[rafaz]

Hello,
I am having difficult times with my reeds. I use the Vandoren Hygro and I was happy with it untill winter. I feel like it is failing to remove excess humidity. Every time I add water (only few drops) afer one day reeds get extremely damp to the level that it is very unpleasant to play them. What should I do?
Maybe it is due to my case? It is pretty airtight, so I am considering getting some sort of humidifier (like Boveda). If this is the way to go, what is the correct level of humidity in case?


R.

 

[Hazebloom]

I have been experimenting with humid storing when I was living in South Korea where the winter is extremely dry and the peak summer is extremely humid. I was just adding a humidified tissue to the reed case to prevent them from drying out. As long as I was taking daily care of this "ecosystem" (like having the box open during practicing or changing the tissue, adjusting the amount of water on the tissue according to the actual air humidity, all this on a pure gut feeling base of course), it was an improvement, my reeds were always ready to rock. When I went for a trip of 1 week they got rotten and stinky - or dry, depending on the season.

 

[JohnMarkPainter]

Any sealed humidifier needs to be opened.
Cigar humidors are the same (non ventilated ones).

My room humidity stays just under 50% anyway.
It really depends on your climate.

I recently experimented with using a piece of sponge with Dr Tichenor’s mouthwash on it.
It worked really well....uNtil I had a couple of days without opening one of the containers.
There was discoloration on the reed.

I’ve gone back to just using my D Addario cases.

 

[awholley]

I have had ZERO problems since I started using this method. I keep the reeds in either a sealed Reed Vault or a ziplock with the 72% packet and a super-cheap hygrometer from Amazon. They have stayed just under performance dampness and do not warp or swell under the mouthpiece window. Also have yet to see mold after more than a year.

 

[JL]

What should I do?

Get the D'Addario reed case that JohnMarkPainter mentioned:

https://www.musicarts.com/daddario-woodwinds-reed-guard-main0126527

That's all you need to keep your reeds in good shape. However, do you live in an extremely hot dry climate? If so, then maybe you do need some kind of humidifier. Can't help you there, but I find the D'Addario reed guards to work great.