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How to Take Care of Your Piano

Pianos are built to last, but maintaining them is not an easy peasy task. It requires some serious attention. Even an old one can last long if you know the right care tips for your piano.

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How to Take Care of Your Piano

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  1. HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR PIANO BNATURALPIANOS & MUSIC SCHOOL

  2. Apianocanbeawonderfulfamilyinstrumentand learningresourceinahome, butitalsoneedstobe takencareoftocontinueinthatroleyearafteryear. Pianosarebuilttolast! Infact, theaverage “life-span” of apianoisover50years, buttolastthislongyournewor usedpianowillrequireaminimumamountofcare. Pianosneedregularmaintenanceandpreventative care, justaswetakecareofourcarstoavoidexpensive repairsandkeepitrunningrightaslongaspossible. Manyaspectsofpianocareandmaintenanceshouldbe regularlyprovidedbyaCertifiedPianoTechnician; such aspianotuningandregulationoftheaction. However, respectingtheinstrumentandusingsomecommon sensecanhelpyouavoidmishapsorunnecessary problems. TEACHYOUNGCHILDRENTOBE RESPECTFULOFTHEPIANO Let’sfaceit, oneofourmotivationsasparentsisto teachourchildrenthejoyandsatisfactionoflearning toplaythepiano. Onesuggestionistointroduceyoung childrentotheideaoftreatingthepianowithrespect. Practicallyspeaking, thismeanavoidingfoodordrinks onornearthepiano. Thisistheeasiestwaytoavoid spillsandstickymessesthatcandamagethepiano action. Kidsshouldneverbeallowedtoputhardorheavytoys onthepianokeys. Lotsofkids’ toysandhousehold objectscanscratchandscorethekeysorgetjammed inbetweenoraroundthekeys, andinterferewiththe pianokeysandaction. And, let’smakesureyourlittle Picassosdon’tusethepianoasacanvasbydrawing withmarkers, chalkorcrayons.

  3. Thereareover1,000movingpartsinapiano…anda greatmanyofthemarewood. So, let’savoidplacing theinstrumentinharm’swayMoisturecandamagethe woodandcasing, anditcanalsocreatehavocwith otherstructuralandspeakingcomponentsofthe instrument, likethehammers, bridges, soundboardand strings. HOWOFTENSHOULDITUNEA PIANO? Yourpianohas88keysor “notes” andanaverageof230 strings. Thestringsareinvariousgraduatedsizesand thicknesses, allstrungverytightly. Infact, theaverage stringhasabout160poundsoftension. Collectively, the stringsareexertingtonsofpressureonthestructureof thepiano. Thestringsareattachedtotuningpinsthat arethreadedintoapin-block. Thepinblockismadeofmultiplelayersofverydense wood, usuallymaple. So, withthisenormouspressure ofthestringsonthepinblock, bridgesand soundboard, andasthewoodcomponentsareaffected byatmosphericchangesintemperatureandhumidity, everythingshiftsandmoveseversoslightly. Asthis occursthetensiononthestringschange. Whenthe stringbecomeloosenedortightenedbythisconstant, naturalmovement, thepianogoesoutoftune Thegeneralrecommendation, whetheryouhavea new piano orusedpiano, istohavetheinstrument -tuned byatechniciantwiceayear. Thebesttimetoschedule yourpianotuningisafewweeks “aftertheheatgoeson oroff”… inotherwords, afterasignificantchangeofthe seasons, suchassummertowinterorviceversa, when temperatureschangeby20or30degreesoutsideor more.

  4. Ifyourhomeisinalocalewheretheoverall temperature’srangebarelyvaries, onemightgetaway withaonce-a-yeartuning, butit’scertainlybetterto planontwopianotuningsperyearifpossible. Ifapianohasnotbeentunedforaprolongedperiodof time, itmayrequiretwoormoretuningstobringthe piano “uptopitch”. Anentirelyneglectedpianothat hasnotbeentunedforfiveyearsormorecansustain moreseriousdamage, andshouldbecarefully evaluatedbyanexperiencepianotuner/technician. CLEANINGTHEPIANO Forwoodfinishedpianoswithalacquerfinish, youcan typicallyuseahigh-qualityfurniturepolish, butwe recommendtryingthepolishonasmallareafirsttosee howthefinishwillreact. Pleaseuseaclean, soft polishingclothandrubinthedirectionofthewood grain. Youshouldalsoremoveanyexcesspolishto avoidawaxybuild-uponthefinish. ManyAsianandEuropeanpianoshavehighglossor satinpolyesterfinishes. Polyesterfinishesareharder andmorescratch-resistantthanlacquerandarebest maintainedbysimpledustingandcleaningwithasoft cloth. Ifyouneedalittlehelpremovingfingerprintsand smudges, youcanmoistenaverycleanclothwith waterandcleanthefinishwithaconsistentcircular motion. Youshouldavoidusingpapertowelstoclean highpolishedfinishes, astheycanovertime, dullthe finishwithtinysurfacescratches. Fortheoccasionalaccident, wherethepianokeysget somekindofliquidorstainonthem, useagentlydamp clothonthekeys.

