[CAUT] Humidity question

[Israel Stein]

At 11:00 AM 2/9/2008, Jeff Tanner wrote:

Jeff,

The warmer the air, the more moisture it is able to hold. That's why 
it rains when the weather cools down, that's why there is dew in the 
mornings and that's why you are having a problem. When the humidity 
spikes in a cold environment, the moisture precipitates out onto the 
keyboards and the bows and the fingerboards - essentially it's dew. 
When the weather is warmer, the moisture just stays in the air...

Israel Stein



>Hi all,
>We've had a humidity "spike" in our recital hall the last week or 10 
>days.  Every one is screaming that the keys are clammy, fiddle 
>fingerboards are clammy and bowhair "skids rather than grabbing the 
>strings".  Yeah, yeah, yeah, the pitch of the piano jumped a few 
>cents over last weekend, but nothing is screaming high humidity to me.
>
>The "spike"?  We were up to a whopping 55% at one point, which by 
>August standards would be a kiln.  But we'd been running in the 
>upper 30% to low 40% range fairly consistently until this "spike".
>
>Question is, why is it faculty and students seem to notice 
>condensation on the keys if it gets over 48% in February, but if 
>it's 75% in a studio in July, nobody mentions it?
>
>I understand walking out of a much cooler, drier hallway into the 
>recital hall, which has humidification/dehumidification that is 
>actually working, there is a noticeable difference in the feel of 
>the air.  But why is there a difference in condensation, or why is 
>there a perception of clamminess now and not in August?
>
>Thanks,
>Jeff
>
>
>Jeff Tanner, RPT
>University of South Carolina