Do I Need a Humidifier for My Ukulele?
TREES NEED WATER, UKES DO TOO.
Why would such a small instrument need a humidifier? The simple answer is because it is made of wood. Metal and synthetic materials such as ABS & Carbon Fiber, are not impacted by their environmental surroundings like wood. Not enough humidity and the wood will begin to dry out, too much humidity and your instrument can begin to expand and swell. In extreme cases, this can cause the finish to split or even crack, especially with a high gloss finish. It can cause the body of the instrument to swell or hollow, affecting the straightness of the neck and soundboard. Most ukuleles do not have necks with truss rods, so no adjustment can be made to the neck if it bows due to humidity changes. Dryness can also cause the frets to protrude out on the sides making it uncomfortable to play. To avoid these kinds of issues make sure your instrument is kept properly humidified.
OKAY, HOW BAD IS IT?
The best way to know the conditions in your home is to use a humidity gauge. There are several on the market in a variety of price ranges. The main idea is to have a gauge that will let you know when your humidity level is too low or too high. Normally, we condition our homes, if it is hot we use the AC and if we are cold we turn on the heat. Both can help us feel better, but both will result in lowering the humidity in the room. Understanding what your actual humidity is will help you to determine the best option moving forward.
WHAT DO I NEED?
There are several options available for adding humidity to your room and to your instrument. A common and inexpensive option is a small ukulele humidifier that can go right in the case with your instrument or directly into the instrument itself. These devices will need to be refilled every 3-5 days depending on your conditions. They are a great option if you just want to humidify one ukulele. For multiple instruments you might want to invest in a small room humidifier. These are locally available from a variety of stores and can run all day and add humidity when needed. You will need to check and refill these daily if necessary.
SMALL SCALE SOLUTION
To help keep your ukulele well humidified we offer a small Digital humidity gauge. The Oasis #OH-2C Thermometer and Hygrometer will fit easily in your case, or you can use it outside of the case to monitor your room’s condition. We also sell the smaller in-case ukulele humidifiers. The Oasis OH-18 Ukulele Humidifier is a great choice for most conditions, but for drier climates the Oasis OH-5 Plus+ might be a better option. Both are excellent humidifiers that will protect your investment.
LARGE SCALE SOLUTION
If you want to condition a full room or rooms, there are a lot of options and brands available. Deciding which one to pick was very difficult for us because we really didn’t know anyone that was using a humidifier to protect their stringed instruments. Since I struggled through this decision, I thought that perhaps someone else might benefit from what we found.
First, we preferred the evaporative type humidifier over the mist humidifiers. The mist humidifier left a white dust residue over the instruments. Distilled water is recommended to avoid this, but we felt that this was a costly and inconvenient option. Also, it really only worked well if the ukulele was very close to the humidifier.
Searching the evaporative humidifiers we found two great options from AirCare® Products. Evaporative Humidifiers use a wick and a fan that provides humidity to the room without the mist, the dust and the need to buy distilled water. Although we do not sell them they are available from many retailers. One, the AirCare® MA0800 is ideal for a single room such as a bedroom, or for us, our showroom. The second, a larger humidifier, the AirCare® MA1201 is what we use in our living room which is part of a more open floor plan connecting several other rooms. This unit is considered a whole house humidifier and it does a fine job of keeping all of our stringed instruments at just the right condition.
CONCLUSION
So whatever option you decide on, knowing what your room conditions are and being able to maintain a safe humidity level will be key in keeping your instrument in great condition for you to enjoy for years to come.
Thanks for checking out our blog!
We started The Ukebug in the Spring of 2018 purely as a result of our family’s enjoyment of the ukulele. Quite simply, we’re a small, close knit family with a passion for the ukulele eager to spread our joy with others.
So if you’re particularly keen on laughter, melody, and refreshment – the ukulele is for you.
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