Moisture and guitars?

stenio83

Recently i've been noticing some collector folks being obsessed in regards to moisture on their guitars and take such precautions as having a case full of silca sachets and won't play in their prize guitars in environments that are damp, 

then i notice there are things call humidifiers for guitar case which i can only assume put moisture back in the wood.

Whats the big deal with moisture, surely if it was an issue all the sweat blood, tears and years of playing in damp garages would have been an issue, why don't they just rock out worry free!??

stonevibe

More an issue if their is zero moisture or you have acoustic guitars.

They suffer  a lot in the States with very dry conditions.

I don't think we have much to worry about in the UK. Unless you live in Wales...

MattFGBI

In the uk it's usually being too dry in the winter that's the problem. The central heating in your house will make the humidity drop and can lead to what people call "fret sprout", sinking tops and other undesirable shrinking and drying.

It's worth getting a humidity gauge and trying to keep wherever you store guitars around 40 to 50%.

Sassafras

Just had a look at the weather forecast, we're nearly at 90% humidity at the moment and it rarely drops below about 30% even in Winter. Maybe not so much to worry about after all. It's never a problem I've encountered here in the South of England with any of my guitars.

WezV

Sassafras said:

Just had a look at the weather forecast, we're nearly at 90% humidity at the moment and it rarely drops below about 30% even in Winter. Maybe not so much to worry about after all. It's never a problem I've encountered here in the South of England with any of my guitars.

its the humidity in your house you need to worry about.  as Matt says, central heating is the issue.

last time we discussed this someone told me I was wrong for saying it was seasonal, but my central heating usage is very seasonal so I stand by it  

a little bit of common sense is all you really need.  Avoid damp parts of the house and radiators at all costs.  

stenio83

So playing and leaving my guitar In a simple garage with carpets is not a problem for rehearsing and storing ? @sassafras

@stonevibe so guitars actually need moisture then?

Sassafras

Playing it in the garage is up to you but I wouldn't leave it there. Garages can get damp and are easily broken into.

blueskunk

Not good i would have thought?

WezV

an uninsulated garage will cause issues long term.   much more extreme temperature swings will be the real issue

its all about relative humidity.  wood is never completely dry, its hygroscopic, it takes on and releases moisture depending on relative humidity.  this is more of an issue with acoustics as the wood is unfinished inside and very thin.  but it does still affect electrics - particularly the neck relief and fretboard wood - but even heavily finished wood isn't immune

look at it this way.  Hawaii is famous for its ukuleles and high humidity.   They survive just fine in the high humidity, but if you took that Uke to a dry location it would loose a lot of moisture and the wood would shrink drastically.   If you build the uke in the dry condition with wood that had been seasoned in that environment it would be fine

MattFGBI

stenio83;676679" said:

So playing and leaving my guitar In a simple garage with carpets is not a problem for rehearsing and storing ? @sassafras

@stonevibe so guitars actually need moisture then?

Garages aren't good. They go from extreme to extreme in terms of temperature and they do get damp. If it's 18 degrees outside your garage is probably a lot hotter.

stenio83

@WezV my garage is insulated with 100mm celotex/kingspan would that be ok? I have then covered with plaster board and damp proofed the floor.

People talk about vapour paper is that the foil side of the celotex.

Thanks for your detailed answer.

WezV

best way to check is to pick up a combined hydrometer and thermometer and take regular readings for a while

Sarge

stonevibe;676619" said:

More an issue if their is zero moisture or you have acoustic guitars.

They suffer  a lot in the States with very dry conditions.

I don't think we have much to worry about in the UK. Unless you live in Wales...

You have a whole lot more to worry about than moisture if you live in Wales!