What's in your Piano? All things piano cleaning

Cleaning your piano is essential to the health of your piano and to yourself. As a piano tuner, I recommend getting your piano fully cleaned once every 5 years. You may not think you need to have it cleaned that often but I would ask your piano tuner their opinion about your specific piano.

Unlike furniture in your home that gathers dust, your piano gathers dust within the keys and other hard-to-reach places. This over time will “gum up” the keys and cause many other problems. Because of the complexities of the piano it is not recommended to deep clean your piano without seeking professional assistance, doing so will ensure that no damage is done to your piano. I’m looking at you DIYers!

Without continued piano care dust could be the least of your problems. Mice can be another issue for pianos that aren't serviced regularly. Mice will move into the keybed under the keys, leaving urine and other undesirable things behind. This can be more common in older pianos. Not only will this potentially damage your piano but it can be a detriment to your health if unchecked. My current record of mice found in a piano is 6! Let's see if we can beat that record!

There are ways as a piano owner you can reduce the risk of dust build up in your piano. Keep the fall board down over your keys or get a key cover. For grand piano owners, get a cover for the piano or at least keep the lid closed! I know this can ruin the “vibe” you are going for with a grand piano but just know that over time with those strings exposed, it can cause lots of dust build up and even string corrosion. Remember, a piano isn’t furniture, it is an instrument no matter how cool you think a baby grand looks!

For piano cleaners, I use Corey Piano Products. These are cleaners and polishers that are made specifically for piano cleaning. If you are going to use a cleaner that isn’t specifically made for piano cleaning, I would recommend finding something that isn’t oil based as this can affect the casing on the piano over time. I would also use a microfiber cloth for cleaning your piano. Corey does provide them with their care package but any cloth from the store should suffice. This ensures that you don’t cause damage to your pianos which could cause thousands to fix.

Whenever you get a new piano I highly recommend getting your piano cleaned. You will be amazed at the dust build-up! Check out this video! As dust is from skin I don’t think anyone wants to be breathing someone else into their lungs! Gross right?! Let's keep things clean and hygienic guys!

If you have not serviced your piano for an extended period of time or you recently purchased a used piano, we would recommend that you get a deep clean from Church's Piano Service. Book today!

Check out the other services we offer here and lists of repairs here!