Care & Maintenance

Conder's Piano Service suggests certain Care and Maintenance of your piano for optimum performance and longevity.

Frequency of Tuning, Regulation, Voicing

Tuning

Under normal circumstances, a piano in your home, in a constantly controlled climate, and not frequently moved or repositioned, should hold tunings very well. However, whether it is played or not, all pianos should be tuned at least every two (2) years in order to “maintain the pitch” at A440.

Depending on the circumstances, if a piano is repeatedly moved around, subjected to temperature variations, etc., it could require tuning as often as every month in order to remain “performance ready”. More information is available under “Tuning”.

Regulation

As pianos are played, over time, points of contact of key and action parts wear, and the piano can lose consistency of touch from key to key. Through a variety of adjustments, these problems can be corrected. In our experience, under normal use, if minor adjustments are made to “touch up” the regulation every 2 - 5 years (when the piano is tuned), major regulation is not required for many years (25+ years). More information about regulation is available at “Repair and Regulation”.

Voicing

Over time, as a piano is played, the hammers become worn and compressed. This creates a loss of consistency of volume from note to note and also a deterioration of overall tone quality of the piano. Various treatments to the hammers can correct this problem. The frequency of need for “voicing”, on average, is almost identical to “regulation”, as outlined above.

The need for both regulation and voicing are determined by the required performance of the piano desired by the pianist. However, keep in mind, as more time passes and the problems gradually become worse, the time required to execute the adjustments to bring the piano back to proper condition increases, as does the expense of the service.

More information about voicing is also available at “Tuning”.

Cosmetic Care of Finishes, Keys, etc.

There are many different kinds of piano finishes that require different treatment for optimum longevity and appearance. However, all finishes are subject to problems due to some common mistreatment.

Try to avoid polishes that contain wax. The constant application of wax over time creates a hazy build-up on the finish. We suggest that products such as Endust, or a nice oil-based polish be used. If you are dusting anywhere inside the cabinet (such as inside the lid of a grand piano), it is important that no cleaning product is directly applied to the surface. Instead, apply product to a soft cloth and then wipe surfaces.

Keys can be cleaned with a damp cloth. However, it is very important that the cloth is not too wet. Wring excess moisture from cloth until it is damp. Moisture is your piano’s greatest enemy. If moisture gets between the keys, there could be devastating effects to your piano.

We suggest, in order to minimize the need to clean the keys, or the inside of grand pianos, that when the piano is not being used, the cabinets remain closed (lids and fallboards). We realize that the exposed keys (and strings on grand pianos) can be attractive, but dust can build up over the long life of a piano. There are “unreachable” places on a piano that cannot be cleaned thoroughly without extensive rebuilding of the piano.

Brass rollers, pedals, knobs, hinges, etc. can be cleaned with brass polish. You must, however, be careful to properly mask the finish of the cabinet to avoid any contact between the polish and the wood finish of the piano. Most piano hardware is solid brass and with enough effort, can be cleaned as good as new, regardless of the extent of the tarnishing.

Positioning or Repositioning Your Piano

Before a piano is moved the first inch, to avoid damage, the weight of the piano should be lightened off the rollers by physically lifting the piano. If a roller jams for any reason, the piano legs could break, or the top-heavy piano could flip over!

Within the first few inches of movement, you should be able to determine if the rollers are functioning well enough to allow movement without damage. However, lifting should always be repeated over any uneven floors, thick carpet, thresholds, etc. While the entire weight of the piano is on the rollers, any sideways pressure on the roller could easily bend it or break it.

When choosing a place to position a piano, you should take a few things into consideration. In older structures (not well-insulated), inside walls are preferable. In more modern structures (well-insulated), this does not apply.

A piano should never be in the direct path of a heating or air conditioning vent. Piano finishes can be damaged by long term exposure to direct sunlight. You should avoid placing your piano in the vicinity of a window that would subject the finish to ultraviolet light. More information about moving pianos is available at “Moving”.

Environments and Situations to Avoid

Moisture of any kind causes serious problems with any piano. You should avoid setting beverages, vases containing water, houseplants, etc. on a piano. If liquid is accidentally spilled into the piano, the damage can be extreme. In some cases, the piano can could be damaged beyond repair.

You should also avoid placing any objects on the piano that could fall into the piano, such as coins, paper clips, etc. On most grand pianos, the music rack is suspended over a very vulnerable area. If small objects fall off the music rack (and into the piano) they could create numerous problems, such as “buzzing”, “rattling”, etc. For example, if an ink pen falls off the music rack into the piano’s action, it could jam keys or even break fragile action parts. This is a very common problem that is easily avoidable.

Pianos should never be stored for an extended period of time in a damp environment, (such as a basement) or in close proximity to any device that produces steam (humidifiers, kitchen equipment, saunas, etc.) Also, any environment subject to drastic temperature changes should be avoided. Drastic temperature changes can cause condensation to form on the metals in the piano (such as the strings and the cast iron plate) which can promote rust. Rust problems in a piano can require major rebuilding to correct.

Another enemy of pianos is the moth. Left unchecked, moths can do an enormous amount of damage to a piano in surprisingly short period of time. To reduce the risk of these problems, a piano should never be stored in a garage or storage shed.

That Piano Looks Great Right Where It Is!

I’ve been tuning and moving pianos for over 30 years: from baby grands to concert grands, spinets to uprights, in every conceivable environment: from small bars to huge arenas, from private homes to outdoor stages.

