Humidity problems

[AwakenTheSkies]

In the winter it's a bit easier for me to control the humidity in my guitar room because all I have to do is turn on some heating. But now in the summer I have to use a dehumidifier, because if I let it be, the humidity will go as high as 85%, mold starts to grow, etc etc

I started today, I left the dehumidifier on overnight, it lowers the humidity down to 50% and it stops. But when I came back I found the guitar fretboards were all dry looking and the setups were off.
Another thing is that the humidity climbs up and down when I'm in the room, it's hot, I sweat and I turn the dehumidifier off because of the noise it makes. Then when I'm finished for the day I turn the dehumidifier back on.

Is this only a cosmetic thing, or should I worry about damage? I know acoustics can be really bad with this, but all my guitars are electric.
My guitars have survived a bunch of things. Moving countries, being transported by plane and finding the neck has an upwards bow now because of the new climate...pretty scary, but it was fine after an adjustment. But still I'm scared eventually they will twist or something.
So I'd like to hear how others deal with these changes. I didn't want to apply oil to the board, but it looks kinda ugly like this.

 

[Briz]

85% is extreme. I keep mine between 50% - 55%. In the winter, I swap the dehumidifier out with a humidifier because the heat drops the humidity down to 39% some months. You shouldn't see damage at 50%. Are you getting that 50% number from the dehumidifier or a hygrometer? My dehumidifier (Midea Cube) will read 45% while the hygrometer reads 54%.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

Are you getting that 50% number from the humidifier or a hygrometer? My dehumidifier (Midea Cube) will read 45% while the hygrometer reads 54%.

50% dehumidifier reading. This summer I haven't seen 85% yet thankfully. Starts at 76% stops around 50%.
I guess 85% might be extreme. But so far my guitars are fine, and I have this under control way more than I used to. Now what worries me is the constant changing when I'm in the room with the dehumidifier off vs when I'm out with the dehumidifier on.

 

[nightsprinter]

My rubric for if a guitar is worth keeping is subjecting it to the torture of living in a 120 year old house with little to no control over the indoor environment. Brittle dry gas heat in winter, a lone window AC unit in summer. I do have a huge humidifier for winter but it doesn't do as well as I'd like (lucky to get 30-40% humidity on a good day) and in summer I don't even look at the hygrometer.

If the neck stays predictable in its seasonal movement and the truss rod works, it's a keeper. I keep 90% of my stuff in cases which seems to help.

Point is, I think climate control is important. I wish I could do it better. I also think there's way too much paranoia surrounding the topic.

Those expensive 1960s strats people are shelling out dentist money for didn't spend their lives inside a glass enclosure with humidity regulation sensors.

I definitely ripped that last bit off of someone else ^

 

[Briz]

You can try salt buckets or a ton of DampRid to combat high humidity without the noise.

 

[Grindspine]

If your guitar area was sitting at 85% and you dropped it to 50%, you will definitely see your setups change.

Humidity is one of the most common types of damage to guitars. I aim for keeping mine between 40-55% year round, the closer to 50% the better. But, this is Indiana, so weather and humidity change.

That being said, when I worked at... uh a sweet music retailer, the warehouse was generally really good at staying near 50% relative humidity. When I got certified Silver as a Taylor guitar tech, a lot of the lessons were focus on humidity restoration.

tl:dr yes, humidity control is important for guitar health!

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

If your guitar area was sitting at 85% and you dropped it to 50%, you will definitely see your setups change.

Humidity is one of the most common types of damage to guitars. I aim for keeping mine between 40-55% year round, the closer to 50% the better. But, this is Indiana, so weather and humidity change.

That being said, when I worked at... uh a sweet music retailer, the warehouse was generally really good at staying near 50% relative humidity. When I got certified Silver as a Taylor guitar tech, a lot of the lessons were focus on humidity restoration.

tl:dr yes, humidity control is important for guitar health!

Damn What kind of damage do you think could come from this? Even on electrics?
I read somewhere that the wood expands and things become unglued but...I've been living here for around 7 years and haven't noticed anything. Well one cheap guitar finish has started coming off...but it was a made in China beginner type guitar.

 

[Grindspine]

Damn What kind of damage do you think could come from this? Even on electrics?
I read somewhere that the wood expands and things become unglued but...I've been living here for around 7 years and haven't noticed anything. Well one cheap guitar finish has started coming off...but it was a made in China beginner type guitar.

Fretboards and necks expand and contract with humidity changes. Over time this can cause changes in setup due to neck relief changing, frets to lift, sharp fret edges to sprout, and even fretboard cracking. The thing to avoid is wide swings in humidity.

Well-made guitars can be a bit more stable to these changes, and some changes will happen (playing a show in summer vs winter). Best practice is to store guitars in a case with a humidifier / dehumidifier pack like the ones D'Addario markets, or at least keep guitars in that 45-55% range if possible.

Humidipak Humidity Control Packs | D’Addario

Humidipak is a maintenance-free two-way humidity control system for guitar. It automatically maintains the optimal 45-50% relative humidity level within your instrument case by adding or depleting moisture as necessary. Shop now.

www.daddario.com

Taylor Guitars

Taylor Guitars is a leading manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. As well you can build to order via our custom guitar program. Taylor guitars are widely considered among the best-sounding and easiest to play guitars in the world.

www.taylorguitars.com

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Guitars survived for hundreds of years before mechanical HVAC, and those were acoustics made with hide glue and shit.

Just keep an eye on the setups and do regular maintenance and your guitars should be fine, within reason.

Whenever you change things they'll react, but it's normal.

Remember, most guitars are built in big factories near the equator with little central heating or cooling and then get jammed into a big shipping container that's stored outside for weeks. If you can survive in your house, your guitar can too.

 

[Edika]

Strangely enough, where I live now humidity is lower when it's warmer and sunny. Mind you it never gets over 25 Celsius but being quite north, the sun really is intense. Winter it's always gloomy, cloudy and wet (and spring, most of the summer and autumn) and, if left unchecked, humidity is always between 65-75%. The main effect I see is how quickly frets oxidise and I've seen some of the hardware being affected.
I have a dehumidifier I leave on on the setting which will stop on the target humidity of 50% and will start up again after the humidity rises over 65%. In the past I had it on the low setting during the night and if humidity would not go down at the high setting but my electricity bill rose quite a bit. The smart setting seems to balance energy consumption vs humidity level.