Homemade incase Humidifier (works great for less than $5

[David MacNeill]

Originally Posted by jdto

Here’s your info on the crystals: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel

Thanks. I didn’t know water beads were the same as the stuff in vitamin dessicant packs.

I read the whole page and understood enought know that I am not going to subject my guitars to chemical agents purchased from a dollar store. Distilled water is the only thing I trust.

EDIT: Well dang me. I thought the Planet Waves product was some kind of gooey gel pack. Looks like the Humidipack/Boveda company has their own version which looks better, but still pretty expensive for folks with multiple guitars.

[N+1]

Originally Posted by David MacNeill

Distilled water is the only thing I trust.

That may be unnecessarily severe. The wood cells of an acoustic guitar, at ideal relative humidity of 45%, already contain a good deal of water* - and we don't know the origins of that water. It surely wasn't distilled.

*I remember reading somewhere that the weight of a typical guitar under ideal humidity conditions includes 5 or 6% water. Can anyone confirm that?

[N+1]

Originally Posted by robj144

what is a "dumifier"?

It's a device designed to achieve dumification of a guitar. I wouldn't be without mine. I find the green ones work best, especially on Thursdays.

[Long Jon]

Originally Posted by N+1

*I remember reading somewhere that the weight of a typical guitar under ideal humidity conditions includes 5 or 6% water. Can anyone confirm that?

I once accidentally over-dried a D28 that was hanging on a wall hanger.
I restored it (with no apparent lasting ill effect) by putting it away in it’s case for a few days with some home made ziplock and sponge hoomifiers (sic)

I weighed the guitar on my digital scale (which measures up to 5 Kilos in grams), before re-hoomificating it and weighed it again after hoomerefaction.

This was about 5 years ago and I have lost the written record I had of this scientific study ,
BUT if memory serves it was in the 4.5lbs area and gained over an ounce in weight , about 32 grams IIRC.

[N+1]

Originally Posted by Long Jon

BUT if memory serves it was in the 4.5lbs area and gained over an ounce in weight , about 32 grams IIRC.

Thanks. In terms of order of magnitude, that tallies with Bob Taylor's account of an over-wet guitar that lost 50g or so when dehumdoomified to 45% RH. (Even in its over-dehumdoomified state, your dry D28 would presumably still have had quite a lot of water in it.)

[Long Jon]

As someone else attested in an earlier post, the frets “sprouting” out the edge of the fretboard is one alarming tell tale sign of over-dryness.
If I’d played it more regularly I’d have noticed sooner.
(This was during a phase when I was spoiled for D28 variants, I flipped my way through half a dozen or more used ones in my frantic quest for “The One”. sometimes being in possesion of 3 at a time.)

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, thanks to the OP for the tip - I'd never even heard of Water beads, Worry beads, yes, but, not water beads.

I noticed recently that my in house RH has dropped into the mid thirties so I'm going to try your recommendation - now to find a dozen or so soap boxes to drill!

Best,

Ol' Andy.

[mackey]

I like this do you have room in your case for the soap dish?

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by robj144

I get the gist, but what is a "dumifier"?

"Dumifier" - A person who is completed dumbfounded about humidifiers.

[mkitman]

Originally Posted by jdto

This is factually incorrect.

Minerals don’t evaporate with the water, so they won’t hurt your guitar. If you put some tap water on a dark surface and let it dry, you’ll see a white residue which is the mineral content in the water. The water evaporates and the minerals stay behind. In the case of tap water and cigars, there can sometimes be mold spores in tap water which can then grow on the cigars. The thing that the minerals in tap water do is clog the sponge or beads, reducing their ability to hold water. Distilled water is just water that’s been evaporated (usually using heat), then condensed again without the minerals. It is recommended for humidifiers because it won’t clog them.

Thanks for the correction. (my memory seems to be deteriorating along with my playing... )

And my cigars are all just fine, thanks!

[MikeBmusic]

Good back-and-forth about using distilled water vs tap water. I think if you use typical treated 'city water', mineral content is not much of an issue compared to well water - I see that up in New Hampshire, where well water is much more prevalent Home Depots sell a lot of water purification gear for home owners - the filter units plus the stuff used to take the minerals out.

[Mystery123]

I went to a dollar store and they only had pre-soaked ones.
I got a bottle but they are like pea size soaked so I assume they are like pin head when dry.
Too small.
I may have to order bigger ones from China.
Probably 5mm dry is better as they get around .75 inches diameter when hydrated.

[Rusty55]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

I went to a dollar store and they only had pre-soaked ones.
I got a bottle but they are like pea size soaked so I assume they are like pin head when dry.
Too small.
I may have to order bigger ones from China.
Probably 5mm dry is better as they get around .75 inches diameter when hydrated.

I have made similar humidifers using little rectangular snap lid boxes from the bead craft section at walmart and waterbeads I just drilled holes in the lid. They seem safe and work well.[emoji28]