Humidifiers

Is your zither in need of repair? Do you have questions on how to best maintain your zither, or have advice? Post your questions and advice here.

Moderator: Dave

Post Reply
bcolclough
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:39 am

Humidifiers

Post by bcolclough »

A member on here has suggested that I share my experience with musical instrument humidifiers.

I live in a climate that experiences drastic changes in humidity ever season...sometimes everyday in a season. Therefore I have become increasingly aware of the need to monitor the humidity levels in my home.

My awareness began several years ago at the Guitar Center in Buffalo, NY. The acoustic guitars are kept in a section of the store where humidity levels are controlled. Acoustic guitar, mandolins, and ukuleles are kept in this area.

Last winter was a long cold winter. A friend of mine in Western New York had his classic Gibson guitar crack because his house was so dry. That lead me to ensure my instruments were taken care of.

I was repairing a zither that I purchased last year. It had a slight warp to it. I purchased a violin humidifier that fits perfectly into the sound hole of a zither and I used clamps to put equal pressure on the fretboard. Over time, without heat the instrument found its intended position.

This is the type of violin humidifier that I bought. https://www.long-mcquade.com/1039/Band/ ... difier.htm

I simply follow the directions and keep this humidifier in my Zither while it is in the case. I add moisture to it on a regular basis to protect the instrument.

I have a Gretsch guitar from about 1949/1950. It is an acoustic guitar that belonged to my father. Unfortunately it sat in a case for a long time. The neck bows and some the joints are separating. I purchased a guitar humidifier to prevent further damage and to get the wood to a better position for when I have the instrument restored. The type that I purchased is great. Fill it with water and the humidifier collapsed as moisture leaves it. When it is fully collapsed it needs water. It makes inspecting the humidifier easy. Simply open the case and look at it.

This is the product that I purchased.
https://www.long-mcquade.com/6526/Guita ... difier.htm

Although intended for guitars, it is also possible to place this inside any instruments case and it will released moisture.

I also use digital hygrometers in my house. Those are the devices that show what the humidity level is in a room. I have them all over the house. In the winter if you add too much humidity to your home you will see condensation on your windows. You can also find mould growing in your house.

It is not likely that you will add too much to your instrument if you use commercial products for adding humidity. If you are experiencing the above symptoms in your home then be away that you have hight humidity levels in your house...these won't harm the instrument but it can be damaging to your home and your health.

PM me if anyone has any questions.

Bill
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Rudy Mueller »

Elegant solution!

Room type humidifiers have brought relief of some issues, but these here are real solutions.

See this Forum, General Discussion, Humidity Control, from 2013.

Rudi
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Rudy Mueller »

Back is woodworking class, the instructor (Otto Klaus) mentioned that the old German cabinet makers frequently finished both the inside and outside, or top and underside, of their products to equalize the rate of transfer of moisture in and out of the wood, preventing cracking.

If this is so, why are musical instruments frequently finished only on the outside, visible, surfaces?
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Rudy Mueller »

It's that time of the year! Get out those humidifiers.
Andy
Posts: 131
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:36 am
Location: Austin TX
Contact:

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Andy »

Thanks Bill, good time of year for a lesson on humidity control. What humidity level do you all try to keep your Zither at? I was reading that acoustic guitars are best around 40 - 50%, do those values apply here as well?

- Andy
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Rudy Mueller »

Tuning Issues? Once again, i's time to get out the humidifiers!
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Rudy Mueller »

Several issues have significantly reduced the time I have available to practice. I have however rigorously kept up with maintaining the humidity. When I do get the chance to practice, the instrument has consistently been in near prefect tune.

rudi
Andy
Posts: 131
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:36 am
Location: Austin TX
Contact:

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Andy »

When I moved from my apartment to a house at the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to make my new office in the house a humidity controlled space, primarily to keep the zithers in good condition. I have a humidity sensor wired up to a power brick with a humidifier and a dehumidifier attached to it. When the humidity drops bellow 45%, the humidifier kicks on to bring it up to 50%. When the humidity gets over 55%, the dehumidifier kicks on to lower the humidity down to 50%. The consistency has gone a long way to help with keeping things in tune (and hopefully to keep my great-grandfathers zither in healthy condition).

TL;DR; Listen to Rudi, humidity control is very important with wooden instruments.

Andy
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: Humidifiers

Post by Rudy Mueller »

WOW WHAT SYSTEM. Up here in Wisconsin, I fight to keep the relative humidity in our home up to 30%, even with a power humidifier ("April
Aire ") on our hot air furnace. If I attempted to get to 50%, the Wisconsin DNR would wonder why the water level of Lake Michigan had dropped!

My system is simpler, with a hand towel on each corner of the table, moistened twice a day with about 1 cup water total

Somewhere on the net I recall a cellist who would hang his instrument in the bathroom with the shower running hot before concerts.

rudi
702826537.jpg
702826537.jpg (682.31 KiB) Viewed 17434 times
Post Reply