Klarinet Archive - Posting 000478.txt from 2002/01

From: "Karl Krelove" <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Dried fruit
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 18:12:12 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: holloways [mailto:holloways@-----.za]
>
> I like oranges, but I certainly don't like the mould that grows on any
> wooden clarinets I happen to store away for any length of time.
> ... how do I keep mould out of my cases?
>

Ian, it seems as if the best way to solve this problem would be to
dehumidify the room where you store the instruments. I don't think putting a
desiccant of any sort into the case is a good idea - the consequences (in
crack potential) of its doing too good a job are a lot worse than those of
overhumidifying the case where the environment is too dry.

That said, going back to the earlier thread as well, I think the best
solution generally in either case is to keep the environment (indoors where
you normally keep your instruments) at the right humidity and temperature
where that's possible.

Case humidifiers like citrus peels or Dampits, or anything you could use to
dry the case from the inside are ways to get around bad environmental
conditions. If you can fix the room conditions with room or whole house
humidifiers and dehumidifiers, most of the other things could be
unnecessary.

Karl Krelove

---------------------------------------------------------------------