Humidifiers & TSA while travelling

[ukuleleeh]

I'm headed to Hawaii in a couple of weeks, and will be taking a 10-hour plane to Honolulu. I usually keep a D'addario Humidipak in my case, and was hoping to bring it along so my uke remains at a stable level of humidity.

Does anyone have experience travelling with a humidifier, in particular the Humidipak? Will TSA give me a hard time for having it in my carry-on case?

(I was unsure which thread was best to post this in: if you have a suggestion for where I can post this I'm happy to repost there)

 

[pmorey]

Many times, probably 25+ flights since COVID and out of all of those a few times they have hand inspected, but most of the time it goes right through no problem. Even after hand inspected, when they saw it and I explained what it was, everything was fine.

The best conversation I had was agent kicked my case out after x-ray and wanted to inspect to find out why it only had one string (the wound low G was the only one to show up!)

 

[ukuleleeh]

Many times, probably 25+ flights since COVID and out of all of those a few times they have hand inspected, but most of the time it goes right through no problem. Even after hand inspected, when they saw it and I explained what it was, everything was fine.

The best conversation I had was agent kicked it out after x-ray and wanted to inspect to find out why it only had one string (the wound low G was the only one to show up!)

That’s hilarious about the one string. Thanks for your help!

I have a feeling they will ask about my uke’s pickup system. MiSi with no battery. I’ll learn “America the Brave” in case they ask me to play & prove it’s a pickup system

 

[ksiegel]

That’s hilarious about the one string. Thanks for your help!

I have a feeling they will ask about my uke’s pickup system. MiSi with no battery. I’ll learn “America the Brave” in case they ask me to play & prove it’s a pickup system

leave the charger in the case - if they ask, tell them the pickup uses a capacitor. Back when I was flying a lot, I only had one problem - an agentwas about to take my Sceptre out of the case, I said "you need to know that's a very expensive instrument. May I take it out and hand it to you?" The supervisor heard, rushed over and said, "remember the regulations!we don't touch musical instruments without permission!"

I don't know if that was an actual regulation, but the supervisor was one of my Starbucks customers...

And I've never had a problem with a humidifier of any type.

-Kurt​

 

[ukuleleeh]

leave the charger in the case - if they ask, tell them the pickup uses a capacitor. Back when I was flying a lot, I only had one problem - an agentwas about to take my Sceptre out of the case, I said "you need to know that's a very expensive instrument. May I take it out and hand it to you?" The supervisor heard, rushed over and said, "remember the regulations!we don't touch musical instruments without permission!"

I don't know if that was an actual regulation, but the supervisor was one of my Starbucks customers...

And I've never had a problem with a humidifier of any type.

-Kurt​

Great advice!

 

[merlin666]

Don't bother with humidifier. Oahu has perfect humidity for ukes and humans.

 

[pmorey]

Planes unfortunately do not! It’s usually less than 20%.

 

[Wiggy]

Planes unfortunately do not! It’s usually less than 20%.

I never knew that:

G'gld: Air passenger cabin humidity level

20%

On crowded aircraft, the humidity level can be as high as 20%, which is ideal. For less crowded aircraft flying at very high altitudes, in-cabin humidity can drop to 1% if there is no required equipment. In case of low humidity, it is recommended to drink water before, during and after the flight.

-don't know about baggage...

TMI: https://thepointsguy.com/news/the-healthiest-planes-in-the-air-today/

 

[merlin666]

Planes unfortunately do not! It’s usually less than 20%.

Yeah but a few hours won't affect a cased uke at all.

 

[ukuleleeh]

Yeah but a few hours won't affect a cased uke at all.

It's a 10 hour flight, plus going to and from airports (another 30-45 mins) plus additional waiting in the airports...so more than a few hours.

 

[badhabits]

It's a 10 hour flight, plus going to and from airports (another 30-45 mins) plus additional waiting in the airports...so more than a few hours.

But it won't be 20-30% in all those places...take it if you feel like it since it won't take up much space (as long as the liquid is </=100 ml), but I wouldn't be concerned that your uke will spontaneously split apart and frets unsheath due to short exposures to low humidity.

 

[merlin666]

Yeah and for the flight there are more important things to worry about like what happens in the overhead bin unless you put it in suitcase and check it. That's what I did for my last two trips to Europe that were more than 24h travel time including buses and trains.

 

[Kenn2018]

I never knew that:

G'gld: Air passenger cabin humidity level

20%

On crowded aircraft, the humidity level can be as high as 20%, which is ideal. For less crowded aircraft flying at very high altitudes, in-cabin humidity can drop to 1% if there is no required equipment. In case of low humidity, it is recommended to drink water before, during and after the flight.

As my ex wife/flight attendant told me, "Never drink the water on the plane. The tank is rarely cleaned and contaminants get into the water."
That included anything they made with the plane's tap water: Coffee, tea, powdered drinks, etc. Ice was okay because it was loaded in bags.

I wouldn't keep the Oasis hanging on the strings inside your uke. It will bang around and if you have a pickup can mess with the wiring. Either use a HumidPack, or keep it in the center compartment of the case. It's not very efficient there, but it's better than it bouncing around inside your uke.