[Daren]

Good points Alan

I believe it can affect the gapping of a reed so that it fails when you blow hard on it or altogether, in the sense that the offending reed has to be regapped to solve the problem

This sounds entirely feasible!

Interestingly, the moisture release buttons on all my Yamahas have been modified – replaced with screw on caps, so they can be left open to dry. Sometimes while performing, I leave the cap off, and cover it with my left hand, so that the instrument is “airing” for every moment its not being played.