Humidity Levels

[Gregooch]

What is the best level to keep the humidity at in the winter in New England are where it is generally cold and seems to hover around 40% ikn the house most of the time.

[Bill Clements]

I would think if you can keep the humidity around 40%, you're doing fine.
Of course, avoid radiators or other heat sources nearby your instrument. There are several threads on this topic like this one (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?97067-Humidity&highlight=Humidity).

[EdHanrahan]

Just one guy's opinion, but...

If your in-house humidity really is around 40%, with maybe an occasional dip into the 30s, that's pretty good and should be not much problem to your instrument(s). Guessing that you either have a whole house humidifier in a forced hot air system, or have lots of house plants and maybe cooking/boiling going on in a fairly tight house. My wife's watering of 200+ house plants really helped when the humidifier went out.

Others may rightly be more conservative, but I've had some good, all-solid wood instruments going on 25 years now with no ill effect.

[multidon]

Winters are pretty cold here in NW PA and the furnace runs a lot. I like to use case humidifiers if things go south of 40 percent. Conservative I know but better safe than sorry I figure. Judging by the cases with hygrometers that keeps the instrument at 50 percent or so while onsidr the case. I have some instruments I play a lot and some that dont. The humidifier in the case of an infrequently played instrument doesnt get new water as often because over humidification can be bad too.

[ides1056]

I stopped into the Fretted Instrument Workshop in Amherst, MA. 50% humidity was their advice, and I have followed it. We heat with wood, and have a forced hot air furnace. I bought a humidistat- think that's what it's called- for about eight dollars that shows what the level is in the room I keep my instruments in. I have a whole house humidifier downstairs with a digital gauge set at 50. I think- others can chime in- if you find your instruments go out of tune much from day to day, that the humidity is pretty constant.