’Tis The Season for Humidifying

You’ve made an investment on the clarinet (or clarinets) of your dreams and want to protect it. Perhaps you live in an incredibly dry climate or in a climate that changes frequently. One of the most important things you can do for your woodwind instruments is properly humidifying the case in between playing sessions. Maintaining proper moisture levels is vital to protecting the wood and preventing cracks down the road. Now that we are in the heat of winter (pun slightly intended), this is the time to look into humidification solutions, especially if you’re dealing with weather like we have in New York!

It’s important to know the appropriate humidity levels. Grenadilla, and other hardwoods are best kept within a range 40% and 60% relative humidity. With the colder temperatures outside and the heat on all the time, you are likely to find it incredibly difficult to keep the humidity levels within the ideal range.

That is why New York Clarinet Workshop created a humidity system to give you everything you need to protect your clarinets (or other woodwinds) year round. From our experience, these products are the best available for managing humidity inside your case, both releasing moisture when too dry, and absorbing it when too wet. Most importantly, our system works passively, requiring just the occasional refill with tap water about once per month.

Included is a Mini Digital Thermometer and Hygrometer along with 2 DryMistat Humidifier Tubes. Place the Mini Digital Gauge inside your case to keep track of the humidity levels along the way. Then, follow the instructions given below on preparing your DryMistat Humidifying Tube and place it in the case. In extremely dry climates or for larger double/triple cases, both DryMistat tubes can be used to bring the humidity levels up more effectively. Here are the instructions for preparing the DryMistat tubes:

First Time Use:
Step 1: Break perforated safety seal on caps. Remove solid cap from tube and discard it.
Step 2: Install the perforated cap on the tube.
Step 3: While holding the tube vertically, tap it on a hard surface to force the crystals downward. 
Step 4: If the crystals are above the ‘Fill Line’ start using it right away. (If below, follow Refilling instructions)

Refilling the DryMistat:
When the crystals fall below the “Fill Line’ (and are above the ‘Time to Add Water Line’), it’s time to add water. Remove the perforated cap. Stand vertically and add plain tap water to the “Fill Line”. Put the perforated cap back on the tube.  Wait 3 to 5 minutes for the Crystals to re-absorb the water and swell to fill the balance of the space in the tube.

Then, place the tube right in your case and forget about it!