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How to Make a Humidified Guitar Room

Playing the guitar is a joy, and maintaining a guitar should not be difficult. If guitar maintenance seems arduous because the guitar is always falling apart or splitting, too much or too little humidity might be your problem. Wood changes shape when it is wet or dry, and if a guitar often moves between different humidity levels this may change the structure of the guitar. Also, a guitar stored in a place that is very wet or very dry can have structural problems.

Things You'll Need

Hygrometer
Humidifier
Thermometer
Clock

Instructions

- 1
  
  Determining the humidity gives you a starting point.
  
  Measure the humidity in the room. A hygrometer is a humidity monitor, and these devices are relatively cheap. If you do not have a thermometer or humidity monitor, you can purchase a home weather station and install it on the wall in the room. Both of these devices have digital displays and will tell you what the humidity in the room is at the moment.
- 2
  
  Wood changes shape as it gains and loses moisture.
  
  Determine whether the humidity is too high, too low, or just right. If the humidity is between 45 and 55 percent, it is good for guitars that were made in a factory, since their humidity is generally around 50 percent. Most often, rooms will be too dry. When wood is too dry, it begins to shrink. This means that the tuning on the guitar goes off and the strings begin to bend. Over time, cracks can appear in the guitar.
- 3
  Install a humidifier if the humidity in the room is too low. If you own an expensive guitar you may wish to install a humidity sensor that will automatically turn on a humidifier when the humidity falls to a certain level. If you want to do the same process with less expense, you can install a humidifier across the room from the guitar. Measure the humidity and temperature of the room.
- 4
  
  Determine how long it takes for the humidity to rise to the desired level.
  
  Look at the time. Determine how long it takes the humidifier to increase the room's humidity by 10 percent. Divide 10 percent by the number of minutes it took to determine the change per minute. For example, if humidity rises by 1 percent per minute and your humidity is 35 percent, you need to turn on the humidifier for 20 minutes to reach 55 percent humidity.
- 5
  
  Damp clothing or towels can change humidity.
  
  Maintain a consistent temperature and moisture level in the room by eliminating outside influences as much as possible. Humidity varies according to the room temperature. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air, so a warm room will often be more humid than a cold one. Minimize the number of times you open the doors and windows in the room, and avoid bringing wet items such as wet clothing and towels into the room.
- 6
  Watch the humidity in the room to ensure that it does not go too far above the desired humidity. A guitar that is too humid will begin to expand slightly. The seams may come apart and the frets can tarnish, even at humidity of 60 percent. If this occurs, you need to reduce the humidity in the room to ensure to the 45 percent.

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