Humidifier

Well, my home furnace is now operating and the house remains a pleasant temperature, but accordingly, the humidity in the house goes down,  I do not have a whole house humidifier and while I do put out a good room humidifier, still the house humidity can be as low as 25% on occasion.

I have a couple ukes that are not sensitive to this, like my Flea with it's plastic body and laminated top, I do have some that are solid wood.   Back a couple years ago, I had two Pono tenors crack, and I believe that one was not my fault and the other might be a result of low humidity in the house (but Pono, to their credit toward good will, did replace both).  So I do know that some ukes can develop cracks in the face and/or back.

So today, in the winter, I keep my solid wood ukes in cases, and I put humidifier gadgets in them.  There are several commercial items available, but you can make one that is great.  The photo shows my version, in this case with some expanded crystals poking out the top.

It is a small pill bottle, with a lot of 1/16" holes drilled in the barrel, and then a 1/4 teaspoon of Schultz Moisture Plus Watering Crystals inside.   (Dorothy uses this product in some plant soils for selected indoor plants.)  When immersed in water, the crystals rapidly expand with water, and then they very slowly release the water to the atmosphere.  In my uke cases, one of these tubes keeps my humidity at good level for several weeks.

So if you have an upscale uke -- one made with solid wood -- best be careful and use a humidifier. (Laminated body ukes are not likely to crack but humidification is always a Plus.)

I'll make one of these for you if you need one.

Ralph