With February soon coming to a close, most of us are turning our attention to spring and summer, warmer days, and the green coming back to the lawn and trees. You can practically hear music in the air. But hold on now! Let’s not get to ahead of ourselves! It may be warm out there this week, but I’ve spent enough time in snowy places to know we will probably have at least one more cold snap and snow storm before the end comes, especially if you’re in the Toronto area. And what you may not know about the wild temperature and humidity fluctuation common to this time of year is the stress it can put on your musical instruments, even the ones that never leave your home.

This time of year can sometimes be especially stressful for pianos. These large instruments are not effected too much by the cold, but humidity and heat can have a damaging effects on many of the internal workings. Now, this point, you may be thinking, “Heat and humidity? That seems more like a problem for the summer time.” And yes, it can be an issue in the summer, but the biggest culprit for damage is forced heart. But have no fear! This is precisely our topic this week; how to ensure your piano stays in good condition through the winter.

Location, Location, Location

As with seemingly everything in life, your very first concern regarding your piano’s longevity is its location. The absolute worst place for a piano is directly on top of, or even near, a hot air register. The same goes for placing a vertical piano against a wall with a baseboard heater. If your piano is placed too close to any kind of heater you run the risk of drying out the inner workings, which will lead to a best case scenario of the instrument falling out of tune and requiring maintenance. However, if your piano goes through cycles of extreme humidity, you may be looking at a much worse scenario; one including cracking and breaking.

That being said, some homes simply aren’t set up in a way that you can keep your piano away from hot air. If you are in such a situation, there are a few things you can do to mitigate problem. If you have no choice but to place your piano near a hot air register you can redirect the flow of air away from the instrument. This can be done a number of ways. Hardware or other home stores often carry inexpensive plastic caps or shields that fit over air registers to change the direction of the flow of air. If you have a talent for woodworking, you could make a more attractive version to do the same thing. Even a little cardboard would work in a pinch. Of course, sometimes the solution is as simple as placing a piece of furniture between the piano and the register to redirect the warm air.

If you are dealing with an upright piano against a wall with baseboard heating, try using a sheet of insulation between the wall and the piano. Insulation will deflect the rising heat, as well as provide insulation from the heat of the actual baseboard. You can even cut it to size so it isn’t noticeable behind the piano.

Of course, the best, most effective solution, is to try to find a place for your piano away from any heat sources.

Something else to consider when placing your piano is direct sunlight. Direct sunlight poses little threat to the internal parts of a piano (unless it falls on the soundboard of an open grand piano, which can cause it to dry out), but it can cause damage to the appearance of your piano. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can, over time, cause the finish to crack, or cause it to fade where the light falls. Your piano was expensive and an investment, so try to place it where it wont catch the light all day, and make sure to draw your shades when necessary.

Before we move on to the real danger facing your piano in winter, I have one more thing to say about location. Many piano tuners and technicians warn against placing your piano on an exterior wall. This is advice that comes from a time before modern building codes, when exterior walls were poorly insulated and sealed. This isn’t really a problem anymore, but if you notice a draft against an exterior wall, or it gets noticeably cold, think about a different location.

Humidity

The biggest danger to your piano is the level of humidity in its environment. Pianos are mostly wood, making them extremely sensitive to fluctuation in humidity, and the soundboard is the most vulnerable. The soundboard in a piano is designed with an arch, also known as a crown. The angle of this arch can change with changes in humidity, altering the tension on the strings and causing the instrument to fall out of tune. If these changes in humidity are extreme enough, and frequent enough, they can cause problems in the hardware inside the piano, and can even cause things to crack and splinter. In a worst case scenario, the soundboard can warp so much that is collapses and needs to be completely rebuilt. In the most extreme cases, the damage is so bad replacing the entire instrument is the only option.

This is, of course, easily preventable with a little humidity control. There is a little disagreement with what the perfect humidity level is for a piano, but the general consensus is that it should remain between 40% and 50% as consistently as possible, and a digital hygrometer is a useful and accurate way to keep an eye on the relative humidity of the room you keep your piano. Depending on where you live you may not have to do too much to keep the humidity down, but a dehumidifier may be helpful for those with hot and humid summers.

The real trouble however, is with winter. You should expect the relative humidity in your home to drop to somewhere between 30% and 40% during the colder months. This is too low for the health and longevity of your piano, so consider adding a humidifier to the room, and keep the air inside the room circulating. Keep in mind, you’ll need to add a lot of water to it to adjust a room from 33% humidity to an ideal 42%, so keep an eye on it.

In the real world most people don’t always have the time or forethought to make these changes or keep an eye on the specifics of humidity; life has a tendency to get in the way. And in reality, if you treat it with respect, a piano is a fairly robust piece of musical engineering. So if you’re not too concerned with your piano, and you just don’t want it to wear out before its time, make sure it is placed away from heating elements, out of direct sunlight, and the room it lives in remains a steady, comfortable humidity level.