Humidifying our guitars

Hi John

Electric guitars require a lot less humidity than acoustic guitars, but, long exposures to low humidity conditions, less than 25%, can change the neck on your electric guitar.  Hardware and electronics can be adversely affected by the direct humidity of using a case humidifier so I suggest using a home humidifier in the room the guitar is kept in.

Acoustic guitars like to be kept at 40-50% but this is difficult to achieve in most older homes so the use of a case humidifier is recommended along with a home humidifier.

Solid wood Arch Top guitars should be treated like a acoustic.

Here in Minnesota the cold winters dry the air to extremely low levels and this in turn causes our home to dry out also.

My usual rule of thumb for humidifying is "From the time the leaves fall to the time the leaves return". Having a digital hygrometer in your home is a more accurate way to judge when to humidify.

I keep my shop at 40% all winter using a home humidifier made to cover 2500 sq. ft. It holds just over 5 gal. of water in two containers. Keeping your home at 40% is difficult unless it is a newer "tight" home. Most home humidifiers can keep a home up to 30% and this is satisfactory for electric guitars but acoustics should still get a case humidifier.

Using a home humidifier will help greatly against drying out your acoustic during long practice sessions, remember to close the case when practicing.