Because I’ve observed pianos’ reactions to many various conditions, I would like to convey to everyone the expectations they can have from a piano in certain circumstances. This can help you to both reduce the amount of services needed for proper piano care and maintenance for a console piano in your home, as well as assuring that a concert grand is in perfect tune at the time of a stage performance.

The phrase, “That piano looks great where it is” has been a little joke that has been passed around the “guys” as long as I can remember. When we are struggling with the excruciating task of carefully lugging a piano around and placing it into position, the client often is unsure of the exact placement they prefer. They commonly say things like “Can we see what it looks like over there?” or “Maybe if the keyboard is facing the wall?” Eventually, they usually ask the question “What do you think?” Due to sheer exhaustion, regardless of your true opinion, the well-trained piano mover should always respond “That piano looks great right where it is!”

Although it can be a very biased statement in some situations, there is a legitimate argument that moving a piano can be detrimental to the tuning. Contrary to popular belief, if done carefully, the act of moving a piano does not drastically affect the tuning. However, a different environment (warm, cool, damp, dry, or even a change in direction of airflow) has an effect on the structure that supports the string tension. The changes don’t happen instantly, but can start within a few hours and continue for as long as 2 to 4 week. If, during that time, accurate tuning is required for performances, the piano may need tuning frequently: preferably as close to performance time as possible.

There are some environments that are indeed detrimental to pianos. Most piano owners have heard the theory that pianos should not be kept on an “outside wall”. In older houses, outside walls are not necessarily well-insulated, or can even be drafty. This can cause the aforementioned effects to continue year round. However, building codes for newer houses require better insulation and other common features such as double-pane windows and vapor barriers. Those changes have rendered this theory somewhat obsolete. More importantly, in both old and new structures, a piano should not be close to an outside door that is frequently opened. Also, a piano should not be places where it is in prolonged direct sunlight. Besides affecting the tuning by heating up the piano during the day and allowing it to cook every night, direct sunlight, over time, can bleach or fade the piano’s finish. Refinishing a piano can be very expensive. A similar problem we have noticed is when we set up a nice grand piano for a performance, stage lights can actually heat up the piano and affect its tuning within a few hours.

Keeping a piano in any environment without a climate control is never a good idea. Garages or storage buildings are the worst. I maintain pianos in many small churches that only use climate control a couple of days each week. These pianos can be extremely challenging to keep tuned properly.

Pianos should not be kept anywhere near extreme sources of moisture. In a home, that could condition could be in a damp basement, or near an exposed stone or concrete wall or on an exposed concrete floor. Also, a bad place for a piano is near a frequently used shower or near the kitchen. An extreme example of moisture I have often experienced with pianos that I service in schools and churches is found in cafeterias, or in fellowship halls near industrial kitchens with large dishwashers, steam tables, and the like. In these environments, the floors are mopped regularly (sometimes 2 or 3 times a day). The constant barrage of moisture not only affects the tuning, but also causes swelling of the mechanical components of the piano, resulting in binding, sluggish, or sticking keys and actions.

Pianos used in outside venues are extremely susceptible to these problems. On rainy (or even humid) days, these problems can occur within minutes of exposure.

The perfect climate condition for a piano is a steady temperature between 65 degrees and 75 degrees, and a humidity level between 45% and 55%. For several decades, there has been a climate control system available specifically for pianos which was developed and sold by DampChaser®. I have been a certified installer of these systems since 1977. However, I have witnessed many detrimental effects caused by these systems. The total system consists of a tubular dehumidifier that emanates a small amount of dry heat within the piano, and a humidifier that has a reservoir of water that must be refilled periodically. The humidifier produces steam within the piano. These 2 elements are controlled by a “humidistat”. Much like a thermostat, it turns the 2 devices on an off as the humidity becomes too low or too high. Over the years, I have seen many serious problems caused by the humidifier climate of these systems. The steam is concentrated at the sources, and creates rust and corrosion on critical components within the piano, and can also dissolve the glue holding wooden components such as sound board ribs and bridges. The most devastating effects that I commonly see happen are when the reservoir is accidentally overfilled or water “sloshes” out when the piano is rolled around. Water damage to a piano can easily be a terminal injury. In short, in my opinion, the light benefits obtained by the humidifiers are not worth the damage that they can create within the piano. If the piano is in an environment that is dry enough to adversely affect it, I suggest that you simply place a humidifier in the room where the piano is located, no inside the piano.

The dehumidifier part of the system, by contrast, can be very beneficial in certain extreme conditions. Though it also can cause problems over time by over-drying elements of the piano, these problems are rare. A dehumidifier can often resolve the aforementioned mechanical problems that excessive humidity can cause. Also, I strongly suggest that a dehumidifier be installed (if only temporarily) in any piano kept in an environment without climate control. It will prevent several problems that can be caused by hot, humid, summer days and plummeting temperatures below 50 degrees in winter. In my opinion, the theory that these systems stabilize a piano’s tuning is questionable. Keep in mind that if a piano company or technician recommends a humidity control system for your piano, they may be considering their potential profit from the sale and installation of the system more than the benefit to your piano.

Without question, of all the pianos that I regularly maintain, I have found the tuning is most unstable when pianos are constantly moved around. In schools and churches, this is an all-too-common occurrence. Whether from room to room or just across the room, the varying environments keep the piano’s structure in a constant state of change. By contrast, the pianos with the most stable tuning are pianos in an environment with a constant, moderate temperature, out of direct sunlight, not in the direct path of a heating or air-conditioning vent, and never moved from its exact position. In other words, that piano looks great right where it is!

-Rick Conder