  5. Cleananddrythekeyscarefullybydepressingeachkey toaccessthesideoftheneighboringkeys. Prolonged moisturecanswellthewoodenkeys, soyoushould endeavortoremovewaterorotherliquidsasquicklyas possiblebywipingthekeysurfacesandsideswithan absorbentclothorpapertowels. Wedonotrecommenduseofharshchemicalsonthe keyboard, butalightsprayofWindexappliedtoyour cleaningclothcanhelptokeepthekeyssmoothand clean. THEROOMTEMPERATUREAND ENVIRONMENT Pianosarelargelyconstructedofwood. Thismeans theyarevulnerabletothehumidityaswellasthe temperature, andthiswillaffectthetuningstability. Theacceptablehumiditylevelinaroomwithapiano shouldbebetween30and50percent. Inanyevent, pianosseemtofarebestinconsistentconditions. So, keepingyourhumidityandtemperatureevenand consistentisoneofthesecretstokeepingthepianoin tunelonger. Moreextremeatmosphericconditionscanadversely affectthe “speaking” andstructuralcomponentsofthe piano. So, wedonotrecommendstoringapianoinvery coldorhotconditions. Veryhighlevelsofmoisturein theaircancausethepianokeystostickastheyswell and “bumpinto” onanother. Conversely, veryaridconditionscandryoutthe soundboard, bridgesandotherwoodcomponentsand forcethemtocrackorseparatefromoneanother. So, keepyourtemperatureandhumiditylevelsconsistent inyourhomeandmostimportantlyintheimmediate areaofyourpiano. It’salsoagoodideatokeepthe pianoawayfromanexteriordoororverydrafty windowstoavoiddramaticswingsintemperature.

  6. Ifyouenjoyafireplaceorwoodburningstoveinyour home, thepianoshouldbedistancedfromthosetypes ofaridheatsourcesbyatleast10feetorpreferablyin anotherroom. Ifyouhavehotairheatand/orusea woodburningstoveorfireplacefrequently, youmay wanttoconsiderahumidifiernearthepiano. Youcanalsoaskyourtechnicianaboutahumidity controlsystemthatcanactuallybeinstalledinthe piano. Thesedevicesregulatethehumidityinthe piano; increasingtuningstabilityandensuringthe pianohasadequatehumiditysowoodcomponents don’tcrackorseparate. Thesedevicescanminimizethedryingeffectonpiano actionparts, thesoundboard, bridgesandpinblock thatcanbeveryexpensivetorepair, oncedamaged. MOVINGYOURINSTRUMENT Mostpianoshavewheels…buttheyarereallynot designedforfrequentmoving. Iftheinstrumentneedstobemovedfromoneroomto anotheroranotherlocationaltogether, itshouldbe professionallyliftedandgentlyplacedonapianodolly. Whenmovingtheinstrument, avoidplacingitdown hardorabruptly. Remember, thepianoas230strings andisliterallyundertonsofpressure, soyouanyjarring oftheinstrument, cancauseittogooutoftuneatthe veryleastandcansometimescausemoreserious damage. Ifyouaremovinganuprightpiano, alwaystakethe pressureoffthefrontlegs, sotheydonotbreak. You cancarefullymovethepiano, slowlywhileliftingthe frontoftheinstrument. But, pianosareHEAVY…so, If youneedhelp, pleasedon’thurtyourselforthepiano, bepatient, getamovingteamwiththerighttools, and planthemovecorrectly.

  7. Yourpianocanlastforanincrediblylongtime, and passfromonegenerationtoanother. However, preventativecareneedstobeappliedregularlyand methodically. Evenausedorrefurbishedpianocanlast fordecadesandprovideyourfamilywithenrichment andagreatplayingexperiencewhentakencareof properly. www.pianocloseouts.com

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