How dry I am - or - how dry should I be?

US Military Guy

For those of you with walk-in vaults and anybody else, I suppose; what level do you maintain relative humidity?

What is too dry?

What is too wet?

JohnnyBGood

50% or maybe a bit less is "ideal." However, a consistent temperature and humidity level is more important as extreme changes in these can cause condensation.

Johnny

JudgeColt

I do not worry about "too dry" in my vault room. I suppose zero humidity would be detrimental to wood, but that will not happen in normal residential environments. My vault room is heated and cooled. I feel the usual humidity level of around 50% is safe.

tsr1965

In my vault room, I have a good dehumidifier, that controls the dewpoint very well, and therefore the relative humidity. It also doubles as my everything "gun room", like reloading, cleaning, general maintenance, etc. I try to keep it between 30-40% RH. Seems to be a good blend, of enough moisture, and enough stability.

Best

rong

My Gun Vault room maintains the same humidity
as the rest of the house.
I figure if the ironing board cover
doesn't wrinkle up,the guns are safe from rust.

nmyers

I also try to keep my safe interior in the 30-40% humidity range.

Those of us who have a residential forced hot air heating system can easily see humidity drop to near 0% in the winter. Low humidity will suck the moisture out of wood, destroying it. Sure, it may take 40-50 years for this to happen, but some of us have guns (& furniture) that we hope will last longer than that. A humidifier (NOT a room vaporizer) will help to prevent damage.

Neal

He Dog

50% is about the humidity level of most animal burrows. Comfortable for most animals including humans, but a little high for the best storage of guns. 30%-40% is a better range.

slumlord44

Too low humidity can damage wood. I have 6 panel wood doors in my house and if I don't run the humidifier in the winter the doors will actually split some of the panels. The go back together when I get the humidifier going again.