Ukulele Humidifier
Ukuleles, like anything made of wood, are vulnerable to damage through humidity. Experts take the ideal humidity level to be between 45% and 65%. You can gauge the level of humidity where you are using this humidity map.
If you are in the dark blue zone, this means the humidity is too high. This is not such a big problem. Usually, keeping your uke in its case will be enough. If you are concerned about it, silica gel will soak up any excess moisture.
Areas of low humidity, yellow areas on the map, have a larger problem. There is a possibility of cracking particularly if your instrument has come from Hawaii where it is relatively humid. Small instrument humidifiers are quite cheap and are a worthwhile investment.
4 Comments
Oasis has come out with a uke humidifier. I got one for my Kanilea Concert and just purchased another for my Pono tenor which, unfortunately, has dried out just a bit and developed a buzz. The Oasis is easy to fill (comes with a syringe that injects the water into the flexible tube). You can watch the tube, over time, gently collapse as water molecules go through and out the tube into your uke case. Very well designed, high quality. And the device hangs on two strings within your uke’s body so the moisture goes where it is most needed. Definitely worth a look and in my opinion much better than the Herco design which I used before.
Just purchased the Oasis uke humidifier for my Pono Tenor and in my opinion, it is the best uke humidifier on the market. The Herco (clay/black container) just doesn’t compare. My only complaint is once you fill the unit with water, it doesn’t stay horizontal in the sound hole as described – I’ll try less water next time. A-
I have Dampit (http://www.dampits.com/) humidifier that I bought at the same time as my Kiwaya KTS-4 soprano.
It’s essentially a perforated rubber tube with sponge inside. It goes into the sound hole and curls around inside.
You soak it every week or two.
My only apprehension is when I soak it. Although I wipe it down, I don’t trust that it won’t leak water on the inside of my precious uke… so I lay it beside the headstock for a couple of days (and keeping the humidity up in the case). But that’s probably me being paranoid.
Do I need to get a humidifier for my {future} uke?
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