Piano Tuner West Virginia on Cleaning a Piano

As your piano tuner West Virginia and the surrounding areas, I am occasionally asked whether dirt and dust has any detrimental effect on a piano. Typically vertical pianos are closed up, so that whatever dirt gets inside does not effect function very much. A grand piano, on the other hand, is open much of the time and dirt and dust can collect on the piano soundboard and plate, and can find its way through the stings and piano keys into the action.

Dust in the action does not do much harm in the short run, but over years it can make the piano action sluggish and insensitive to your touch, making it more difficult to play a beautiful line of music. Dust that filters between the piano keys ends up on the key bed below, where it can disrupt the proper lateral movement of the piano keyboard when using the soft pedal. This typically manifests as a squeak when the pedal is depressed. This squeak results from strain to the mechanism due to the increased friction caused by the dust.

Several levels or types of piano cleaning are possible for a grand piano, depending on the amount of dust and its location. These should all be done by a professional, in order to protect fragile elements of the instrument. The most common and most frequent type of cleaning is to dust the soundboard and vacuum the plate around the tuning pins. A special tool called a soundboard steel is used to push a dust cloth around under the strings to remove dirt from the soundboard. A brush is used with the vacuum to remove dirt from around the tuning pins. This process is usually performed every 1-2 years.

A less frequent type of cleaning involves vacuuming the key bed, so that the action slides easily with use of the soft pedal. This type of cleaning is more expensive, since it requires removal of the keyboard and piano action. This is usually done every 3-5 years.

The least frequent type of cleaning involves cleaning and lubricating the action to restore the original speed of repetition and ease of playing. This is typically done every 15-20 years. This usually involves polishing the front and balance key pins, and polishing the capstans at the back of each key. At this time, the piano hammer and wippen flange action centers would be evaluated to make sure their operation is within proper tolerances.

If you have any questions about pianos, please consult us. Harker Piano Service is your West Virginia piano tuning expert. We also provide professional piano tuning services in the surrounding areas.