- Care of your piano
- Pianos are sensitive objects which when looked after can give many years of enjoyment but need a few simple things to keep them happy.
- Ideal position
Keep out of direct sunlight. Keep away from direct sources of heat such as : radiators and open fires. Keep away from strong draughts and sources of extreme damp.
- ideal conditions for a piano
An ambient temperature of not more than 20C, or a constant room temperature, humidity should be between 40% and 75% humidity that is below 40% may cause your piano to dry out -glue joints break and bits may fall off ! humidity that is above 80% can cause action parts to swell and seize up – you will get sticking notes, it can also cause metal parts to rust and mildew may form on other parts of the piano.
- tuning and maintenance
Your piano should be tuned regularly about every 6 months to keep it sounding at its best.
New pianos should be `prepped ( regulated, checked over, tuned to A=440) before they leave the show room. if you are not happy with a new piano after delivery, let it settle for a while and bring up any issues with the tuner when it has its first tuning, usually a few weeks after delivery.
As with anything mechanical, a piano will wear out, go out of adjustment over the months and years and will need remedial work once in a while. for a domestic piano this may be as little as minor regulating and toning every few years.`
- cleaning
- Casework for wood finishes: use a silicone free furniture polish, one with beeswax is best, just use a soft cloth and rub gently.
modern polyester finishes really only need a soft cloth to polish off any finger marks and dust. DO NOT use cleaning products as they may harm the finish.
- keys
use a damp cloth with some non-abrasive cleaner, “wetwipes” are ideal. Don’t allow moisture to get down between the keys as they may swell up and stick.
once ivory keys have gone yellow it is impossible to bring them back to white again as the discolouration goes through the grain.