Depending on brand, size, and age- a piano can cost $2,000 or $100,000. Whether you realize it or not, pianos are very delicate and need to be cared for. That is why I have compiled a short list of piano maintenance tips that will help you care for you instrument.
I have seen a lot of pianos that would still be worth quite a bit of money if the owners had known a few things when caring for their piano:
- Never use Pledge or other furniture polish
- Spray polish and cleaner onto rag rather than your cabinet or keys
- Immediately wipe off any moisture
- Keep your piano out of direct sunlight or other sources of heat
What you CAN do for your piano:
- Places lamps or decorative on soft clothes or felts
- Dust with feather duster
- Use non-abrasive cotton fabric (an old t-shirt) for wiping off dust and spills
- Cover your keyboard to prevent the settling of dust and yellowing of keys
Fluctuation in temperature causes the wood and strings to expand and contract, therefore you want to keep your piano in as consistent of an environment as you can!
You can feather dust under the lid and use a vacuum hose with very soft bristles to remove dust. NEVER put brass cleaner or water on the strings- it will cause them to go dead. The most a nonprofessional should do with the strings is lightly dust with a feather duster.
If you are going to polish or clean your keys, be sure to use only chemicals recommended by your manufacturer- standard store bought chemicals can be too abrasive. Be sure to use a separate cloth to clean your black and white keys because the paint from the black keys can be transferred onto the white keys. When cleaning your keys, wipe back to front rather than side to side to avoid allowing moisture to fall in between keys.
Thank you for reading my post, if you have any piano cleaning tips or questions, please leave a comment below!