Does this humidifier do any good.

[JimmieT]

I have a 000 and a D size Martin X guitar with the wood top. It only gets down to 30% RH in the winter in Seattle. Just in case I use a small Rubbermaid pudding cup size container with holes in the lid and 1/2 a kitchen sponge in it. I put it in the headstock area of my cases.
I'm wondering if I'm humidifying any more than the headstock or if it actually helps the top?

[cke]

The vapor should permeate he case so should work. I would guard against getting water on the guitar, either a wrap of a cloth or put in string box.

BTW this is the same idea as soap box or ziplock bag humidifiers.

Keep the case closed except when taking the instrument out and in to preserve the humidity in the case

[brian a.]

Originally Posted by JimmieT

It only gets down to 30% RH in the winter in Seattle.

Is that 30% RH outside or inside your house? Inside the house is the important RH. If you have forced air heat, the RH could be even lower.

[dgonz]

Hard to say. Depending on how the inside of your case is structured, no moisture might make it to the body area, and/or inside it. You rarely have to worry about headstocks cracking from being dry. If they did, I would imagine the top would have been a goner long ago.

To be safe, I'd just get an actual guitar humidifier. I had a hairline crack in my Taylor when I left it out too long in the winter, near the dry air of the fireplace that was burning.

[PTC Bernie]

Water vapor is very invasive. Unless you have a form fitted case that's unusually tight and conforms to the body, water vapor will find its way throughout the case.

You can pick up cheap hygrometers at Walmart for less than $10. They're good enough to give you an approximation the humidity level in your case.

I've been using the sponge in a soap dish trick for over 40 years without a problem. I've seen the occasional post, and I'll admit it's not common, about an Oasis or similar that have leaked into the body of the guitar. I just don't want to be that 1in 1000 that has it happen.

[Leftyplay]

Give a look on YouTube for homemade guitar humidifiers.
Such as this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q0SZ69c4Tc

[broknprism]

Anybody remember the Dampit? It was a rubber tube with sponge material inside, and it fit between strings into the guitar body. I worried about humidity a lot when I lived at 8,000 ft in CO, but only a little less here near Portland. I use the soap box/sponge method, but I don't feel any more secure about it than the OP.

I once asked a builder how humidifiers worked -- did the moisture invade the wood as designed, or did the dry air 'attack' the sponge instead of the top? He didn't know.

[rickbb]

I use the soap dish humidifier in the headstock area for my Collings (tight case) and have found there is room for the cylindrical Oasis case humidifier placed upright in the small space at the guitar shoulder in the guitar body area of the case, without it touching the guitar.

I use Humidipaks and sleep well at night. It's just a suggestion to think about.

[MikeBmusic]

I've got my house up to the 40+% range humidty right now with the whole-house humidifier. My Taylor guitar case (close-fitting one) has a good hydrometer in it, I keep it up near the headstock, and I have the Planet Waves humidifer with the yellow sponge in the sound hole. The hygrometer in the case shows 51% pretty steady - so the whole case DOES get humdified, even when closed.

[dwstout]

Originally Posted by JimmieT

... It only gets down to 30% RH in the winter in Seattle. ...

30% is pretty low for a guitar.