Grand Piano cleaning

[paulg]

Ok all you vacuum-cleaning experts out there... I need your opinions and experiences.

A friend just purchased a new grand piano.

What vacuum-cleaner and/or attachment(s) have you found to be effective and safe to clean the strings and sound board of dust that accumulates?

(We discussed the notion of closing the lid whenever possible but let's face it - someday dust will accumulate.)

Any technical tips or technique ideas are much welcome!

 

[kirby505]

I recommend using a soft duster brush

 

[d-jones]

You know, if it were me I'd be tempted to blow the dust out with the discharge side of my vacuum cleaner, then close the lid and give the dust some time to settle before vacuuming it up. That way I wouldn't risk de-tuning my piano by bumping the strings. But for all I know they aren't that sensitive. Perhaps there really isn't much risk.

 

[motojoejo]

I'm actually a piano tuner/technician by trade so answering this is easy.

Dusting the inside of a grand can be scary but need not be. As stated above the soft brush tool with long bristles will do well in keeping the dust level down. If the piano is stable and well tuned then running the brush across the strings will not knock the piano out of tune. (A change in climate is far more likely to change the tuning than a simple cleaning.) Your piano tuner should be the one to clean under the strings. That job requires specialty tools and done incorrectly could scratch the soundboard and hurt the strings and dampers.

Simply open the lid, use a long bristle dusting tool with a medium strength suction vacuum ( too strong of suction from a high powered machine can rip out the string braid/cloth). Pull the music desk forward or even take it off, and vacuum. when cleaning around the dampers (black covered blocks with felt pads on the strings0; be careful and use only front to back movement and not side to side as you can bend the wires connecting them.

Other tips: if you have the windows open on dry dusty days then you will want to lower the lid, Cats are cute but not inside the piano- the oils from their fur can corrode and rust the strings and restringing can cost $2,700

 

[brandon_w_t]

Jo, you are a well educated man! Great tips here. I have always wondered how to clean the innards of a grand. My old baldwin H grand I had was very dusty but I never really cleaned it up for fear of damaging something!

 

[motojoejo]

Thanks Brandon

If its mega nasty then you may want your piano tuner to clean under the strings also have him or her pull the action and clean it too. Cleaning the action can lead to finding hidden treasures from coins to pens and for allergy suffers; it can help prevent dust stirring.

 

[rugsucker]

Piano trivia-

Anyone know history?I once did an Olympia demo in a small but Quality & Elegant 60s home with a grand piano in the glassed end of the living room that overlooked the gardens.The piano was said to have been used by Mrs.Harry Thaw on a vaudville tour of the south after the unfortune events on the rooftop garden of the old Madison Square Garden.It was purchased from the vaudevillians,who needed money,by the current owners father who lived in a Queen Anne victorian next to the 'new'house.Anyone that can supply names and event involved?Anyone know the joke attributed to one involved that has the punch line-"I shot the wrong architect!"?(The home had a Rexair C & Hoover Convertible that was in perfect condition as was everything there.I did not find dirt or make a sale.)

 

[paulg]

Thanks for the tips!

Thanks for the tips! And I got tips from an expert too!
Much obliged; I knew you would come through for me.

 

[sebo_fan]

This is where Sebo's triangular dust brush fights back. Alternatively Miele's round brush is just as effective. For the awkward areas I use Miele's car clean set with the tiny tube and brush insert on the mini crevice tool.

 

[tolivac]

Piano cleaning-is this agood application for Meiles "Doll dust brush" as some call it?And if you blow clean the piano with the blower function of the vacuum-do the strings make the "Aeolian Harp" sound as the air blows over or thru them?I wouldn't want to use the air blower tool on an air compressor for pianos-would think the pressure would be too high and cause damage.

 

[r2d2]

Dusting Brush

In the 90's we brought a close friend to live with us as he descended into the final stages of AIDs and AIDs related dementia. He called me at work to ask where the dusting brush for the vacuum was. "Your piano is filthy so I'm going to take it apart and clean it". Sure enough, when I got home he'd taken the piano apart. The main cabinet and sound board were the only parts left intact. He was devastated when a moment of lucidity hit realizing what he'd done. I laughed so hard at unbelievabity of what transpired I couldn't be upset. Trying to put it back together gave him a project to focus on for days. After he died, we took the piano to the transfer station remembering him fondly and all the fun we'd shared through the years. He was the wonderful uncle to my kids that my own brothers had no interest in.[this post was last edited: 4/10/2013-11:31]

 

[motojoejo]

I don't really use any specific dusting brush. I use the round dusting brush that came with my Oreck Buster B, crevice tool and a standard 2" wide paint brush.I also use a soundboard steel and a slightly oily cloth to clean under the strings. it takes a skilled hand to do it right with no damage to the piano. I've cleaned over a several hundred pianos from the 12 years working for various piano dealerships, church/schools and private clients. I've tried the micro tools, bending crevice tools, and various other items and always go back to the simple standard tools. I've cleaned out anything you can imagine from 2 lbs of dog food brought in by mice to a 6' snake skin. The Oreck has done well for the past 5 years and cleaned a lot of pianos. As I said before ~ I don't want an overly powerful vacuum to prevent damaging parts.

