Thank you for choosing Ranch Ukulele/Guitar! ^_^

First of all, remember the following rules:

When the wood loses moisture, it shrinks.
When the wood absorbs moisture, it expands.

If you want to maintain your loved ukulele/guitar, and hope that she can stay with you for a longer period of time. You can’t let it freeze and collide with other objects, so that its parts are not fragile and she can be healthier and maintain a longer life that you can listen and revel in her deeper, beautiful and moving voice.

Many people think that maintenance is to place the ukulele/guitar in a place where no one touches it. Then regular cleaning of the ukulele/guitar is the maintenance. In fact, this is basically not maintained, and does not understand the meaning of maintenance.

Here’s a guide to what will happen to your ukulele/guitar if it’s subjected to too much or too little humidity, and what level of humidity is too little or too much: Effects of Humidity on Ukulele/Guitar. (← If the picture is not clear, please click on the link on the left.)

Funnily enough, the fate of a ukulele/guitar left at the mercy of very high humidity is likely to be similar to that of one subjected to very low humidity, albeit for different reasons- it will become unplayable, then the bridge will come off, then all the joints will begin to separate and the ukulele/guitar will fall apart.

You can test humidity levels within your house simply and cheaply with a hygrometer. It may be that it’s not as humid as you think, or at least not enough to put the ukulele/guitar at any serious risk. Modern ukulele/guitar finishes are more durable and resistant to moisture than older ones, so most ukuleles/guitars are fairly resilient.

The simplest and cheapest way to protect a ukulele/guitar from excessively high or low humidity for shorter periods is to keep the ukulele/guitar in its case. I realize that this kind of defeats the object of your question though, so the other option is to buy a humidifier. That’s likely to keep you comfortable as well as protecting your ukulele/guitar.

What is the proper humidity for Ukulele/Guitar storage?
Start with a Digital Hygrometer. A hygrometer will give you an accurate reading of the humidity level of the environment in which you store your ukulele/guitar, which will help you monitor it. The ideal humidity range for an acoustic ukulele/guitar is 45-55 percent, but 40-60 percent is generally acceptable

The humidity of this data is not to say that it is only close to a certain position of the ukulele/guitar, but the humidity of the moisture in the air of the entire area, so that each part of the ukulele/guitar can receive a balanced humidity on average. In such a balanced environment, it is safe to scale evenly, without sudden large contraction and large expansion.

Tips:
1. When the ukulele/guitar’s fingerboard shrinks due to dryness, the metal wire will protrude from the edge of the fingerboard, hooking up the clothes and even cutting your fingers. If this happens, you must have a problem with humidity. Although the repairman can remove the protruding part with a file, you should still humidify your ukulele/guitar before more problems occur.

2. Buy a sound-hole humidifier, it has a certain effect on the ukulele/guitar!

3. Don’t put your ukulele/guitar in the trunk or tail of the car. At these locations the temperature can exceed 66 ° C (150 ° F)
4. Keep the ukulele/guitar a little farther from the heater.
5. In the maintenance operation, it is necessary to humidify in time or adjust the humidity and the number of humidification according to the local dry climate at different seasons, which requires careful observation.

Above all, have a beautiful life with Ukulele/Guitar ~

Yours Ranch