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@LesPaulMoreRay @roger_holland
Guys, sure there is no intent here to ridicule or put down anybody. So without wanting to stiffle any banter, letās also stick to our Community norms.
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@stitch, can you comment on de-humidifying a guitar?
Because, after the wildfires, itās been weeks and weeks of rain here in NS, and my Martinās playability is deteriorating.
Iāll post more details soonā¦maybe de-humidifying should be in itās own threadā¦itās a related but different topic.
@Tbushell Where I live in southern Alberta we donāt get to many days where the humidity is higher than 70% and itās never that high for long periods of time.
There is a product called Humidity Packs that are suppose to work to dehumidify and humidify which ever is needed. Iāve never used them so canāt give you a opinion if they work or not.
the sell them at Long and Macquade and Boveda online
@Mari63 you may want to look into these as well for those dry winter days and when the humidity is high in the summer.
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This is what I have been using, same thing but DāAddario brand, still a 2-way humidification.
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Thanks, Iāll look into that.
I created a new topic describing the issue:
I also use the Daddario Humidity pack during the winter with my Martin in its case. Iāve got a hygrometer in the room where itās out on the stand during the summer to keep an eye on it. I was recommended this Daddario system by my Martin dealer 
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@stitch thanks for all the useful information, Rick, I learned a lot. No more stupid questions (as in the one about outside humidity!). I did that humidity test on my 2 hygrometers. The one I was using in my guitar case came to 75% exactly. The 2nd one I just bought only went to 70%. I am going to return it. If it was going to be consistently 5% low I could account for that, but I decided since the 1st one is accurate I will just use that one. The humidity in our music room ranges between 47ish and 52ish, so now I can leave my guitar out, in the music room, and know that the humidity is fine. I wonāt be surprised if the humidity in that room drops below 40% in the winter, but if so I will leave it in the case just for the season. I will probably also do that salt test periodically, maybe seasonally, to double check my hygrometer.
Thanks again for raising this discussion, itās super nice to have my Martin sitting out on a stand now 
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Happy playing Mari. Happy to help. There is so much misinformation on the internet from meaningful people and most of it is fed by fear. Now you can keep you guitar safe and on hand.
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Iām by no means an expert in this category but I know the humidity level may differ depending where your guitar is in the room. For example if guitar is under a vent or hanging on the wall.
Best to check the humidity level as close to where your guitar is in the room.
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Thank you, good point. I have the hygrometer fairly close to my guitar, but I can probably move it closer. Thanks.
And best not to place your guitars close to vents where warm air can blow on them in the cold months or close to windows where the sun can shine directly on them.
The amount of variation in a room when the humidity is good would be very little. One thing that can really affect humidity in the colder months is cooking/boiling water etc. So if you find your home very low in the winter and want to play your guitar cook up a big pot of spaghetti. It will only raise the humidity for a few hours close to the kitchen but it will raise it.
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A very good point. Fortunately for me, one of my guitars is a Taylor CE. Taylor has available a unit called Taylor Sense that replaces the battery set up with an electronic board that monitors humidity and hard knocks to the instrument. I access the data daily via a phone app and adjust my humidifier/dehumidifier to keep the humidity within a 50-55% range.
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One of my guitar teachers played classical nylon string, and told me how he humidified his guitars during the heating season.
He used to put his guitar on its stand in the bathroom, and run the shower and let the room steam up. For only 15 minutes, IIRC.
I think I tried it once or twice, and it seemed to helpā¦and my guitar showed no ill effects. But looking back at it, it seems like a lot of humidity in a short time, and makes me wonder if itās potentially harmful in the long run.
I donāt know how quickly guitars respond to humidity. I recall researching how long to rehydrate a guitar before repairing cracks (I bought a fixer upper) and it was three weeks in a plastic bag with wet sponges (I measured 80% RH in the bag).
I imagine that large temperature changes and prolonged heat, like in a car or in a sunny window, next to a fireplace, would be the more rapid effect.
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I have a Taylor CE as well and saw the unit you described. I thought that was really slick! Was going for buy it but canāt remember now why I didnāt?! I see a purchase in my future 
.
Keeping a dedicated room properly humidified should be easy. People going in and out of doors is going to make a minuscule difference. The room would need to be wildly out of spec. for a few days or more for it to start to be a concern: if the ideal is 45-55% humidity, them the room would probably need to be well over 60%, or well under 40% humidity for a few days before it started to have a detrimental affect on the guitars.
If they canāt keep the room in those conditions, then their A/C is faulty.
And, guitars arenāt that fragile!
My suspicions are:
- Heās lying about the humidity issue, and just using it as an excuse to cover up a QC issue
- Your location is very dry, or very humid, and someone turned off the A/C for an extended period of time
- Or someone left the A/C running on the wrong setting for an extended period of time.
Given itās just been the Xmas period and many stores may have been closed for a few days, the latter two are entirely possible, but itās also likely he was trying to cover up a QC issue too.
Either way, you got great service, so I wouldnāt sweat it.
Itās a lovely looking guitar. Enjoy it!
Cheers,
Keith
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Agree with this!
I got a humidity sensor for home and Iāve seen it vary from around 30% (in winter with the central heating on) up to around 60% and nothing bad has happened to my guitars.
I would see it as a positive that they didnāt sell you that guitar even if I had doubts about the explanation
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@majik You make very good points. Thanks for that input!
@mattswain I have the exact same humidity swings in my house. Well, maybe not quite to 60% but in the low to mid 50s for sure. I havenāt noticed anything in my guitars either unless the 30% can cause a bit of fret buzz in electrics. But could just be that my electrics are set with pretty low action. And my acoustic is 15 years old and hasnāt ever shown any splitting or cracking. Hopefully a Taylor is good enough quality to withstand the 30-55% range.
I will say, last winter we had a temp drop where humidity went into the teens inside the house. I bought a room humidifier and will use it if that happens again.
@jamolay Wow that guitar must be good wood! Iāll try to make simple efforts to keep the indoor humidity in decent range, and try not to worry too much. Yeah that does sound like bad business. And I am appreciative that the employee for being honest about it. But it pays to be conscientious and ask for checks too. He was going to just sell me the thing if I hadnāt asked.
@dblinden I know, right. Goodness thereās got to be some point where we trust the manufacturer. Its just that new car syndrome, ya know, where we donāt want to eat, drink, or wear shoes in a brand new car haha. And certainly donāt want to dent it.
The other fix for low humidity (when caused by central heating) is simply to sit bowls of water on top of your radiators
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