How to prep clarinets for humidity change?

[Frank D]

I debated putting this in the repair thread, but that seems pretty targeted to saxes.

I'll soon be moving from a low humidity environment (Phoenix) to one with high humidity (SE Florida). Should I be doing anything to my clarinets to protect them from any adverse effect from the change in humidity? Oil the bores really well? They'll be shipped on a moving truck with the rest of the contents of my house, so the atmosphere will change gradually over about a week's time.

TIA,
Frank

[AMASAX]

you'll probably be ok here, thing to bear in mind is that you wanna do a gradual change, not anything really sudden.

one approach might be to put your clarinet(still inside the closed case) in your bathroom near the shower and leave it there for a couple of days. The increased humidity because of showers, etc., will gradually go through the case into the clarinet, but slowly. Then, a couple days before the horn gets shipped, leave it in the bathroom with the case open so that it can acclimate to a more humid environment.
When it goes on the truck, it'll be midway between AZ and FL, humidity wise...

i live in an area that gets really dry in the winters and i sometimes store my bass clarinet this way...really tightens up the rings and keeps the wood in good shape.

[Dr G]

Playing them is the best way to pump in moisture. If they are already played regularly and stored in their cases when not in use, they should be fine.

I live at 7000' in the high desert to the east of you and have taken guitars (Gurian and Gallagher) from here to the beaches of Maui with no problems. As long as your instruments are not _DRY_ when you throw them into the sauna, there's little cause to worry. Most of the damage comes from getting dry - that's when wood cracks as it shrinks and posts loosen, etc.

If you want to be entirely cautious (as I tend to be), make sure they are well humidified before the journey and that you let them slowly accomodate to their new surroundings on arrival: Play them, swab them, and store them in their cases as always.

It's also a good idea to lube them now too - as a protective measure against corrosion. A drop of oil to coat blue steel springs will help ward off rust.

[Frank D]

Thank you both, I'll take your advice.