Concertinas And The Environment

[twisper]

Hello......As many of us would concur, concertinas are generally benign to our environment. However, the opposite may not always be true. I live in a very arid climate, where the average relative humidity during the rainiest spring months barely gets above 45%, and winter can dry things down to 15%. This can be very harsh on our finely crafted wooden possessions, with massive shrinkage and warping a commonplace hazard.

Guitars, violins, and even pianos have methods and devices to keep them hydrated to a level where they retain their shapes and good looks. However, I'm curious as to what others may suggest or do to alleviate this problem with their concertinas .

Thus far, I have been putting a small slice of apple in the case with my concertina. It comes out of the case frequently enough so that there's no danger of mold, etc.....but I don't think I would do that for a long term storage. Any thoughts on this???

While we're at it, folks in excessively humid conditions may have a problem with mildew, rusty reeds etc., so that subject could be addressed as well......................................Forrest

Edited May 28, 2005 by twisper

[bellowbelle]

I live in a place with extremes in humidity -- at least inside my ow house. It can be at one end or the other.

 

I MUST have humidity...I can't even sleep at night if the air starts getting dry. I run humidifiers whenever I have to -- two or three room-sized ones.

 

But, as for my concertina --

 

Since I like to leave it outside of the case most of the time, and just covered in my home-made holder for it, I make sure that the room it's in is humid enough.

 

In the concertina case, I have two plastic containers that 35-mm film came in. In one, I have some dry rice (to absorb excess moisture, should that occur). In the other, I have a rolled-up piece of sponge that I keep wet, and also sprayed with essential oil (that helps kill bacteria).

 

I'm not sure if the rice does much, but, I think that the two things together make a working balance.

 

It was someone here at C-Net who mentioned using the film cases and sponge, before. This topic was gone over quite a bit in times past....maybe the thread is still available, but it was at the former forum site.

[Henk van Aalten]

In the concertina case, I have two plastic containers that 35-mm film came in.  In one, I have some dry rice (to absorb excess moisture, should that occur).  In the other, I have a rolled-up piece of sponge that I keep wet, and also sprayed with essential oil (that helps kill bacteria). 

 

I'm not sure if the rice does much, but, I think that the two things together make a working balance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wendy

 

When you keep the two containers closed, it will not work. So can you tell us when you open one of the containers? When you open both at the same time, you will end up with wet rice and a dry sponge .

 

If you would really like to absorb water, you better replace the rice with a disposable (baby) diper .

[Richard Morse]

I use a tobacco pouch humidifier. See this post which is part of a long topic on humidification.

[bellowbelle]

Wendy

 

When you keep the two containers closed, it will not work. So can you tell us when you open one of the containers? When you open both at the same time, you will end up with wet rice and a dry sponge  .

 

If you would really like to absorb water, you better replace the rice with a disposable (baby) diper  .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Oops...sorry, I forgot to say that I have some holes punched in the snap-on tops of the containers!

 

Re the rice....well, I got the idea from that trick of putting dry rice in the salt shaker to keep the salt from sticking together in the hot weather. It works! So, I thought it would be absorbent. (...And I won't starve, should I ever get stuck somewhere with my concertina and case...??? )

[Stephen Chambers]

I MUST have humidity...I can't even sleep at night if the air starts getting dry. I run humidifiers whenever I have to -- two or three room-sized ones.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

S'funny, we have no shortage of it round here (though we call it "the damp"), in fact the problem may be more one of keeping the bedding dry enough in some of the old houses.

 

 

But, as for my concertina --

In Clare, it was traditional to have a "concertina hole" beside the fire, to keep the instrument dry, though Paddy Murphy kept his instruments on the high shelf above the large fireplace in his farmhouse kitchen.

 

The dampness here can cause lots of problems !

Edited May 30, 2005 by Stephen Chambers

[darcybethd]

So glad I found this post! Down here in the south (NC) our heat and humidity, especially in the summer (98 degrees with 100% humidity) can be a bear and I was wondering how this would affect the concertina. Now I just have to find some place a bit dryer to keep it. Do you think keeping it in the case ( I just have a gig bag for now) will help any?

[shipcmo]

While living on my boat I kept my Jeffries in a Gremlin Viking case that is plastic with a soft plastic lip that provides a tight seal. I went to a florist and got a dessicant for preparing dried flowers and put about 2 cups in an old lightweight sock and put it in the bottom of the case. Changed it about every 6 months, or sooner depending on how often the case was opened. That worked for 6 years without any problems.

Cheers,

Geo

[morganj]

I see the Buttonbox has started selling silica gel packets among it's accessories. I took a quick look in some local shops, but I'm not sure where else you can buy them. Perhaps a camera shop.

[Chris Timson]

Do you think keeping it in the case ( I just have a gig bag for now) will help any?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, a little bit, but keeping it in a proper hard case will help a lot more. A case helps to even out changes in the environment.

 

Chris

[geoffwright]

Concertinas are bad for the environment as they encourage (some of) us to drive to sessions four or five nights a week.