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edwardofhuncote
Senior Member
Username: edwardofhuncote

Post Number: 735
Registered: 6-2014
Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 3:55 am:   Edit Post

I hasn’t really gotten cold or dry here in Virginia yet, (it’s actually in the mid-50’s and raining) but very soon it will be. Even running a room humidifier in the main part of the house around the clock, it’s just not possible to maintain anywhere near 50% in the dead of Winter, so usually by Thanksgiving weekend, I start keeping instruments in their cases with case humidifiers, rather than out in stands or hangers. Thought I’d share a little idea somebody shared with me once… these are some case humidifiers I made on the cheap.



Works great – it’s amazing how stable the instruments are if you just keep one of these in the case with them. My Alembic got one last year too.

5a_quilt_top
Junior
Username: 5a_quilt_top

Post Number: 37
Registered: 6-2012
Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 10:35 am:   Edit Post

That's what I do.

A word of caution: just make sure all of the excess water is drained off, or you'll get water spots on your instrument.
sonicus
Senior Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 4666
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 10:54 am:   Edit Post

I use DamRid . I have many of them placed strategically in areas /rooms and lockups where I keep items that I think might benefit from the humidity control. This stuff really works. I keep getting rid of the water collected and then refill the containers with the Calcium Chloride .

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=81926&catid=184421&aid=338666&aparam=81926&kpid=81926&CAWELAID=120142990000019416&CAGPSPN=pla

Wolf
jazzyvee
Senior Member
Username: jazzyvee

Post Number: 4826
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 11:36 am:   Edit Post

When i went on a caribbean cruise gig. I went to my local shoe shop and asked for the little packs of moisture absorbing crystals that come in shoe boxes and got a huge bag of them which i put in my flight case and gave the rest to the band. Worked well. I had very little neck movement.
hammer
Senior Member
Username: hammer

Post Number: 821
Registered: 9-2009
Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 11:55 am:   Edit Post

The one thing you need to be careful about with those moisture absorbing crystals that come in small bags is their casing accidentally breaking. A few years ago, a friend of mine who is an avid amateur photographer spent 4 hours being interrogated by police at the Frankfurt Airport because a number of the small satchels he had that were suppose to contain those moisture absorbing crystals broke and he had a white power/crystal like substance all over the carry-on bags he was using for his expensive photo gear.
elwoodblue
Senior Member
Username: elwoodblue

Post Number: 1781
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 1:03 pm:   Edit Post

D'oh!!
edwardofhuncote
Senior Member
Username: edwardofhuncote

Post Number: 736
Registered: 6-2014
Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 1:25 pm:   Edit Post

LOL! Kinda' like having an epic fail with Goody's Headache Powders, right before getting stopped by the Police... hee-hee.

It actually hadn't occurred to me other folks here might be in an over-humidified environment. Interesting.

I designed a contraption once to dry out a violin bow. See, bow hair attracts moisture, and when it gets damp it goes limp and will not bite the strings. This thing I dreamed up had sleeve compartments that would hold a couple bows at a time, and a perforated chamber for the dessicant. (like Damp-Rid)

Long story short, it never made it past the design stage, but what a great day that was thinking of how I'd spend the fortune... factors right up there with the marvelous day in 1975 I invented chocolate cool whip.

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