Pianos in humid climates (80% all the time) Mainly Singapore and east Asia

[i_am_joey_jo]

How do you control the humidity in your apartment, if at all?

I am mainly speaking to people in SouthEast Asia though other people who live in humid climates please give your ideas.

Do you just leave it and not worry about it or have you had experiences where the glue has come apart or there has been mould growing on the soundboard or outside of the piano?

Do you find the sound changes much in a humid climate? 

Here I see many pianos in apartments with no humidity control and I wonder if they can last and if that is damaging at all the the piano.

[mic2005]

air-conditioning... 101% works all the time.... but the electricity bills will kill u...

expose to extreme humidity will result to major problems such as casework crack, veneer peeling, sticky keys, rusty strings, loose tuning pins, loose glue-joints, hammer-felt coming unglue, split soundboard, ribs coming apart, crack bridges, mold and so on.

when wood abord moisture (in this case we refering to humid country), the tension increases and pushes the soundboard inwards. in worst scenario, the bridge crack result from the extreme tension (increase) coming from the 220+ strings...

no they wont last very long before any serious works is required....

yes, humidity kills piano and any wood-based products....

[Bob]

I thought they made pianos specifically for that environment. 

Maybe find a building that is better at maintaining its temperature so all you have to do it pull humidity out of the air.

[birba]

Too much humidity is better than too a too dry ambience.  the lesser of the two evils, I suppose.  there are salts you can buy to absorb the humidity inside the piano.  I used them once when I had my practise piano in a very humid studio.

[i_am_joey_jo]

I have heard of a dehumidifier cable that sinks into the upright piano box and you lug it in on humid days, has anyone heard of this as well?

[lostinidlewonder]

I would also suggest putting in moisture absorbing products inside the piano to keep it dry. I remember one student mentioning they used this:

https://www.oxy.co.kr/eng/product/hama/ha_sub01.asp

[mic2005]

tropicalization, season for desitination, etc... etc.....

NO it does not solve the problem it is basic wood-moisture relationships. the chemicals which are coated does not totally stop the loss or gain of mositure in the wood. it only slowdown the process. in reality no finish can block the passage of all moisture, it merely buffets to curb the extreme. (unless modifying wood i.e. MDF, plywoods, ABS & etc). therefore a piano that is subject to continous extremes will have wood-moisture problem in just a matter of time..... and another reason is to do with the environment. it is difficult to predict the appropriate equilibrium moisture content because the climate is seldom remain stable. then you have what we called as micro-climate, varies from one city to another (particularly in large countries).

with issue in malaysia and singapore, blame the climate and not the piano...

yeah.. the hippo thingy.. no use, thou is effective... the cost will also be a bomb becoz with the humid climate we have here it will be full in just 4-5 days or less... also, putting it inside a piano will not be as good as controlling the humidity in the surrouding area where is piano is because your piano does not only consists of a soundboard.

[dodielc]

I use the Dampp-Chaser, Wet version.  This means that there is no humidifier included in the kit, only the dehumidifier heater rods are included.  Before installation, my piano strings tended to corrode, there was moisture collecting on the iron plate, the tune will hold only for 4 months before I begin to notice sour notes and the action will occasionally have some keys sticking.  After the installation, all the above problems were resolved, plus tuning now holds true, without my noticing anything amiss, except that I still program a tuning session every 6 to 7 months.  

I use 2 heating rods, a long and a short one for my Yamaha G5 Grand and one rod for my 42" upright.  I live in Manila and the humidity is as high as it is in Singapore.  Of course, my pianos are in rooms where the windows nearest to the pianos are closed off.  This way the wind will not blow away the "micro-environment" created by the heating rods. I can really sense the system working.  For example, after turning the room air conditioning about half an hour, I will notice the rods becoming cool, indicating that the humidistat has turned the system off.  This means that there is no danger of over drying.  For an upright, the heating rod is about 35 watts, I seem to recall.  For the Grand the longer is about 25 watts and the shorter one is around 15 watts approximately.  The electrical consumption is negligible.

[fnkyazn]

I use the piano live-saver system.  I know the name sounds a bit sketchy, but it actually works fantastically well, and holds the humidity within my piano around 42% consistently, day and night.

The website: https://www.pianolifesaver.com/

The system is quite expensive, especially with the fee that will be required to install the product.  However, if you're looking for a good solution, I'd highly recommend this system.

Although, be warned, maintaining the system requires adding water to the humidifier every-so often, as well as the purchasing of a special humidifier fluid (one bottle will last you about a year or so), and the purchasing of special pads to absorb excess particles from the humidifier.

fnkyazn

[tosca1]

Yes, the dampp-chaser systems are well regarded. However, in a very humid environment the dampp-chaser will be less effective on parts of the piano that this device is less able to protect as in a grand piano it is attached to the under side of the sound board and the heating rods extend along the sound board. My concern is that the keys, keyboard and even the action in a grand piano will not be adequately protected from the effects of a very high humidity.

I would suggest that a dehumidifier(s) also be used to provide a safer level of humidity for the piano. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and it is very humid here too. It rains frequently here and humidity levels rise to  80%-90%. I run a dehumidifier continuously. It is no more expensive than operating  a small fridge, but even on the dampest days it keeps the humidity in the 54%-57% range. My piano is very stable and it helps in keeping the strings in pristine condition.

All the best!

Robert.

[wagnermusicshop]

Pianos like a humidity range of 35-55%. Ideal humidity is 42%. Even temperate climates have a humidity variance of 15-85%! (100% humidity is fog. The air is "full" and cannot hold any more moisture.)

Why does humidity matter?

When humidity is high (60% or more), the soundboard swells as it absorbs moisture from the air. When the soundboard becomes larger, the strings are under greater tension. When strings are pulled tighter, their pitch increases.

Sticking keys, sluggish action, and rusting strings/tuning pins are other consequences of continued high humidity. Pianos are not happy in rainforests, on houseboats or in beach houses.

When humidity is low (34% or less), the soundboard contracts as moisture is given up to the air. String tension is lower, and the piano goes flat.

Other effects of low humidity include rattling (loose) keys, slipping tuning pins, and cracks in the soundboard. Pianos are not happy in the desert.

Humidity changes with the seasons. In the eastern part of the US and Midwest, humidity is low during the winter. Summer is the opposite. Unfortunately, these changes do not cancel each other out: drops during long winters (low humidity) are more than rises during short summers (high humidity). The net change is a drop in pitch. In most parts, a piano left unserviced for many years experiences quite a noticeable drop in pitch.


Harpsichord, virginals, fortepianos, and clavichords are even more susceptible to humidity changes than pianos because of their thin soundboards and their lack of a plate. (That's the big hunk of iron that keeps the soundboard from snapping under the combined tension of the strings.) Although pianos are just as vulnerable to daily humidity fluctuations, you will notice a pitch problems more acutely in your historical keyboards.

Since pianos don't like extremes of climate, if you live where it can be damp, you probably should investigate a dehumidifier for your piano. If your area has year-'round low relative humidity, you may need a humidifier. Some areas of the country may need both! Consult your tech.

[faulty_damper]

I live in an area where the humidy is almost always above 50%, usually 60-85% relative humidity.  I use two heating rods, similar to the Dampp-Chaser, and an adjustable hydrometer/thermostat set to 50%.  I do not need a humidifier because RH never goes lower than 45%. I purchased all parts from a piano supply company.  Total cost, with the hygrometer/thermostat, was under $100 USD and easily installed myself.  If I had to call a piano technician to install a Dampp-Chaser system, it would have cost $500 for parts and labor.

If you are looking for a humidity control option and don't have that much money, buy the parts and install it yourself.