Taking Care of Your Ukulele
When not playing your ukulele, or showing it off to your friends, please make sure to keep it in a quality case. We can't stress the importance of this enough. As enjoyable as it would be to hang your new work of art on the wall, keeping your ukulele in a good case will not only protect your ukulele from dings and scratches, but will also help control the range of temperature and humidity it is exposed to. I particularly like any case with a polyfoam liner that helps insulate the ukulele from daily fluctuations in humidity and temperature.
Although we go to great lengths to make sure that all of our tonewoods are dried to the correct moisture content, all solid wood instruments need to be cared for correctly according to the humidity levels of their new environments. This is especially important in dry climates. Too much humidity can create problems as well, but dry climates can be destroy a solid wood instrument if it is not taken care of correctly.
Try to store your ukulele between 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit, and around 50% relative humidity. Your new baby was born in the tropics, and will surely appreciate a little bit of extra humidity as she adjusts to her new home. Most people don't have a hygrometer to measure humidity, which is why I recommend investing in an in-case humidifier, such as an Oasis Ukulele Humidifier (especially if you live in a dry climate). Oasis Humidifiers are an inexpensive way to ensure that your ukulele is well humidified.
It is often a good idea to store your ukulele in a closet, where it is out of the sun and away from heating and a/c vents. Heating and a/c systems produce very dry air that can create problems for a solid wood instrument.
As far as cleaning your new ukulele, a damp cloth should do pretty well for most minor cleanup jobs. However, regular cleaning with a mild guitar cleaner will add life to the cocobolo and will keep your ukulele looking sharp for many years to come. There are many guitar cleaners on the market that would do the job well, but we have had good results with the Music Nomad MN100 cleaner. It is a good quality cleaner that works well with our light satin finish, and only costs $10 on Amazon.
For cleaning the fretboard on your new ukulele, we would recommend cleaning it with a damp cloth. Once it is clean and dry, apply a small amount of olive oil to a cloth, then to the fretboard. The olive oil will not only make the fretboard look new again, but it will help moisturize the wood and keep it healthy for many years to come. We have also experimented with Lemon Oil, which is a common fretboard cleaner, but we have found that Lemon Oil can cause the wood to darken and not look as pretty as olive oil.
With a little bit of effort, your new Cocobolo Ukulele should last a lifetime.