How to save your instruments with the climate of Colombia?
The wood, leather, stickers and slippers react to the climate. How to save your instrument at Bogotá, at the coast, on hot ground and as you travel.
Keep your tools in his case, inside his house, far from windows, exterior walls and heat sources and never into a closed car. In Bogotá, care for them from sudden temperature changes and dry seasons and at the coast and hot ground, from excessive moisture and salitre. And before buying a humidifier or dehumidifier, measure moisture with a hygrometer.
In Colombia, a few hours of road from the cold of the savanna to the moist heat of a valley. For an instrument of wood, leather or with slippers, that change is a real effort. That guide helps you anticipate it.
To sum up
- Most wood instruments are comfortable with moderate relative moisture about 40 to 60%.
- He measures before his correction: an economic hygrometer tells you if you need to get wet, dry or anything.
- Abrupt changes do more damage than an extreme but stable climate.
- Don't leave an instrument in a car closed to the sun, not even for a while.
- When you get to a different climate, leave the case closed a while before you open it.
What moisture and temperature do to instruments
The wood absorbs and drops moisture all the time: it swells as the air is moist and contracts as it's dry. The leather of patches and slippers, felt and stickers also react. The problem isn't as bad as the climate itself as a quick shift from end to end.
| Instrumento | Very dry air or abrupt to cold shift | Very wet air or hot |
|---|---|---|
| Guitar, tiple and bandola | Fits at the cover, scares that stand out at the edge of the mast, ropes that come down and scattering. | Higher wires, light sound, rugged ropes, with strong heat, the bridge can be put off. |
| Violin and cello | Fears, joints that open and clamps that loosen. | Tackling clamps, opaque sound and joints that open with heat. |
| Acoustic Piano | Unstable and, in extreme cases, cracks in the harmonic table. | Slow or glued keys, rusted cords and detuning. |
| Clarinet, oboe and other timber | Fears, especially with hot air blown into a cold instrument. | Fomat shoes that do not seal and mold in the case. |
| Metal and saxophone | A little direct effect and cold tightens fats and oils. | Corrosion by salitre near the sea and seductive saxe slippers. |
| Natural leather percision | Stretch patches that can be broken. | Flow and sound free patches. |
| Digital Pianos and Amphis | That's a little direct effect. | Condensification and oxide at contacts and circuits. |
A reference, luthiers and technicians often recommend moderate relative moisture for wood instruments, about 40 to 60% and especially stable.
Bogotá, the coast and hot ground: different risks
Bogotá and cold cities
The risk isn't just cold but the difference: cold mornings, half-days of strong sun, dry and rainy seasons with high moisture. Added to that are the electrical heaters, that resect the air of the room, and damp apartments on the walls, where a case attached to the wall can get mold.
- Do not put the instrument near the warmer or at the window where the afternoon sun enters.
- Do not put boxes onto exterior walls or on the ground with damp rooms.
- If you touch a wood wind that was cold, warm it up in your hands before you blow.
The Caribbean and Pacific Coast
Warm and moisture high most of the year and close to the sea, salitre. The ropes are rusted in a few weeks, the metals are stained, the shoes are swollen and closed cases smell to moisture.
- Dry up the instrument after you play and leave the box open for a while in the shade to get it to come up.
- Fits a dry cloth by strings, keys and chromed parts at every use.
- A room with air conditioning or dehumidifier protects more than any trick inside the box.
Hot ground from inside
In the hot valleys of the interior, direct heat is the highest risk: an instrument on a sun terrace or by a window can get much warmer than the air of the room. Touch and put it in the shade, at the coolest place of the house.
Hygrometer, humidifier and dehumidifier
The first step isn't to buy a humidifier: it's to measure. A small digital hygrometer, inside the box or in the room where you save the instrument, shows you the actual moisture throughout the week.
| Status | What to do |
|---|---|
| Fairy low for several days | Guitar and frosted string humidifier or room humidifier if you have several instruments or a piano. |
| Fatal high moisture | Dehumidifier or air conditioning in the room and gel satilish envelopes in the box, modified or regenerated when saturated. |
| Wet up and down | Two-way moisture monitoring envelopes inside the box, absorbing or releasing moisture as necessary. |
| moderate and stable moisture | Don't add anything you don't need. |
- Never use a drenched sponge that leaks: direct water stains and forms wood.
