Piano owners are a special breed. To invest in a high end piano, a middle of the road piano, an entry level piano, or get one at little to no cost is a special deal to music lovers. The piano is a wonderful instrument that can give endless years of enjoyment, creativity and much more………But, the piano must be cared for so it doesn’t fall apart.
It seems that there are too many instances of pianos not being maintained on a consistent and frequent basis due to the massive money crunch (more than any other reason). There are methods to make sure the piano is given the best chance of “survival” that will little to nothing. These are items requiring some physical work, but all are well worth the effort.
The first item you want to consider is placement in the room (where the piano is located). If at all possible, do not keep your piano on an outside wall or near a heater vent, especially electric or hot air. Placement away from these fixtures can prevent direct and irreparable damage to the wood components, including, but not limited to the body, soundboard, bridges, capping, action parts like shanks, wippens, jacks, and many other items. The dryness also will cause glue joints to dry out and give way – e.g., hammers and wool separate and cease to function correctly, felt peels away from areas requiring padding to prevent noise (key fall), damper pads fall off damper blocks (wood), etc. In excessive heat or dry areas, finishes will show damage with “alligatoring” on the exterior, small cracks and chips, etc. By keeping your piano away from direct heat areas, large windows with direct sun exposure, you can insure that your piano will have a better chance not to be damaged by the environment as much.
When your situation does not allow placing a piano away from heat vent, you can consider turning the vent OFF, covering the vent to prevent direct warm air flow from entering the body of the piano, or placing a “baffle” in front of the heater vent to misdirect the flow of heat away from the piano. You can purchase plastic or fiberglass materials from your local “super” home products store to make a device that will block and/or deflect the heat. The baffle method is especially good for an upright piano against a wall with a heater vent behind OR underneath the piano. When you have a situation where there is no other place to put the piano but on top of a heater vent, by all means, close that vent.
The best way to prevent damage from the environment is to have a Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver System (Humidity Control System) installed by a professional technician. The installation by a recognized professional technician is important for correct placement in the piano, but also for warranty purposes. The manufacturer will not honor any warranty if the system is installed by anyone other than an authorized technician. There is an investment (or cost, if you prefer) to protect the piano, but in these times, the outlay of funds may prevent some piano owners from carrying through with this plan.
For those who can not make the investment at this time, you may consider placing a large bowl (at least 1 quart) of water underneath the piano to get moisture in the air. This will help slightly to make sure that some humidity will be near the piano. You will have to check the water level every day to make sure the water stays clear, and the level is high enough. REASON – In the winter with heat on, the inside air is too dry (in most cases), thus causing damages as mentioned earlier.
For those customers who have a house humidifier, or a portable one, you can also set your humidifier for 42%, the recognized humidity percentage by the piano industry for optimum performance and stability. The humidifier must be located next to the piano, NOT UNDERNEATH. Placing the humidifier under the piano will leave the piano open for excess humidity, which is the opposite of what the piano requires.
You may wonder why there is so much information for this topic. The truth is, in my more than 50 years being around pianos (playing since age 4-½ years and working on pianos since 1992), too many people are not aware that the piano is a piece of furniture or woodwork in your home; it is constantly affected by humidity changes (see Dampp-Chaser information). Sometimes, a door might stick in the summer because excessive humidity makes the wood swell, causing tightness. Other times in the cold months, when opening a drawer for clothes or kitchen utensils, the front may fall off, as glue joints dry out and become ineffective due to lack of humidity. The piano is affected in an identical fashion. The most dangerous time for a piano is the cold months when heat is a necessity. Heat will always dry out moisture in the air, causing wood to shrink, which in turn causes damage over a period of time. There is generally no predicting when the damage will come, only that the damage will be there.
In closing, I offer this advice because of my love for the piano, and the music and creativity it brings out in so many of us. I do hope you share some of these feelings, and make an effort to remember that “Pianos Express Feelings, Too!”
by Rich Goldberg
Owner, RGPT
