how often do u clean ur piano.....dont be shy!!!

[lea]

i clean mi piano when it gets dusty, but it doesnt get dusty that much....hot about you???

how long does it take for ur piano to get dusty???

[natasha]

well i only clean it when i can c dust on the top!!!
and i have blue sparkly nail polish stains on 1 key and they have been there since i was 7! does any1 kno how i can get them off?

[amee]

Hey Natasha,

I'm just guessing here but have you tried nail polish remover?  It might help but then again...it might mess up your piano as well.

You should ask your teacher or your tuner.

I usually wipe down my piano about once a month or when its starting to get dusty.  

[cziffra]

NEVER!
i don't think i have ever once cleaned my piano; i am far, far too busy playing it.  every now and then my parents might run a cloth over it whilst telling me that i should really do it myself more often, but alas, it never struikes me as something that's terribly important.

anyway, that's my two cents.

[tosca1]

It is more important to clean the inside the piano than the outside, especially if you have the lid fully open when you play.
This is less of a problem with vertical pianos but with grand pianos
it is essential to clean them at least once every six months if they are open for daily use.  

With the lid open dust settles on the strings and the dust attracts dampness which will corrode the string and affect its acoustic response.  On the wound bass strings the dust will eventually clog the copper windings and that will eventually reduce the vibration of the string and weaken the sound.

You can easily attach a soft brush attachment to your vacuum  cleaner and very gently clean along the length of each string.  

You must be very gentle and apply no pressure to the strings to avoid stretching them or damaging them.  

Be careful also when cleaning the sound board as the varnish is very soft and marks or scratches very easily.  I use the "blow" attachment of the vacuum cleaner to blow the loose dust to the bass side of the piano and then very carefully clean away the dust with the soft brush attachment .

Treat your piano very kindly and gently as if you were treating a person and then you do not risk doing any damage.

Love your piano.
Robert.  

[amee]

Thanks for all the great advice, Robert

[rachfan]

I'll add my own secrets here.  Before I clean the soundboard of my grand, I take a wad of steel wool and gently swipe--not rub-- the top side of the steel (not the copper) strings.  Why?  In places where there is summer humidity, minute rust particles can form there and weaken the strings.

So you say, "that's interesting, but get on to cleaning the soundboard.  I don't dare to try it."  Two generations ago, women wore corsetts which had long corsett bones.  I had one of those old bones passed on to me by an enterprising piano tuner.  I won't divulge how he got it.  Anyway, it's a flexible tool.  I drop a dust rag at the flat side of the soundboard.  I can then poke the flexible corsett bone right through the strings anywhere and move the dust rag around with total ease right up to the top of the treble.  Getting the rag back to its starting place and out is a breeze too.  You're probably envious, but, hey, you have to know all the tricks.    

[tosca1]

Hi David,
A more prosaic method for cleaning the soundboard is using a brush which ressembles an enormous paintbrush with soft bristles that reach down between the strings.  The brush will loosen accumulated dust which can then be easily removed with the vacuum cleaner.  
Cleaning the soundboard helps keep this vital component in perfect working order. Dirty soundboards do not vibrate so well and  that of course affects the sound.

Greetings,
Robert.

[amee]

How often should you clean your piano?  

[nezu-kun]

Well, I'm kind of "OC" when it come to my stuff.
I clean my piano every weekends either Saturday or Sunday (That's my piano cleaning sched). But when I'm really busy (due to hospital duties) I clean my piano whenever I get my free time.

Hey, is there a topic here that relates on "How you clean your piano" I would like to share and get some tips too. ^^v

Regards

[netzow]

Cleaning Pianos is pretty simple you can clean the soundboard by any of the afore mentioned means, dust the piano like most pieces of furniture, just be careful not to use any cleaners that could damage the piano. You can also use a damp rag with a little bit of soap to clean the keys.

[thalbergmad]

I never clean it myself, because cleaning is obviously womens work.

Thal

[littletune]

Well I clean my piano every day before I start playing!!  (i don't clean it for a long time just for a few minutes), but I never ever start playing my piano without cleaning it first at least a little!! And I'm not a woman either, I'm just a girl    But I LOVE my piano!!!     

[gyzzzmo]

Thats why cleaning ladies were invented.

[richard black]

I clean it about once a week - London's dusty. I haven't had to clean the insides of my grand since I bought it about 3 years ago, because I keep it completely closed, with the desk taken off its rails and put on top of the lid. It makes the music a little high but one gets used to it and it's just so much better for the piano, not getting dusty every day!