- Do not use case humidifier at seashore or at an unmeasured rainy season before: you can get worse.
- Rearm the case humidifier as instructed by them and a dry and forgotten one can raise mold.
- For an acoustic piano, ask your tuning technician if a moisture monitoring system is appropriate.
Where to save instruments at home
- If you are not using them for several days and for daily practice, a stable support at a secure corner is good.
- Against an inner wall, far from windows, doors to the outside, kitchen and bathroom.
- A far range of heaters, chimneys, stoves and air-conditioning exits.
- Out of reach of pets and small children, and never lying against the wall or onto the bed.
- The piano, against an inner wall and with no direct sun, and if you change place, counts that it will require tuning.
- Digital Pianos and amplifiers, connected to a voltage regulator or protector.
If you have several instruments, an ventilated clopet on an inner wall is usually better than a useful room attached to the façade. To care for each other, check the [acoustic guitar] guides.](/blog/como-limpiar-y-cuidar-una-guitarra-acustica)[violin]](/blog/como-limpiar-y-cuidar-un-violin)[piano]](/blog/como-cuidar-y-limpiar-un-piano) and [clarinet]](/blog/como-limpiar-y-cuidar-un-clarinete).
Road trips: trunk and car to the sun
A car closed to the sun warmes up a great deal in a short time, far more than the air outside. That heat softens with guitars and violins, you can clear up bridges and joints, rods and slippers get deformed and the fat of the metal drains.
- He's got his instrument in his cabin with his air conditioning and his trunk.
- It protects the case from the sun that enters through the window with a cover or cover.
- Don't leave him in his car while you stop for lunch or have a ride, even with his windows intertwined.
- When we get there, we'll have to put the case in and leave it closed for a while before we open it, especially if you have been cold and hot or otherwise. That's how you avoid condensation and abrupt change.
- In a weekend plan, as with his passing from Bogota to hot ground, he checks his tuning and his instrument status at his arrival and before his return.
Travel by plane with an instrument
- Before buying the tiquette, ask the airline if your instrument can go in cabin and under what conditions. Policies change and depend on size.
- If you can get to your cabin, get him with you: avoid pounding and changing the temperature of the cellar.
- If you go to a cellar, use a high quality rigid case, fill up spaces so that it doesn't move and mark as fragile.
- In guitars, tiples and other strings that go in cellar, many musicians lower their tuning a little to reduce tension, without looting their strings completely.
- In wind, remove nozzle, rods and strap and put them back into his case place.
- When landing in a different climate, leave the case closed a while before opening.
A basic kit: DIY, Rope or Replacement Rods, a small hygrometer if your instrument needs to and a mobile with [online tuning]](/herramientas/afinador) by hand. If you have [violin classes]](/clases/violin) or another instrument, your teacher can also help you notice climate symptoms in time.
Frequently asked questions
Is it best to put his guitar in his case or a stand?
For daily use, a stable support at a protected place is good and invites you to practice. If you are not to touch it for days, if there are strong climate changes or if there are children and pets, the case better protects.
How do I know if my instrument's suffering from moisture?
Look at the signs: strings that come up or come down without reason, tuning that doesn't hold up, smell of moisture in the case, oxide in ropes or keys and, in wood, cracks or scattering things. A hygrometer confirms suspicion.
Do you have to put some rice or salt in your case to remove moisture?
It's a bad idea: they drop powder, they can attract insects and they don't control moisture reliably. The gel satilish or moisture monitoring sachets made for instruments work better.
What do I do if my instrument gets wet with rain?
Seal them out with a soft cloth and leave the case open at an ventilated place and in the shade. Do not wear a hair dryer or put them in the sun. If water entered a piano, an amplifier or an instrument with slippers, call them for review.