Humidity In Your Home

The climate in our area necessitates heating our homes during the winter months which affects the relative humidity of the air. Such changes in relative humidity can cause severe damage to the piano. Remember that the piano is for the most part made of wood. The wooden parts of the piano will come to "equilibrium moisture content" with the relative humidity of the air. This means that the wood will absorb moisture expanding and contracting with the changes in relative humidity. Such expansion and contraction is the direct cause of cracked soundboards and tuning instability.

Humidity in your home during the winter decreases because cold air when heated will drop in relative humidity, so that while the humidity may be 40% outdoors on a cold day the same air heated in your home can drop to as low as 15%. Even more drastic changes in humidity can be caused by woodstoves or fireplaces in the vicinity, try to locate your piano away from such heat sources.

Humidity Control

It is very likely that you will need to humidify the air during the winter. We recommend a good humidifier which puts out a minimum of five gallons per day and a hygrometer for monitoring the relative humidity. You may also need to dehumidify during the summer months. The humidity should be maintained between 40% and 60%, never allow it to go below 30% or above 70%. A soundboard kept in the proper environment will rarely crack and tuning stability will be much improved.

It it also possible to build a humidity system directly inside the piano. This is often the choice if the room the piano is in is very large or if it is impractical to adequately control the humidity of the space. It is also advised to use this method in conjunction with room humidifiers and dehumidifiers in severe environments

Service

During the first year your new or rebuilt piano needs to be tuned more often. The new strings will be stretching out and the new pinblock will stabilize. The piano should probably be tuned about every three months or four times during the first year. Once the piano has stabilized you should have a regular tuning schedule. In most cases the piano should be tuned twice a year or more depending on how often you use the piano and what you expect from your piano. When your piano is delivered it is finely tuned and regulated. To maintain the piano in this condition requires that you have it regularly tuned, serviced and when needed, the action regulated. A knowledgeable technician is a valuable asset and can help you maintain your piano's fine condition. If you need a technician or if your present technician needs information, please contact us.

Caring for the Finish on Your Piano

We are often asked how to care for a newly refinished piano. We have come to feel that the best solutions are the simple ones. For a newly refinished piano with a lacquer finish (either satin or gloss) the biggest problem is oil or greasy dirt from fingers. And the best way to remove it is with a little mild soap on a dampened cloth. The soap will remove the oil while the water, which by the way is the lubricant used to polish a lacquer finish, will not harm the finish. Buffing afterwards with a dry cloth, cheesecloth is good, will give good results. Glass cleaner also works well as it does not leave a residue behind. It can be especially useful for cleaning the keytops. The idea here is not to add any additional "stuff" to the finish. Furniture polish of just about any type will leave either wax or oil on the surface and is not very compatible with a lacquer finish, as a matter of fact it will probably attract dust and may make the surface of the finish uneven or splotchy.

An older piano is another matter. Lets say you have been polishing the case with furniture polish for years and years, actually that's ok, depending on the age of the finish it may be varnish or shellac, both of which will respond better to oil or wax. In any case, after all those years of polish the finish is now saturated, further polishing will maintain the protective coating that has built up. If you have not used a furniture polish with silicone, it is best to not to start, the silicones can penetrate the wood beneath the finish and make applying a new finish difficult, even when all of the old finish has been stripped off!

Our recommendation for cleaning the inside of the piano is to let your technician do it. A little light vacuuming around the strings and the plate with the brush attachment from time to time is OK, but be gentle and stay away from the dampers. Care of your pianos finish should be easy and if you keep it simple and consistent, it should look great for a long time.