Review on Digital Wood Moisture Meter - Pin-Type Moisture Detector For Building Materials, Firewood, Walls, Floors, And Paper - Yellow Dampness Tester For Water Leak Detection by John Stefko

I ordered this Wood Moisture Meter so that I could know with more certainty whether or not my pre-washed, pre-prepped deck was ready for staining. Every 12-18 months here in the hot Texas sun, I reapply the same high quality oil-based deck stain to my cedar deck. But some years, it just does not stick the way it does in other years. I finally broke the code. Instead of waiting for a set number of days for the deck to dry, and guessing that it was dry enough for application after that period of time, I needed to use a wood moisture meter that would guarantee the type of dryness I was looking for! This was so easy! This Wood Moisture Meter is easy to use, easy to read, easy to store. The stain I use says that the wood has to have a moisture content of 12% or less prior to application for best results. The first time I used this moisture meter it took my deck 10 days to achieve that kind of moisture content after pre-washing. I have never waited more than 8 days to stain; so I was previously staining too early. After using the Wood Moisture Meter to verify the proper moisture content, the stain went on better than it's ever gone on before. The wood just soaked it up, and the color is gorgeously uniform. I appreciated that I could test all different portions of the deck prior to staining -- the part under cover, the part exposed 24/7 to the elements, the bench -- to ensure that all of it read below 12% moisture before I applied the stain. This tool is going to be very useful for me year after year as I care for my cedar deck.