A while ago my old acoustic had two cracks, and I learned that the wood needs moisture to thrive. The solutions people have suggested were helpful, but since I have it stand open in my room to remind me to play, itâs not really practical to put it in plastic for days. So I came up with a different solution: I put my guitar in the bathroom when I shower, and leave it there until I remember to put it back. It seems to work fine so far. Does anyone else do this, or am I just weird?
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Make sure you donât over humidity it. This comes with itâs own set of problems.
Get a hygrometer so you know what the relative humidity is in your home.
Then youâre not guessing.
To answer your question yes placing your guitar in the bathroom while showering is a effective way to humidify your guitar but you have no control over how much moisture it absorbs. Travailing musicians have done it for decades when playing in drier environments.
Now they travel with guitar techs and humidified road cases.
You may want to look into a room humidifier if you like keeping your guitars out
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I tried it once.
I suppose it got some humidity out of me doing that. However I found it to be a drag for me. My bathroom just ainât that big and to have my guitar in there was too cramped. I was concerned Iâd knock my guitar over. Plus I wasnât sure that it was great idea to give my guitar a large does of humidity then go back to being dry after it returns to itâs normal environment. My house.
I went to humidipacks that ya buy at the music store. They help keep it a more constant humidity, I think. And I donât have to concern myself to âifâ I knock my guitar off itâs stand.
Yeah. I donât think huge swings back and forth from too humid to too dry are ideal.
I live in Minnesota. If I were to try to keep a whole room at around 50% in the winter, Iâd get condensation on my windows (and possible moisture buildup inside the walls.) Iâve used the packs for years, but this year I really went overboard and got a guitar-specific humidity cabinet.
TBH it does sound a bit weird but if it works for you then happy days. I just use a humidifier to keep my room about 50%.
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For the record, Iâm weird without putting my guitar in the shower.
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Iâve never heard of this before, but Iâve never lived in a place where not enough humidity has ever been a problem. We tend to need dehumidifiers here.
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In the upper Midwest of the USA, we get both. Excessive humidity in the summer, very dry in the cold cold winter.
I think 50% RH is an ambitious and difficult goal for area humidification. Through the dry colorado winter, I keep the house around 30%, the best I can reasonably manage. No issue in 6 years.
And I think 30% isnât worth the risk. The first sign of a problem could be a crack. Iâve seen some of the repairs my local luthier has had to do to Minnesota guitars that were not humidified in the winter.
To each his own, but if someone asks me for my opinion on this, Iâd rather err on the side of caution.
And I think you worry to much. But thatâs just my opinion (based on 65 years of living in a very dry in winter and average humid summer environment) opinion.
My oldest guitar will be 80 years old next year and it fine.
2 of my other guitars were built in 1975 and theyâre fine.
I do agree with you about 30% being low if you let your guitars get that low for months but Joshua has his humidity low set at 30% NOT the daily average.
Wood looses moisture very slowly so occasionally going down below 40% will not hurt your guitar.
But like you say âTo each his ownâ, just back it up your opinion with facts not opinions.
Mark do you dehumidify your guitars in the summer? You mentioned your summers are very humid but you never mention anything about dehudifing.
Yes, we all need to decide for ourselves what risks to take. I really canât reasonable achieve better than between 30-32% and it is important to me to have my guitars out as I wonât pick them up often enough if they arenât.
Sure, it would be a shame if they cracked, but they havenât. Well, two of them came to me with all the cracks they will ever get and so they are probably safe as can be. I havenât had fret sprout yet either.
A crack doesnât usually ruin a guitar. It just is emotionally and cosmetically damaging. My classical guitars both look a mess, but they play great and cost a fraction of what they would have had they been pristine. Saved $3k between the two of them.
I draw the line at taking a bath with it.
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Yes. I have a dehumidifier downstairs where my guitars are for the times itâs not hot enough to run the central air. I keep the room at 55% in the summer.
I understand that some people are spontaneous like that. Iâm not. I have a specific time period set aside for guitar every day. Even in the summer, when theyâre sitting in stands, I never just pick them up for a few minutes outside of my regular time.
Why donât you try something like this?
https://www.thomann.pl/intl/guitar_humidifiers.html
I always leave a couple of my guitars out on String Swing wall hangers. I monitor the humidity and temperature closely in my âguitar roomâ. If itâs too dry, I run a humidifier. If itâs too humid, I run a dehumidifier. This winter we had some record cold spells and the humidifier wasnât keeping up. At that point, I ran a steaming hot shower in the next room with both doors open. But I never put a guitar in the bathroom. 
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