Piano Humidifier - It can
save your instrument!
It's About the WoodPianos are
generally made of wood and no wood is impervious to heat, damp, dryness,
or temperature fluctuations. If you have any experience with caring for
wood products at all, then you already know some of the work involved.
Fortunately there's a tool that makes caring for a wooden piano a little
easier. It's called a piano humidifier and it could save your piano if
you play in a dry environment. Piano SusceptibilityIn a drying
environment, wood has a tendency to crack, splinter, and even warp.
Indoor heating is a big culprit of drying wood but it isn't the only
thing that can damage a piano. Fluctuating temperatures can damage wood
as well. The extreme heat of the summer months or the chilling cold of
the winter season prompts us to turn on indoor heat or air conditioning.
While our bodies may adjust to sudden temperature changes just fine,
pianos don't, and they respond with damage.
A piano humidifier
won't help with fluctuating temperatures so you'll need to exercise some
of your own precaution here. For example, don't store the piano near or
under any air vents, fireplaces, kitchens, windows, or walls that
connect to the outside environment. And keep the piano out of direct
sunlight as well. Sunlight, i.e. radiation will not only ruin a piano's
finish, it can distort the piano's sound. To understand why, you only
need to think back to high school physics and remember sound waves and
light waves. As a form of energy, light waves will alter sound waves.
Proper MoisturePlaced inside the piano, a humidifier attempts to
circumvent the effects of a dry atmosphere and maintain proper moisture.
It isn't quite necessary in a room that's already moisturized with a
humidifier, but in an environment lacking one, it's a necessity. The
constant swelling and shrinking of a piano's wood does nothing but
contribute to its deterioration.
A humidity level 40 - 45
percent is all that's needed to prevent damaging effects and a piano
humidifier works by monitoring the moisture and temperature around the
piano. You should be able to find one that can stand by itself or hang
from one of a piano's inside walls. They're relatively small in size
weighing little over 70 grams, and all of them run from a battery.
We're usually pretty aware of how wood is affected by the weather and
inside atmosphere, but when you think of how much is spent each year on
wood products for furniture, it shouldn't be too surprising to
acknowledge the care we extend to wooden pianos. Proper care opens
opportunities for flawless tunes and the ability to focus on the music -
not the maintenance.
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