Humidity & Your Piano
The piano is made primarily of wood, a versatile and beautiful material. However, this means the piano is also affected by humidity. Seasonal changes in humidity cause wood parts to swell and shrink, affecting tuning stability and touch. Humidty also affects leather and felt materials in the piano, causing changes in dimension that affect regulation and friction.
What can be done to minimize humidity?
The first and simplest precaution you can take is to position the piano away from areas where it would be exposed to extremes of temperature and humidity such as heating and cooling vents, stoves, doors and windows. Direct sunlight is especially damaging. If your home is not well insulated, an interior wall is preferable to an outside wall.
Controlling the humidity levels within your home is another step. To monitor and measure the relative humidity changes in your home, moderately priced hygrometers are available at instrument supply companies and many home supply stores.
A practical and effective answer to humidity problems is to have a humidity control system installed in the piano itself. The system has 3 parts: a humidifier for adding moisture to the air, a dehumidifier for eliminating excess moisture, and a humidistat/control unit which senses the relative humidity of the air within the piano and activates the system to add or remove moisture as needed. The system is designed to maintain a relative humidity of 42%. Components are installed out of view and are very easy to maintain with minmal instruction.
How do I know if I need a humidity control system?
Talk to your Piano Technician if you are experiencing changes in the touch of the action, if your piano is going out of tune quickly after tuning service, or if you are noticing condensation on metal parts of your piano. While humidity may not be the only culprit, an experienced Piano Technician will know best how to advise you.
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