Alongside a case, a humidifier is one of the greatest tools you have to protect the integrity of your guitar’s wood. Luckily, you can use them both together!
In this article, I will discuss why a humidifier for your guitar case can be a game changer and share with you some of the best options you have available to keep your instrument in great shape.
Table of Contents
Why Humidifiers Are Important
As you know, guitars are made of wood, and wood of any kind can be vulnerable to changes in humidity levels.
If the humidity gets too low, the wood can dry out, leading to shrinking and cracking, whereas if the humidity is too high, the wood can absorb the moisture and expand and swell, all of which can affect the sound quality, playability, and overall health of the guitar.
Guitar case humidifiers help to maintain a healthy humidity level inside the guitar case and protect the instrument from these damaging effects. Ideally, you want the humidity levels to sit anywhere from 40 to 60%, with 45 to 55% considered the sweet spot for most people.
Nonetheless, if you can keep it in this range, you’ll be in good shape because you can ensure that the wood remains stable and doesn’t shrink or expand, leading to issues like fret sprout and warping.
Also, to monitor the specific humidity percentage, you will need to use a hygrometer, which will periodically give you readings. Many of them will also keep you up-to-date on the temperature, another environmental factor affecting your guitar’s wood.
Guitars can be expensive, and taking care of them is essential, so having some humidity control is a small investment that can save you a lot of money in the long run by preventing damage caused by humidity or, more commonly, a lack thereof.
My Top 3 Guitar Case Humidifier Recommendations
Below, you’ll find some of the best humidifiers for your guitar case, each of them functioning slightly differently from the other but all helping you achieve the same result – creating healthy humidity levels for your instrument!
D’Addario Humidipaks
While all the humidifiers here are easy to use, D’Addario’s Humidipaks is possibly the simplest humidity control system you can find for guitar cases.
All you have to do is slip your packs into the cloth pouches they provide you, then place one underneath the headstock of your guitar and another on your middle strings so that it can hang into your soundhole if you have an acoustic guitar or next to the body if you’re trying to humidify an electric guitar.
One thing to note is that the Humidipaks will eventually expire and become ineffective, but you can always buy replacements. Still, a pack can last you a few months, so these are still great value.
Additionally, they offer two types of them – Maintain, if your guitar isn’t already dried out, and Restore for guitars dealing with the symptoms of low humidity. Choose the one that fits your needs and enjoy this low-maintenance case humidifier.
Music Nomad Case Humitar
Music Nomad is known for their excellent guitar maintenance products, especially their humidity systems, and their Humitars have always done a fine job keeping my guitars hydrated.
Humitars are simple to use, but because they require water to work, you will have to check up on them occasionally. They use a high-capacity sponge enclosed in a plastic case to give your entire guitar case consistent humidity by releasing moisture.
All you have to do is take out the sponge, soak it in water, and place it in its container, then find a secure place in your guitar case. After a while, you can check to see if the sponge is getting dry by flipping the Humitar’s lid, rehydrating the sponge, and placing it back in. Don’t worry, though; these are designed to not leak or drip all over the place.
Although it’s nice that the sponge is reusable, keep in mind that it will need to be replaced one day; however, new sponges are cheap, and you should be able to get a solid few months out of one.
Oasis OH-6 Case Humidifier
Last up, we have the Oasis humidifiers for guitar cases, which are nice compact solutions to humidify your instrument. While Oasis is a brand that caters to acoustic and classical guitars, since this is designed for your case, it can serve electric guitars, too, if you have one.
These neat little tubes are fillable with water, which you will do by using the syringe that’s provided to you. Inside these tubes, there are also Humigel crystals that allow this to function as intended, so when you need to refill, make sure not to dump out the crystals; otherwise, you’ll need to purchase a replacement.
One aspect of these humidifiers I really like is that they have metal strips that can allow you to securely attach them anywhere in your case, preventing your humidifier from moving around.
However, this guitar case humidifier will require more maintenance since you’ll need to fill it up around every week. Just make sure to read the instructions carefully, and this will be highly effective in humidifying your guitar, even in the driest parts of the year.
Finding A Hygrometer
As mentioned earlier, although these humidifiers do an excellent job of maintaining a stable humidity level in the ideal range, I still recommend you get a hygrometer to keep alongside your humidifier just to be sure that everything is working correctly.
Hygrometers are cheaper than humidifiers and small enough to keep in your case, too, and you don’t need to get anything special as they’re more multi-purpose, if anything. However, if you want to find out more about these and find some recommendations, click here to learn more about hygrometers.
I happen to prefer digital ones like this one by Inkbird because they will also show the temperature alongside its humidity reading.
Conclusion
Finding a humidity control system that works doesn’t cost a lot of money, and if you live in less-than-ideal conditions for your guitar, they can potentially save you money by preventing issues and even treating them.
For example, if you have fret sprout, which is caused by the fretboard shrinking and exposing the fret ends, it can often be resolved with increased humidity. On the other hand, issues like cracks often need to be repaired by a professional.
Hopefully, one of these guitar case humidity control solutions will suit you and your guitar case perfectly. They all have their own advantages, but at the end of the day, they’re straightforward to use and get the job done.