Room humidity levels

[palsed]

For those of you who keep guitars out and have a room humidifier, what humidity level to you keep it at? Thanks.

[billsatori]

We have a whole house humidifier and try to keep the house at 40% but it can be tough to keep above 30% if it is very cold and dry. I use Oasis humidifier in guitar cases for my D-18 but will keep my Yamaha FG-830 on the wall.

[rokdog49]

Ours is around 40-42% in the winter with a whole house humidifier.
Guitars are out of the cases at all times with no additional humidification.
They're fine and have been for years.
I don't believe guitars are at risk unless the humidity drops below 35% for an extended period of time and I don't see the need to keep them at 50-55%.
YMMV.

[sstaylor58]

I keep mine out and try to keep the humidity around 50%. I could probably go lower but worry about the accuracy of my two gauges...

[Osage]

We heat with wood in the winter so even with a humidifier going, it can get pretty low here. When it starts getting below 40%, guitars go in their cases with humidipacks when not being played. In the summer it gets really humid, even with dehumidifiers. When it starts hanging north of 60%, the guitars go in their cases with humidipacks. So I guess that means that I like the humidity to be between 40% and 60%, which it is in the spring and fall here.

[hotroad]

My indoors humidity right now is 13%. I use in case humidifiers and check them daily. This is Central Oregon at 3500ft elevation and high desert. But the house heating system dries out the air, not the outdoor weather.

[Beachnut]

Live in Florida where we have plenty of humidity, but the home is at 50% or lower. Have both laminate, layered wood and solid wood guitars (as well as several other instruments including a 100yr old piano). When not out they are in the case with a humidipack. Am I correct?

[der Geist]

To my ears my guitars sound best at 40% to 45%. So i keep the humidifier set at 45%. My guitar room is relatively small but includes a stairwell that doubles its size. I go through about 2 gallons of water daily.

[Mr. Paul]

42% here. Last winter I maintained 35% with no problems but I've found the guitars sound just as good at 42%.

[bls82261]

I keep mine out and have a room humidifier. I leave the door to the room closed. My goal is 45% and it rarely varies more than 3%. I have two hydrometers in the room just to make me feel better but I've compared about 4 different ones with consistent results so I'm confident they are pretty accurate.

[CASD57]

It was running 25-30% here with heating on, Summer a constant 40%, We just moved into the house, so this is different from across town where it stayed 45-60% year around(Pool-Vegetation-Canal) So I bought a room humidifier and it's keeping it 35-40% I might try shutting the doors when I'not home.
Using about 1.5 liters a day

[jazzguy]

I aim between 45 - 55%, if it goes above I'm not too concerned. If it goes below 40 - it's going in a case with humidifiers. That is pretty rare - maybe once or twice in the winter because I live in upstate SC.

[Merak]

I just put a room unit in because one of my guitars got sick with a 12th fret buzz. Humidity had gotten down to 15%. Now its sitting at 35% and the buzz went away. 😀

[RustyAxe]

45-55% is about right. Shows 52 right now. I like it in the upper end of the range in case I can’t fill it on time (about 5 gallons every 2-3 days). When heating season ends I never look at the hygrometer and leave the humidifier off til next season.

[mercy]

If your guitar was built at 40% then 50 would be high. I believe that you can safely go 10% up or down from the % your guitar was built at. My guitar was built at 40 so I keep it at 40+- but if your guitar was built at 50 then 40 would be where you should should start humidifying.