5 Piano Care Tips

5 Piano Care Tips

A piano isn’t a quick purchase. It’s something you take time to weigh your options, and select the right one for your needs. Select carefully, and it can bring a lifetime of enjoyment. 

Of course, once you bring it into your home, there are a few piano care tips that will ensure it stays in the best shape possible. Do these few things regularly, and you’ll increase the playability, giving you enjoyment year after year. 

Piano Care Tip #1 Location

Before you ever bring your piano home from the dealer, it’s crucial to select the right place. There are a few things to keep in mind. 

Try to position it on an internal wall, away from windows, vents, and direct sunlight. Each of these can impact your piano in a big way. Sunlight can bleach wood, moisture can creep in and damage the internal structure, and too much heat or cold from registers can warp and further the damage. Pick the right location, and it can bring years of enjoyment. 

Piano Care Tip #2 Cleaning

Like everything in your home, your piano needs cleaning from time to time. However, it’s not like the other furniture items sitting in your home. Avoid chemical cleaners at all costs. They can damage the finish and the internal parts of your piano. Dust it with a feather duster weekly, and use mild soap and water using a well wrung out cloth for difficult spots. 

Piano Care Tip #3 Decorations

Because your piano can take up a lot of space in a home, some people turn it into a collection site. They stack books, place picture frames, or even put plants and other decorations on top. Your piano is built to perform the way it was designed. By placing random objects on it, you’re impacting the tonal quality of the instrument. If you put plants or water glasses on it, you risk damaging it from spills. 

Piano Care Tip #4 Storage and Movement

Pianos aren’t like other pieces of furniture. You can’t stack them into a basement and expect them to continue working. If you need to store a piano while you renovate your home, for example, it’s best if you hire professional piano movers and store it in a place where it can maintain temperature and humidity levels equal to your home. Professional movers are skilled in handling a piano gently, so that it will work correctly when it gets to its final resting place. Experienced movers ensure you won’t have extensive damage when your move is complete. 

Piano Care Tip #5 Tuning

Every piano is a moving, living instrument that changes every day. Playing it impacts it. So does sitting. If you’ve just invested in a new piano, it’s recommended to tune it up to four times in the first year to ensure the strings are properly balanced. If you work with a tuner regularly, they can help you determine the right schedule for your piano, to ensure it’s always playing at its best. 

The Three Biggest Tips For Caring For Your Piano

The Three Biggest Tips For Caring For Your Piano

Pianos are a moving, carefully constructed instrument that require regular care to keep it in good working condition. While it doesn’t require daily maintenance, or hours of your time during your busy week, there are easy things you can put in place to ensure the best working performance whenever you have the desire to play.

#1 Control The Humidity Levels

One of the most crucial aspects of keeping your piano in good, working condition is its environment. Too much humidity can cause wood to swell and keys to stick. Too little humidity can cause drying and warping of the wood, which can also lead to piano keys sticking.The Three Biggest Tips For Caring For Your Piano

Its easy to assume that if humidity is high (or low) outside, the inside environment is okay as well. That’s not necessarily so. Low humidity is more likely present during the winter months, when you run your heat on a frequent basis. Yet it can also be present during times of drought, when no rain has been in sight for weeks at a time. Low humidity cracks soundboards and other vital parts of your piano, so its an important aspect to watch for and correct.

Proper humidity levels in your home should be in the 40 to 52 percent range. While this may not be possible in all areas at all times, the important thing to watch for is humidity dropping too low for extended periods of time. If you get static electricity in your home, your piano is in danger.

#2 Piano Tuning

Its easy to assume that piano care is related to how much you play your piano. It works for a car – oil changes are needed on a more frequent basis the more you drive your car. Not so with a piano. Even if your piano sits for weeks on end without being played, it still moves and changes based on the environment. As it moves and changes, the quality of your piano is impacted.

Regular tuning protects the pinblock and keeps your soundboard in top quality. Tuning by a qualified tuner also gives them the chance to look for other things that can turn into larger problems down the road if not fixed and repaired quickly.

#3 Cleaning

Just like any quality piece of furniture in your home, your piano should be cleaned on a regular basis. But when you clean, leave the chemicals behind. With most gloss finishes today, a simple microfiber cloth lightly dampened with water will do the trick. Using chemicals – furniture polish and other off-the-shelf cleaners – contain silicone and other oily bases that do not belong on wood and will eventually dull and cloud the finish.

Once you begin using these polishes on your finish, its very difficult to return the finish to its original shine.

If you own a grand piano, its always a good idea to keep the lid closed when not in use, to ensure dust, debris and pet fur stays away from the soundboard, plate and strings.

Just like tuning, a regular, quality cleaning from a piano technician is recommended to ensure all working parts of your piano are adequately cleaned and ready for use. Do not attempt to deep clean without instruction. You can vacuum the inside carefully with a brush attachment, but in no circumstances should you ever use chemicals or furniture polish on the inside of the piano.