymore. I'm either going  to spend more on the individual pouches, or going back to the sponge method. I haven't made the decision yet, but I'll probably end up getting the individual packs because once you get use to humidipaks, it's tough going back to wetting a sponge every three days lol.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Sevendaymelee

[BoSoxBiker]

Baggies inside the Tuperware  - you win. Our spouses would probably enjoy sharing notes. We should probably make sure that never happens. 😀

I agree - the humidipaks might be expensive, but ease of use and a little piece of mind during the iffy months. Easy decisions. Crusty - change. Feels like gel in there, A-OK. Done.

Edited March 8, 2022 by BoSoxBiker

[Kwlsky]

I used humidipacks until one leaked inside my guitar some years ago. The guitar was in its case so I didn't notice right away. I'll never use them again. Hopefully mine was a rare experience.

[sbpark]

On 3/6/2022 at 8:00 PM, BoSoxBiker said:

Baggies inside the Tuperware  - you win. Our spouses would probably enjoy sharing notes. We should probably make sure that never happens. 😀

I agree - the humidipaks might be expensive, but ease of use and a little piece of mind during the iffy months. Easy decisions. Crusty - change. Feels like gel in there, A-OK. Done.

I like the simplicity of this and have used it in the past. A sponge inside travel case to hold a bar of soap with holes drilled into it is also a very similar method.  But not convinced it[s effective, especially if you live in an area that gets pretty dry, especially int he winter. Here's why...where do you place this in your case? Usually up by the headstock, which really does nothing but humidify the headstock part of the case. If you have a dry guitar you really need to have something in the sound hole. That's why I prefer the Music Nomad or DampIt. They're not fancy, relatively inexpensive and very effective. 

I'll use the sound hole humidifiers during the driest winter months and then switch to Humidipacks for the rest of the year. I haven't had any leak inside a guitar, but having 4+ of them already leaking in a box of 12 is a bit concerning. 

[BoSoxBiker]

47 minutes ago, sbpark said:

I like the simplicity of this and have used it in the past. A sponge inside travel case to hold a bar of soap with holes drilled into it is also a very similar method.  But not convinced it[s effective, especially if you live in an area that gets pretty dry, especially int he winter. Here's why...where do you place this in your case? Usually up by the headstock, which really does nothing but humidify the headstock part of the case. If you have a dry guitar you really need to have something in the sound hole. That's why I prefer the Music Nomad or DampIt. They're not fancy, relatively inexpensive and very effective. 

I'll use the sound hole humidifiers during the driest winter months and then switch to Humidipacks for the rest of the year. I haven't had any leak inside a guitar, but having 4+ of them already leaking in a box of 12 is a bit concerning. a

Yeah, sounds like tossing them would be best.

I once had the D'add branded version disintegrate inside of a cheapo 7-10 years back. There was a bunch of bits of paper inside the guitar. I'm not sure how it could have happened, being inside the pouch and all.

[fortyearspickn]

23 hours ago, Kwlsky said:

I used humidipacks until one leaked inside my guitar some years ago. The guitar was in its case so I didn't notice right away. I'll never use them again. Hopefully mine was a rare experience.

I'm not playing Russian Roulette with my guitars.  Even if the chance is  0.01%  -  I'll play it safe.     Back in the day,  I had a heavy duty cloth bag with some type of baked clay pebbles.  Like clay flower pot material, only lighter, more porous.   Was something  they sold in hardware stores to remove dampness from closets, car trunks.   Kept it in the case (in the compartment with the lid) for 3 decades. Old brown faux alligator cardboard case that came with my new LG-1.   Worked perfectly in NY,  South Florida, Massachusetts, Texas.   Absorbed moisture when it was too much and released it when it was too little.  Luthier who leveled my frets finally -  said not to change anything.   I can't find those baggy thingys anymore though.  

[Kwlsky]

 

53 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

Back in the day,  I had a heavy duty cloth bag with some type of baked clay pebbles.  Like clay flower pot material, only lighter, more porous.

I've seen little clay beads in baking catalogs for holding pie crusts flat while baking them. They might be similar to what you are describing.  Now I just have a humidifier and hygrometer within 6-8 ' of my acoustics during the dry winter months. The guitars are happy and we all breathe better.  

[Dave F]

I haven't used them for a few years since my music room was setup. Before that, I used them for about 10 years ( had about 50 guitars) with no issues. I would buy in bulk and store them in the bags they furnished for years at a time and never had an issue.

[fortyearspickn]

10 hours ago, Kwlsky said:

 

I've seen little clay beads in baking catalogs for holding pie crusts flat while baking them. They might be similar to what you are describing.  Now I just have a humidifier and hygrometer within 6-8 ' of my acoustics during the dry winter months. The guitars are happy and we all breathe better.  

That’s what I do.