Quick question… I live in Greensboro, which is in the Piedmont section of North Carolina.
I know many people will keep a humidifier of some sort in their Flute case.
But given that the humidity was 70% today, do I need one?
This % was from Weather.com, would my inside home humidity with the AC running be very different from the outside? And if so would you think it would be more or less humid?
Ben
can’t tell
yes/less
Air conditioning dries out the air, so yes it will be less humid inside your home. If you go to a local Radio Shack/The Source/Circuit City you should be able to find a digital humidity meter (these tend to be a lot more accurate than the analog ones). Keep that next to your flute case.
Here’s what I do: I have a large Tupperware container that I put my flutes (in their cases) in, and I keep the humidity meter in there with them. I like to keep the humidity between 45 and 60 percent. If it gets any lower, I put in a wrung-out sponge (inside a very small container with holes punched in it) until the humidity reaches an acceptable level, then I remove it. If the humidity gets higher, I open the lid of the Tupperware.
I find that if I’m playing my flutes every day, there’s enough moisture in the rag that I use to swab them out to maintain the humidity at the right level…I haven’t had to use the sponge in years, even in the depths of winter.
By the way, keeping a humidifier IN your flute case will probably not accomplish anything if you leave the case out in the open. Unless your case is perfectly airtight, you’re not likely to raise the humidity level inside the case very much by putting something moist inside…the dry air will just get inside and dry out your dampit or whatever you’re using. I prefer using the sealed Tupperware or Rubbermaid container approach, it’s much more low-maintenance.
Ben, I live in a similar, but probably not quite as hot clime, and the indoor RH during the summer is seldom below 50% with the AC on. In the winter, though, it’s often in the low 30’s though. And I have baseboard heat, forced air or especially a stove will make it even lower. So if you want to be careful, I’d suggest humidifying during the colder months. OTOH, if you’re playing your flute daily, probably no big deal.
Outside humidity doesn’t tell you much, unless all the windows are open.
You need a humidity meter where the flute is.
My AC/Heater was serviced today and the tech said the A/C will drop the humidity some. Well I went out to Lowes this afternoon and got a digital temp/humidity gauge. I keep my temp at 75 and the humidity gauge is showing 47% inside the house, so I guess the Flute is properly humidified