Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Do you need humidifier if you have AC?

My house has central air conditioning that is practically always on, would i need a humidifier in this case?

If your AC maintains a fairly steady humidity and that humidity is within the range deemed OK for your piano. For example my Kawai is specified as requiring between 30% and 70% humidity but although that is a wide range it is important that, whatever value it is, that value doesn't change much.

A hygrometer (e.g. from Amazon) will tell whether you are within gwing's range and whether the piano is subjected to rapid drops in RH.

Ours has been in the 55% to 70% range for the last couple of weeks and is 64% this morning.

I bought Govee temp/humidity sensor that works with phone app. I put it just below piano soundboard. It gives graphics of temp and humidity over time, and seems to be quite accurate. You can clearly see when piano life saver turns heating elements or humidifier on, for example (my unit seems to aim for 40% average humidity instead of 45%, for some reason).

Air conditioning removes humidity until a point where the water vapor no longer condenses upon contact with the cooling coil. I think you yourself would feel uncomfortable well before the air becomes dangerously dry for the piano. But yeah, a portable clock/thermometer/hygrometer is nice to have.

I thought 42% was the recommended humidity level for pianos. Or is that just the Damp Chaser recommendation? My impression was a humidity level near 30% or 70%, even if steady, was not good for a piano.

That is a good question.

If you live in AZ or NM, which I believe to be on the dry side, then 40-45% would be a good level. But if you live in Singapore, where I understand the RH fluctuates between 60% and 80%+ every day, it might make more sense to aim for 60-65%?

42% simply turns out to be a sweet spot balancing strength with flexibility.

What is more important really for a piano (or any other musical instrument made of wood) is finding a level of RH that you can MAINTAIN consistently. It could be 45%...50%...35%...60%...etc. You are better off maintaining 60% than fluctuating between 40% and 70%. The 30% and 70% markers are DAMAGE control limits. Outside of these you WILL (not maybe) get physical damage. Within these parameters physical deterioration still exists but a slower rate.

50% RH plus or minus 2% you will hardly ever need to tune your piano...literally. And it will last longer as well.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

More precisely put the Kawai care instructions for my piano say that you *must* not have rapidly fluctuating humidity, that you *should* keep your piano at a stable humidity between 30 and 70% but that *ideally* you would keep it between 40 and 60%. Other makers may have different instructions.

In our climate I aim to keep mine at 55% and it generally fluctuates within 2% of that. Occasionally we have periods of greater humidity swing than my controls can manage, or I'm a bit slow emptying the dehumidifier bucket, and it goes outside that 2% band.

Steinway recommends 45% to 70% at 20 degrees C. During the summer I try and keep it at 58%. I have a damp chaser.

If your AC converts over to a Heater in the winter, yes you will need a Humidifier.
Bosendorfer and Steinway recommend VENTA AIR PURIFIERS.

I just got one and they are whisper quiet.
Will be turning on as soon as my heater kicks in.

Rapidly fluctuating temperature or humidity will result in condensation on metal parts (e.g. strings, tuning.pins, etc), which WILL produce rust. This is not a good thing.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

Rapidly fluctuating temperature or humidity will result in condensation on metal parts (e.g. strings, tuning.pins, etc), which WILL produce rust. This is not a good thing.

I do not think that either SS or Bosie recommend (officially) DC systems or any part of such.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

I guess humidifier and AC are responsible for different functions. The humidifier's especially helpful during the winter when the air's too dry. My skin face immediately starts to peel due to the lack of moisture, so I use it all the time. But AC is more about the comfort, IMHO. I remember when my air con stopped working, I contacted [url=https://www.pianosupplies.com[/url] in order to fix it. I personally can't normally sleep, eat, study and live without comfortable temperature inside. Just wonder how someone can ignore all the benefits of a humidifier or AC. It makes life much more pleasant.

It depends where you live. Where I live, the AC only runs during the summer, roughly mid-May through mid-September, when it's usually quite humid here. So the AC serves to keep the humidity down in the 40-50% range. In other words, I don't need a humidifier then.

But in the winter, the furnace runs about half the time, which makes the air very dry. That's why I have a whole-house humidifier, which keeps the humidity around 35-45% during those months.

If the air ever gets too dry you need a humidifier. If the air ever gets too wet you need AC or a dehumidifier.

And if it ever gets so wet that water drips on the piano, you probably need a new roof!

I can vouch for the truth of this!

Install an hygrometer in home and fix your humidity level, than, if is too low, buy an humidifier!

Does anyone have experience with Dyson humidifier? They are pricey but worth it if they do the work.Air purifier humidifier model PH01