Using an air compressor or strong blower port of vacuum is a good way to clean but blowing debris out of piano indoors can create a huge mess. The other problem with blowing out a piano can stir up debris that is harmful if breathed in from things like mice and cats peeing and pooping in the piano as well as mildew and mold spores. I only do blowing out if I roll the piano outside or take the action outside with the use of a mask. Many pianos have never been cleaned out before so you want to be mindful of what you're stirring up.

 

[sebo_fan]

Ive never use pressurised air or anything to blow dust out of a piano - the felt that the hammers rest on is precious enough and if that comes off, you've had it! I have also used a paint brush but much prefer the Car clean kit that Miele sell as the tube is small enough complete with the slide down mini brush on the crevice part to get into tiny areas.

I forgot to mention that the only way of cleaning our grand piano is to use a damp cloth without any agents and I use a damp microfibre cloth that doesn't leave lint behind before buffing off with a duster cloth or a good terry cloth towel - again I have to be sure it doesn't leave any lint or screeds behind.

 

[motojoejo]

Hammer rest rail felt is not that precious Is gets hard, moth eaten, or even comes un glued. I've replace many of those mainly in asian pianos. The items I care about are dampers felts and alignment, the center pinning of the action which and side play caused by the vacuum grabbing and latching on and pulling the wrong direction to free it, and the felt punching under the keys that are set to the right height. All can be repaired of course but can be very timely and costly.

Never ever use any liquids to clean the inside of a piano. The out side finish is okay but never ever use cleaning chemicals or water on the tuning pins and strings and plate. Water will rust the strings, and chemicals can corrode the strings and contaminate the copper wound bass strings. Water can seep through the gold lacquer finish on the cast iron plate and cause rust to form.

The outside finish on most pianos is lacquer or Polyester. Any high gloss finish is usually polyester and is easly wiped clean with a micro fiber soft dust cloth. To clean and polish them its best to use Maguire's car cleaner wax (on outside finish only) which will clean, polish, remove cloudiness, and protect. Lacquer finishes are best cleaned by either Cory piano products or Steinway piano polish.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well I meant to say, its the outer exterior that gets wiped down. My late mother was a heavy smoker so you can imagine the job I have of washing down all the walls and everything in the large home including the grand bloody piano.

 

[motojoejo]

I know about smoker's residue all too well. I hate the smell so I take news paper and spray it with a Cory piano product that removes smells ( but the spray itself smells bad) then crumple the paper filling the inside of the piano, close the lid and walk away. Repeat two days later. Then a week of just dry news paper (crumpled) and fill the inside. All odors absorb into the paper and the piano smells fine.

The worst is cat pee. Cat owners think its sooo cute when kitty gets in the piano and naps. I'm working on a Steinway grand now that a cat was in. The strings are rusted the hammers are ruined and it stinks.

 

[tolivac]

What happens to "cute" kitty-kat when someone PLAYS the piano?This should be interesting!Cats can get into places where cats shouldn't be and they get into trouble!Like a friend of mine who works on tranmnsitters as I do-one of the engineers working for him brought his cute kitty-kat to an AM transmitter site.The curious cat climbed into the transmitter-when my freind turned it on to test it-he described the loudest scream he ever heard-poor kitty lost his nine lives.another case-Another man I knew of took care of a TV transmitter site-was manned.A cat hung around the place.They thought it was so cute when kitty slept on top of the warm tranmsitter when it was on air.one morning at sign on-the cat was sitting atop the transmitter and had his tail drooped into the picture final stage exhaust duct-the cats tail touched the amp's tube.When the transmitter was turned on-the tube was then energised with 7,000V-kitty lost his tail and pooped onto the hot tube-the man said the smell was there for months.The cat lived-minus his tail-and would bump into things before he died a few years later.So cats and transmtters don't mix-guess like cats and pianos.Figure the cat won't get killed in the piano-but agree-a piano is not a cat bed!Neither is the top of a TV transmitter!