One of the most asked questions for a piano tuner is “how can I help my piano?”. There are many things that you can do to help your piano play better, hold a tuning longer, stay looking nice longer, etc. I’d like use the next couple posts to give some helpful tips on how you the pianist or piano owner can help your piano.
Tip #1 – Humidity
It’s been said that humidity causes 95% of all problems in pianos. Humidity causes the your piano to need to be tuned. Humidity can cause notes to not play well or even a sound board to crack. Ideally, a piano should be in 45% humidity.
Therefore, one of the best things you can do for you piano is try to keep it a constant humidity. A Dammp-Chaser or Piano Saver system is great if you can afford it, but if you’re not ready for the expense, here are a few tips:
- Try to keep the temperature constant.
- Avoid putting your piano by an air vent.
- If your house has poor insulation, avoid locating your piano by an outside wall.
- Avoid setting drinks, fish bowls, or potted plants on the piano because they can draw moisture or spill.
- Avoid placing your piano in direct sun light because it causes portions of the piano to be much warmer than others thus changing the humidity.
If you found this post helpful or would like for me to post on some other piano topic, let me know by commenting on this post or contacting me directly.