Humidifier?

[ELSOL102]

What do I do about a humidifier for my mandolin? I live in MA so the air can be dry in the winter.

[pickloser]

You have many, many options. Put "humidifier" in a search and you could probably read about this all day. Generally, the advice runs: get a hygrometer or two, because accuracy varies. Keep humidity between 40 and 60 percent (numbers vary with advisor; mandolins like about the same humidity that humans like). Use a house, room, or case humidifier. (which option to use and which brand to buy varies with advisor) Be careful to avoid drippy case humidifiers. Lots of tales about what happens when humidity gets too low and almost as many for too high.
Good luck keeping your mando's humidity kept at Baby Bear levels.

[mandroid]

Room : Central Heat? pan of water on the radiator in the room, perhaps?,
Local : damp sponge in the case in a perforated camping soap container?

Dampit's are a plastic tube with holes in it and a sponge in the middle, they make ones for Violins, those would be what you would get for mandolins, as designed, goes in the soundhole.

Another FAQ found by looking in the archives..

[ilovemyF9]

I use the "Dampit" it is great for Mando (Oval and/or f hole), Guitar, bouzouki and ukulele. You just need to make sure it is always moist. Cheap and very effective!

[miked500]

Dampit's are great, however, in Colorado's dry climate, it seems that you need to refill them every 15 minutes. What I did was I bought a travel soap container, drilled a bunch of tiney holes into it and I put 2 wet sponges in there. (you may need to cut the sponges in order for them to fit.) total price for this humidifier, less than $3.00!

[ELSOL102]

Mike, that's a pretty good idea with the soap dish & sponges, but I don't think that will fit in my case....there's no room around the mandolin and the compartment for stuff is also small....but this is a great idea and money saving...what kind of case do you use?

[ELSOL102]

Music stores don't seem to carry stuff for mandolins...I sure wish they did...I have to order everything online which I don't mind, except that I don't get to see what I am ordering

[miked500]

I have a pretty small, form fitted hard shell case. My 'contraption' manages to fit under the neck in the case. If that will not work for you, try one of those camera film cannisters. You could drill some holes in that and cram a sponge in there... Or, try to find a smaller travel soap container.

[ELSOL102]

wow under the neck....I will look and see!

[DeamhanFola]

Though the more expensive option, I'm a huge advocate of "whole room" humidification. For under $150 you can get a free-standing humidifier to control the humidity (often with digital precision and a built-in hygrometer) for an entire room full of instruments. No fears about having a wet thing in contact with your valuable instruments (too much humidity is just as bad as too little, even not taking into account worst-case direct contact of water and wood), no having to open every instrument case to check dampness (which is only guesswork in the first place unless you've got a hygrometer in each case). I've found this to be far more reliable than in-case solutions--more importantly, my mind's at ease with one glance at the humidifier (and, being anal, my separate hygrometer).

[ELSOL102]

sounds interesting although at this point I can't afford much of a humidifier...I do have a cold water humidifier that I use in my bedroom for my singing voice I wonder if something like that would work.

[ELSOL102]

I like the little humidifer I have for my guitar...from Planet Waves...wonder if there is one for mandolins

[mdithk]

I use the small instrument humidifiers by Planet Waves for my mandolins. Small, fit under the neck, easy to fill with distilled water. But, I have one for each instrument, so I'm almost halfway cost-wise toward the $150 for the room humidifier.

[ELSOL102]

I wonder if music stores carry those small humidifiers from Planet Waves...most stores only sell stuff for guitars and I have to mail order everything and the shipping cost for that little sucker was $6! I'm still waiting for a mandolin strap to arrive and the guitar strap I am using currently comes undone.

[weleetkaoutlaws]

The Planet Waves humidifier works well...large or small. I use the small for my A-5 inside of an Eastman fiberglass case.....and it's a perfect fit.

Here's one for $11.00USD delivered to your door....that's a good price IMHO.

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Small-Instrument-Humidifier-with-clip-PW-GVH-02_W0QQitemZ260270407237QQihZ016QQcategor
yZ38106QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Sma....iewItem</a>

[John Flynn]

I had that Planet Waves humidifier linked above and it developed mold after only one season of use. I much prefer the drilled-out soap case/sponge approach descibed above. I've used it for years. BTW, if a soap case is too big, I have also used plastic 35mm film cases with a piece of sponge and holes drilled in the top. I'm sure there are other small plastic cases that can be found at a drugstore. The basic principle is find something that will hold a lot of water and keep the water exposed to the air in the case, without letting the water run or drip anywhere. The humidity will distribute itself throughout all the air in the case and even inside the instrument if that case is sealed for about six hours or more at a time. The other interesting effect is that the humidity will get into the case lining, which is good. I tried an "experiment" using a calibrated digital hygrometer, where I kept a humidifier in a case for a while and then took the humidifer out. The closed-case humidity stayed at acceptable levels for about a day after taking the humidifier out.

[weleetkaoutlaws]

I had that Planet Waves humidifier linked above and it developed mold after only one season of use.

Were you using distilled water?

I've had no problems in a little over three years of use with them.

I'll have to keep checking them out them when I refill.

Thanks for the heads-up.

[ELSOL102]

I've heard of the mold problem but haven't had a problem with my guitar humidifier yet from Planet Waves....:laugh:

[Django Fret]

This works for me. #I converted a cigar humidor for my mandolins and fiddles a few years go. #It probably uses less than one gallon of water each Connecticut winter and no problems with any of the instruments. #I dehumidify in the summer and keep the doors open, and in the winter keep the doors closed and let the humidifier unit work and do it's thing.

[MikeEdgerton]

Beth, take a look at these threads on humidity and humidifiers. There's a wealth of knowledge here.

[earthsave]

I keep mine in the case when not playing in the winter, actually most times, but especially in the winter and make sure the case is fully closed.

I also throw a hygrometer in there (Caliber II) when it starts to get really dry in the house, just to check whenever I open the case.

I have a room humidifier that I use in the central room of the house, that pretty much covers our entire house since we have a small house.

I do not use in-case or in-instrument humidification devices, although I have one that came with my guitar.