Daily care for a piano

Just like all the surrounding things that we care about, piano is no doubt imperative for us to pamper and give intense care. As all of us know, piano is the soul mate for most of the pianists. One’s emotions and tension can be soothed by the piano’s music and melodies. Thus, many people are engaged in the world of music nowadays. However, daily and regular maintenance are required in order to keep it looking at its best. To maintain a piano in a good condition, playing it often is one of the best ways and you can even check whether it is still in a perfect tune or not. In regards to this, you can train yourself to become a better pianist as well. Things you must do in cleaning and taking care of your piano:

Keys

If the keys happened to be dirty, you can dust first by using a feather duster, rinse with clean, wet cloth and polish with dry cloth. You can also clean the keys with a light soap solution preferably that of Ivory brand.

The Cabinet

The cabinet of a piano must be handled with utmost care too. Normally, a new soft cloth instead of an old towel converted into rags is used to wipe the cabinet. This is to avoid the rough fabric of old towel which contains small particles and dust from scratching the finishing. Another strategy of cleaning the cabinet will be to wipe a wet cloth over a small portion and continue wiping the wet area with dry cloth. The wet portion must be dried up within a minute and the entire cabinet is then cleaned up throughout the process.

In the process of polishing piano’s cabinet, specially designed piano polisher which can be found in most piano stores are normally used. Please be reminded that usual aerosol cleaner is not encouraged to use on a piano as the alcohol contained in it will create the reaction with the finishing and hence blemish the paint on your piano surface.

Aspects that need to be taken into consideration

Temperature

A piano should be taken care with stable and suitable temperature as constant changing of temperature might cause your piano to go out of tune. The piano is best positioned by the wall of the home as unstable temperature due to dampness might occur if the piano is put along concrete block or floor. On the other hand, piano is mainly made of wood and it is greatly influenced by humidity. Due to unbalanced seasonal changes in humidity, wood parts are possibly to swell and shrink which will then affect the tuning stability and touch. This situation will even get worsen if the wood cracks and glue joints fail. The felt and leather parts in your piano’s action will change its dimension, affect regulation and friction of the touch if changes in moisture content in the air are intense. Condensation on metal parts which ultimately cause them to rust is possible too due to high humidity. Humidity levels can always be monitored with a hygrometer or regulated with either a humidifier or dehumidifier. Piano’s fare best in a temperature of 21˚C with a humidity level of around 40%.

Position

To place your piano at a suitable place is indeed important as swinging doors and children’s play areas might scratch or damage your piano. Avoid putting your piano near to the kitchen as well as drinking area since a spilt drink would indirectly cause irreparable damage to the interior of the piano.

Regulation

As all of us know, a piano comes with many moving parts and it is considered as a very complicated instrument. In order to compensate for its wear and tear, intermittent adjustments have to be made throughout the process. In this case, a sort of “servicing” which is called regulation should be performed every 2-5 years. This is to ensure that every piano key performs its best, avoid unwanted wear and tear and enhance the feel of your piano.