Piano Humidity Control

All of the materials in your piano are extremely sensitive to humidity- both too dry and too damp. Your instrument is made up of wood, felt, leather, and cloth so an ideal humidity of 30-70% will ensure that it is maintained well. Particularly in the case of wood it is vital that this humidity level doesn’t fluctuate too much. Wood is a material that is responsive to its environment and will stretch and breath, so by maintaining piano humidity control you will ensure that it doesn’t respond and change too much as that will affect its sound.

How does humidity affect my piano?
The humidity levels in the environment will affect many aspects of your piano. First of the pitch and tone will be greatly affected, as if the soundboard warps in response it will completely influence the sound and may even eventually render the instrument unplayable. Humidity may also affect the way in which the hammer strikes the string in response to you pressing the key. The quality of this action will diminish in correlation to changes in humidity. Your piano strings will also suffer from humidity challenges as they may rust or become damaged.

What can be done?
The best way to preserve your pianos condition is to be aware of the humidity from the beginning. Keeping it stable and at a safe level is the best way to maintain your piano in an excellent condition. There are several ways that this can be done. First off you want your piano to be located out of direct sunlight and away from a heater. You can also work with a piano humidifier to ensure that all is acceptable and at the best levels. Our expert team will be able to advise you on the style that best suits you and your environment.

What do we do?
As your local piano experts, Louisville Piano Pros are able to sort for you a way to keep your instrument safe from humidity damage. We can install a piano humidifier which will regulate the atmosphere surrounding the piano and makes it simple for you to see if it is working and at the correct humidity. There are different ways that different humidifiers work, but primarily they measure the humidity levels and activate when necessary to regulate it to the correct levels. We can assist you on your decisions with which style of humidifier to choose and install it carefully and correctly.

After humidity damage
If your piano has suffered from damage due to humidity our piano technician will make an assessment of how bad the condition now really is. Where possible we can perform a full piano servicing to repair it to as close to its original state. If the damage is too great, we can work together to build you something new that is still sentimental to you. We understand that these instruments can be full of nostalgia and memories and so we will assist you to maintain whatever we can.