Here is a good article about wintertime indoor humidity. Outside as here near Seattle the humidity can be around 100% - saturated. But inside where the same air is heated it can range into the single digits. Cliff Mass from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at University of WA explains why:
The most important thing for wooden flutes in the winter is to keep them humidified, around 35% minimum. This is especially important in dry climates such as Colorado and the desert SW of the US. But even here in Seattle indoor humidity can range into the single digits!
My workshop is poorly insulated and poorly heated - something I need to change soon as I am getting a little too old and worn out for such conditions. The advantage though is that the humidity rarely varies from 45-55%, which is perfect for the stability of my instruments while building them.
I’m really confused about the minimum humidity. Is 35 percent really the minimum or is it higher?
I’m using a humidifier and more info would be welcome.
Been my observations that 35% is a good number. Below that number one can see movement in the wood, as the moisture in the wood achieves a new equilibrium. On humid days wood will actually pick up moisture from the atmosphere and especially so from playing. But I have noticed little change until one gets to that 35% with most woods, including blackwood.
Again, the main thing it to maintain a good humidity, even though the data are imprecise. Better to be safe than sorry.
Is 70% to much? I’ve been thinking about using an inexpensive cigar humidifier that maintains a constant, pre-set humidity level. The lowest version available is 65% relative humidity, though most are designed to maintain 70%.
I probably should have done a search of the forum before posting that last question. Now that I’ve done the search, I’ve got a sense of the boundaries. Casey has suggested 35-50% as the optimum. 75% seems to be the level at which mold becomes an issue. Several people have said that around 60% is okay. One person suggested that you should maintain a flute at the same humidity as the area in which it was manufactured, which seems doubtful, given that most flutes are not made al fresco.
The only consensus seems to be that you don’t want your flute to experience extremes of humidity or, worse, rapid changes. It sounds like the cigar humidifiers I mentioned might work. They’re from a company called Boveda, which claims that their product absorbs or releases moisture as necessary, instead of simply releasing a little bit at a time. The Boveda packets cost a few bucks each and last for 2-3 months. They advertise four humidity levels from 65% to 75%. It turns out they also, very quietly, sell a 62% packet described as “ideal storage humidity for herbal medicine”. Perhaps I’ll run down to my neighborhood medical marijuana dispensary and see if they sell them there.
Keep in mind that humidity levels also have a lot to do with the type of heating system in your house. I live in eastern Canada; hard to find a more wintery environment than here. The heat I have is oil-fired hot water, as opposed to forced air. I never have any difficulty keeping a steady 60% humidity level in my flute case all year around. Forced air heating results in much lower humidity levels.
I removed some padding from the lid of my flute case, stuck the steel holder, with adhesive back in the lid and attached the humidifier (which has pretty powerful magnets in the seam of the canister)
Might be overkill for a flute case, but i figured $20 cheap to keep a $1100 flute crack free..
Or you could just move out to my neck of the woods. Current Honolulu temp 78F (25.5C), relative humidity 66% inside and outside. And in the summer? About the same.
Also because there are only two trad flute players that I know of in the state - you would be a big deal here.
reminder, Casey.