[quantum]

Dusting when needed. Wiping fingerprints and light vacuuming every 1-2 months.  Through cleaning with shop vac blower - once a year. 

In a through cleaning I make sure to get every nook and cranny.  All the dust behind the strings (that's what the blower is for).  I pull out the action and clean out all the dust behind there as well. 

[littletune]

Thats why cleaning ladies were invented.

Well not everyone has so much money to have cleaning ladies  We sure don't! And besides I don't think I would let anyone else clean MY piano!! 

[fleetfingers]

I disinfect the keys at least several times a week. I teach lessons to kids on that thing, and you never know where those kids' hands have been.

[Bob]

Sometimes you do know.  :p  And yuck.  And then you wish you didn't know.  And that you didn't about what else you might wish you didn't know.

I clean mine off when it gets really dusty.  Dusty enough the dust clumps up if you run your finger across it.  Which is every year or so.  Maybe every two years.

[biscuitroxy12]

I clean my piano every day before I use it. I blow it out (air pressure) like once a month and polish it once every two days. I run a cloth over it and over the keys every day. I'm very protective of my piano

[thinkgreenlovepiano]

I wipe a cloth over it every week and use disinfecting wipes on the keys. My piano is probably the only thing I clean around the house regularly . . . (my parents wish I cleaned my room that often!)

[pianoplayjl]

If truly cleaning the piano, probably only once a year. My sister just gets a cloth, wets it and wipes it thoroughly over and over until there are no imprints over the piano. The keys are just about the only part of the piano that gets cleaned every now and then. We used to cover our piano with a sheet of fabric but that fell out of use shortly after. That was the duty of care we neglected to our piano....

[ethure]

I clean my piano whenever it gets dusty or whenever i want. we have a thick clothing-cover over it, so normally it's only the keys and the lid. and occasionally when i get the mood, i'll move it away and clean up the floor. I love cleaning my piano, i love seeing it being tidy and polished again. : )

[ethure]

I clean my piano whenever it gets dusty or whenever i want to. we have a thick clothing-cover over it, so normally it's only the keys and the lid. and occasionally when i get the mood, i'll move it away and clean up the floor. I love cleaning my piano, i love seeing it being tidy and polished again. (:

[Bob]

Haha.  Just looking at my post here.  I still haven't cleaned it since that post, more than a year has gone by. 

I did get a sheet that I can cover it with so it doesn't get as dusty.... Except the sheet is... somewhere now... Not sure where it's gone.

[megadodd]

I thought you didn't have to.. it feels nice when the keys are soft of all the dust.

[matmilne]

anytime after somebody else plays it. 

[williampiano]

I rarely clean my piano nor do I have it tuned very often.
I'm too lazy, but my piano seems to be in pretty good shape anyways.  

[persistent]

I don't clean my piano.  Every six months I have it tuned and the piano tuner also cleans it.  That way I don't mess up anything, damage anything and can keep on playing.

[jimbo320]

They need cleaning? .......... Just kidding...

[49410enrique]

i've got dogs so lots of hair flying around, i keep my coverd up and the lid completely closed, i bought a manhasset table tob stand i use set on to  of the piano to read music off of this way nothing gets into the the piano or strings and what not. i wipe down any finger/hand smudges after each session (love the glossy but man is it a pain sometimes). i always wash my hands before playing so the keys stay nice and clean and i keep the keyboard covered uup to when not in use. pedals are covered too.

once a year though in case some dust gets past all first defenses i'll open her up and take my blow dryier (just the fan/motor i turn heat off) and I blow out anything that might be in there.

[jimbo320]

I go across the keys with a vacuum to get out dust and dog hair at least once a week...

[49410enrique]

I go across the keys with a vacuum to get out dust and dog hair at least once a week...

ooh good idea i'll have to start doing that on a regular basis just in case something settles in there while i'm practicing

[freejazzlessonsdotcom]

I clean my piano every day but I have students.  It's only polite

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I've played piano for seven years now and I haven't cleaned my piano ONCE.

But unfortunately, I have a really bad electric piano 

[roseamelia]

Mine gets dusty say every two weeks.

I clean it then.

[johnmar78]

I do an extra wipe when for youtube, recordings

[j_menz]

I'm reminded of a quote from Quentin Crisp (on housekeeping):

"After four years the dirt doesn’t get any worse. The secret is to hold your nerve."