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Discussions => General Discussion => Topic started by: mselic on October 17, 2017, 02:17:50 AM

Title: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: mselic on October 17, 2017, 02:17:50 AM
Last year around this time, a few weeks into heating with a wood stove, I noticed that all three of my one-row accordions started having issues : there were new, unexplained sources of air loss, "ghost" notes that played (again, due in part to an air leak somewhere), and wooden keyboard components that began to stick.  I had the sticking wooden keyboard fixed (rod was removed and cleaned), and the other two boxes magically "fixed" themselves as soon as warmer, humid weather hit in the summer.  No problems since.  It seems highly likely that the dry air from heating with wood was the culprit.  This year, I would like to avoid a similar scenario.  I will be leaving a large pot of water on the stove to slowly evaporate and humidify the air (a practice that is standard in these parts, but one I neglected to do last year), but I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do.  Anyone have similar situations and experiences?  I would like to leave my accordions out on the shelf if possible, as I'm much more likely to play one when I can see it, rather than have it stored away in some box or case.
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: MarioP on October 17, 2017, 03:21:04 AM
Howdy from sunny humid South Florida.
I keep my boxes away from the sunlight my local tech told me the sun makes them celluloid black and dull. I would like to display but until I know this sunlight damages the celluloid whatever I keep handy to play is covered with towels also my room is the warmest so I keep a fan going all the time.
I took a few boxes to try in the north last August and they sure respond way better in the dryer cooler
Natural temperature. Therefore anything I’m not playing is boxed up. But I’ve only owned those for less than a year perhaps someone with more knowledge on humid places can help us out here. Great topic.
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: mselic on October 17, 2017, 04:22:17 AM
I live in Quebec.  It is humid in the summer, and humid in winter.  The only place we get dry air is indoors in winter when the woodstove is a-roarin'...
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: boxcall on October 17, 2017, 01:33:36 PM
Do yo check the humidity levels within your home? Should be around 40 to 50% to be comfortable.
I had just the opposite happen, for it was the summer humidity that cause problems. That being said closing up a home and heating it can cause some problems as well, usually it's moisture related from cooking and bathing without using a venting system or problems like I had below but could be dry from wood burning.

My home has an old stone foundation and had until recently a dirt floor basement which always caused problems, for I made the house tight above it ( insulation / vapor barrier) which caused moisture to build on windows and underside of roof. Also made the house feel cold even though the heat was set 68 degrees. I knew this was a problem but could not afford the expense at the time I bought the house and gutted it and did all the other work it needed. I ran a dehumidifier but it could never really keep up. Finally fix it (vapor barrier floor and walls and Cement floor over it ) and the place feels better and no musty smell in the basement. I don't heat with wood but in my last place I did and ran it with pot of water also as the air got very dry. I don't have any suggestions other than do what your doing and try to keep the humidity levels in a normal comfort zone.
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: Stiamh on October 17, 2017, 01:58:34 PM
Pot of water on the stove sounds like a very good plan. But do invest in a hygrometer. It may be difficult to maintain humidity at 50% but if it gets down below 20% you are heading for trouble.

Humidifiers are generally a pain because they need constant attention and cleaning and they never seem to last more than a year or two before breaking down. But a friend of mine (who has flutes and pipes that need protection) swears by this brand, which uses neither boiling water nor ultrasound: https://www.venta-usa.com/airwashers
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: pbsalt on October 17, 2017, 06:09:19 PM
http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,13539.msg166804.html#msg166804

Hello , I posted a thread on an opposite effect - sticking keys on my Marc Savoy 1 Row  which I attributed to a damp, autumnal effect. ( Nov 3 2013) . Lots of useful replies on the thread - but I never did get round to having the box "fettled" and it is behaving itself at the moment.
Paul ( Fife, Scotland) 
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: boxcall on October 17, 2017, 08:26:14 PM
http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,13539.msg166804.html#msg166804

Hello , I posted a thread on an opposite effect - sticking keys on my Marc Savoy 1 Row  which I attributed to a damp, autumnal effect. ( Nov 3 2013) . Lots of useful replies on the thread - but I never did get round to having the box "fettled" and it is behaving itself at the moment.
Paul ( Fife, Scotland)

yes,  I remember that and I responded to your thread with my thread (:)
My problem was solved by clearing the hole in the lever where the axle passes though, as Blafeur suggested in your thread. I have had no problems since. Summer humidity is around 70 to 80% here.
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: Rob2Hook on October 17, 2017, 08:52:29 PM
All this takes me back to a house move in my childhood.  After freezing our nuts off in the coldest UK winter in living memory, we had new-fangled  central heating installed.  I had never seen a radiator in a house, before - only in public buildings.  I think it was one of the recruiting schemes of the civil service! 

Anyway, the new house had enough space for Dad to indulge himself with a Beckstein grand piano.  Once it had settled in, the tuner called and insisted we had to humidify the room before the soundboard split asunder.  We had little troughs of water hanging on each radiator with a vertical grille above lined with blotting paper.  They worked, but smelt awful unless you changed the water weekly and the paper monthly.

Still made the fire up daily as one of my chores...

Rob
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: Tone Dumb Greg on October 18, 2017, 10:47:29 AM
Humidity meters can be cheap as chips and they can save a lot of guessing. Something like this is far from being a precision instrument, but should be sufficient for a good idea of what your environment is like   
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AMIR-Thermometer-hygrometer-Temperature-Humidity/dp/B01NBRJ9CG/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1508319856&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=humidity+meter&psc=1
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: fc diato on October 18, 2017, 12:12:27 PM
From the same area - so I whereof what you speak!

We keep things sort of under control by never wasting an opportunity to get humidity into the air:  Pot on stove, certainly (on every radiator in our case; or soaked towels in those January weeks at -20). Two other things that help a lot: air-drying clothes inside, and leaving bath water in tub for a couple hours before draining. Plugging tub drain for showers in order to do the same. Certainly not venting for showers. Basically, never waste good steam.
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: boxcall on October 18, 2017, 12:51:45 PM
Obviously, we are in a different area and every house is different in construction but for most houses in most places excessive moisture is a bad thing for the building. That's why the international building codes requires vents for bathrooms and kitchens . To much moisture in the air causes a number of problems for the building during winter months. As you heat the building the warm air wants to rise or go to where it is cold as it does it takes the moisture with it, then the moisture hits the cold air and freezes on the frame of the building . This can cause mold to form and also damage the building itself.
So venting in most places is a good idea, this would certainly depend on the levels of humidity in the building. Which of course a cheap meter could tell you.
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: fc diato on October 18, 2017, 02:34:16 PM
Which of course a cheap meter could tell you.

Indeed. Newer houses in Canada have vapor barriers (in theory) to avoid this kind of problem. And the measures I describe get us up to about 25%, hardly steam bath levels. And by 'not venting when taking a shower' ... we in fact vent into the house by keeping door open. The meter does ensure things aren't overdone (though I find the curve of the end-leafs in the kitchen table is an excellent measure - when cups slide off the end, too dry! when properly flat, much too humid - time to get a new kitchen table, I guess.)

I have given up keeping the box out on the driest winter days, and also the muggiest summer ones (otherwise it starts to smell, which can't be good). 
Title: Re: Storage during dry, winter months
Post by: mselic on October 19, 2017, 12:32:08 AM
Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll definitely be getting a hygrometer and will find ways to keep it an appropriate level of humidity.

Stiamh- thanks for sharing the link to that product. I'm intrigued..
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