At Taylor Guitars we are always looking for safe and simple solutions to help our customers maintain proper humidity levels for their solid wood instruments. As a reference, the proper acceptable range of relative humidity for solid wood instruments is between 40 and 60 percent. With proper care, the potentially damaging effects of overly dry or humid conditions can be avoided.
Due to the fact that humidity can’t be seen, tasted or heard it often can only be felt during extreme conditions, either high or low. This is why humidity problems often go completely unnoticed by consumers and dealers.
Nonetheless, it is something to be monitored every day.
You might notice extremes of humidity, or the lack of it, when your skin gets dry. You’ll notice the effects of high humidity when your screen door sticks or a window is hard to close in the summer. Yet in the winter, that same door or window might open and close just fine. You’ll notice the effects of low humidity after walking across the carpet and touching the door handle and a light shock hits you from the static you created.
All of these scenarios and more are showing the effects humidity has on everything around us.
With this in mind, consider how critical it is to keep an eye on your high-end solid wood instruments when humidity levels rise for extended periods of time. Not unlike a wooden door or window frame that swells, a wooden instrument is not immune to the effects of humidity. A gloss finish might protect the instrument from impact or liquids, but it isn’t a vapor barrier.
The Ever Bamboo products I’ve used and tested can help in the process of keeping your solid wood instrument from reaching a state of being over-humidified. They can also help to de-humidify an instrument that has already seen the effects of high humidity. Keep in mind, an instrument that has seen extreme levels of humidity for an extended period of time will need several weeks of consistent use of no less than three 50-gram Ever Bamboo deodorizer/de-humidifier products.
Additionally, the use of this biodegradable, re-usable product (after a short drying period) is earth-friendly and safe for the instrument.
Consider this: A solid wood, full-size acoustic instrument at 50% relative humidity (RH) holds 199 grams of water turned into vapor. If the instrument is at 75% RH, it is holding an additional 100 grams of water turned into vapor, and that moisture needs to be removed from the instrument safely in order to keep it from becoming damaged.
The Ever Bamboo 50-gram packets can be installed inside the instrument and the case, and will not damage either. Note: Do not store them in the case’s accessories compartment as it is a closed-off area. You need them in the open sections of the case and/or instrument to be effective.
Also consider that when the instrument is stored in its wooden guitar case, as it should be when not being played for maximum protection, the case absorbs and/or releases the humidity as well. A solid wood case holds 417 grams of water turned into vapor at 50% RH—that’s twice as much as the instrument. If the case is extremely over-humidified from its surrounding environment, the instrument will absorb the humidity from the case and continue to swell. If so, the instrument can fall prey to major damage. For example, the finish can release from the instrument, or the bridge may start to separate from the top of the instrument. The instrument will also lose sustain, and the action will become very high, making the instrument hard to play.
This is where the Ever Bamboo products can help. Of course, the best approach is to never let your instrument get over-humidified in the first place. Using the 50-gram Ever Bamboo product together with a digital hygrometer (to monitor the humidity levels) is a great preventive solution that will help you keep your instrument in great condition. If you live where the humidity is very high all year round or spikes during the summer months, this is a simple and effective way to combat the negative effects of high humidity.
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