Caring for your piano
Here are some guidelines for general piano care and maintenance
Care & Maintenance
Tuning Regularity vs
Tuning Stability
The tuning of a piano is mostly affected by seasonal change.
A piano drops in pitch every dry season and keeps dropping every year..
This means that if the piano hasn't been tuned for many years, it is impossible to make it stable with one tuning.
Cleaning the Case
Case and keys
Newer pianos are usually made from polyester which is a very durable plastic. They can be cleaned with Glass cleaner, Isopropyl alcohol and methanol/ethanol.
You can clean the keys by spraying onto a cloth first and wiping them down.
Aging and stability of
your instrument
Modern houses have proven to stabilize the piano and age them slower, provided they aren't in direct line of fire from heat pumps and underfloor heating/vents.
A440 =
Concert Pitch
We generally only tune pianos between A440 and a443.
Modern pianos are only designed to be tuned between 440 and 443 depending on the geographic and cultural preference.
Alternative pitches such as A432 undo modern ear training and destabilise the instrument.
Cleaning Old Pianos
No Pledge or similar products
These polishes look great for a few months before the oils start to denature and eat away at the finish.
They can also help to congeal dust inside the piano and mechanism.
Ivory and ebony keys can be cleaned with a damp cloth with a neutral soap on it.
Don't get the cloth too wet.
Older houses
Inside vs Outside walls
The North facing wall and windows in Canterbury are particularly hard on pianos. Sunlight and large hot/cold variations age and de-tune pianos.