Piano care tips on how to make your instrument look and sound better.

Proper piano care is very important to keep your piano in good shape inside and out. Taking care of your instrument is vital to making it last longer and playing and sounding its best.

Proper inside maintenance will make your piano sound great and proper outside care will make it look great. If you truely care about your piano here is a list of what you should do.

These tips will help you preserve your instrument, inside and out. Carefully read numbers 1, 8 and 12. This is by far the most neglected area of piano care. We hope this info will be helpfull.

1. Get it tuned on a regular basis. This means no less than once a year.

If you live in the Memphis Tennessee area, or within 80 miles of Shelby County, you can call us at 901-827-3609. Shelby County tuning fees are around $95. Fees for an 80 mile radius may run up to $149. Pitch raise and repairs are extra.

We will consider traveling further. Regular tuning is very good piano care.

2. Do not set wet glasses or soft drink cans and bottles or beer bottles on your instrument. Nor live plants, even if the container is closed on the bottom. The moisture will get to the finish and leave a big ugly ring.

Moisture can even soak into the veneer and cause it to buckle. If you must use the piano to set drinks on, take care and use a coaster.

3. If you move it to another house, please please use a professional piano mover, not a moving van company or even a local standard moving company. Many times the workers for these companies are simply not experienced at moving pianos. 

An actual piano mover will usually take better care, and have experience in moving both uprights and grands.

4. If you have a grand, feather dusting inside under the top is o.k. With a feather duster, one does not put any force or pressure on the dampers or strings. Blowing the hard to reach dust out with a hair dryer on the coolest setting is o.k. Chech out our soundboard cleaner/duster for grands.

Cleaning a grands action yourself is not recommended. Call a technician for that. Only he knows how to safely pull and clean an action. Uprights included.

5. Do not use any kind of oil or solvent inside or out!!

6. If you wish to deep clean the inside of your upright piano, call your tuner. It's a much better idea to let him do it. After all, it's his job to know how to take care of the inside of a piano. Never try to vacuum the inside yourself. No telling what parts you might vacuum out!

7. Never, never, never, never (I wonder if I said never enough times?) let direct sunlight hit your instrument. Close the curtains during the day. At least in that window or windows. Sunlight will not only grossly fade the finish, it will also knock it way out of tune! And may cause damage.

8. Call your piano tuner back every year to tune it. And i'm not just saying that to get your business. That fine instrument really does need servicing every year. Regular tuning is just simply good care.

9. If your piano does not feel right or play like you think it should maybe the action needs a regulation. Again call a technician. He will know how to care for a sick action. At least I hope he does.

If he can't or does not want to do this job, ask him to recommend someone who does action regulation. A full regulation on a grand could cost between $500 to $1000.

10. Feather dust the finish on your piano then gently wipe it off with a clean dry cotton cloth. Dust and other particles can be abrasive. Feather dusting first will help avoid surface scratches.

Don't use polish, because most polishes will streak or build up over time. If you must polish just be careful about what you use. Get the correct polish for the type of finish you have. Use as little as possible and buff with a clean cloth. Then buff again.

If it streaks then call a good furniture touch up person. They may also have some advice about taking care of your finish. Now, get rid of that polish!

11. Always use caster cups under the wheels to protect your flooring.

12. Oh, did I say to get it tuned every 12 months? Repetition is good!

13. Take care not to place your piano next to or even near a fireplace or central air vent. Dry heat will ruin it. If it must be near a vent, then close that vent.

Cold air, such as from an air conditioner will do no harm. Drastic temperature changes from hot to cold are hard on your instrument. Try to maintain a constant temperature.

A good basic rule to follow is cold in the summer, and cool in the winter! Humid is bad and dry is bad. A cooler temperature year round will help keep a good balance.

Bookmark this page. We'll add more piano care tips later. Check out piano facts.