Welcome to Living Pianos. Today, we’re addressing a common question: Can water damage your piano? I’m Robert Estrin, and this is a crucial topic. Let’s explore when you should be concerned about water and when it’s not an issue.
Understanding Water Damage
Many of you may have seen the recent Celine Dion performance at the Olympics, where a grand piano was completely covered with rain. This might have made you cringe, wondering about the damage. There are extreme cases where people test the limits of how much water a piano can withstand. We’ll discuss the types of damage that can occur and what’s not as concerning.
Effects of Humidity
Even humidity can affect a piano. The moisture in the air can be absorbed by felt parts, making them sluggish and affecting the tone. Excessive moisture can cause rust on strings and make hammers absorb moisture, leading to a dead, lifeless sound. Ideally, pianos thrive in moderate temperature and humidity, around 45 to 50%.
Direct Water Exposure
If you watched the Celine Dion performance, you might wonder if the piano was destroyed. The main concern is water getting into the crack where the fly lid folds over, potentially reaching the soundboard. Water on the soundboard is a serious issue. For instance, if you spill a glass of water inside your piano, you need to get an emergency technician immediately to avoid soundboard damage. That’s why you should never place any drinks on your piano!
Water on Keys
Water getting into the keys is not as catastrophic as you might think. It would go through the keys to the bottom of the key bed, potentially causing moisture issues. The bushings could absorb moisture, making everything feel mushy. However, this likely wouldn’t destroy your piano. The amount of water that might get through the hinge is usually negligible as well, and the piano could still be okay.
What should you do after your piano is exposed to water?
After such an event, a piano technician should inspect the piano to ensure no water reached the soundboard and clean up any water that got between the keys. Extreme cases, like filling a piano with water, are absurd. Generally, moderate temperature and humidity are ideal. If water spills inside the piano and reaches the soundboard, treat it as an emergency. Otherwise, water on the cabinet or keys may not as severe as it seems.
I am Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. Thanks for joining me! For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin. Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com.
2 thoughts on “Can Water Damage Your Piano?”
Hello Robert,
I’m curious to the make of the piano used in the rainy performance? Perhaps, they used a less valuable make that could have been sacrificed for such weather. I personally have a Pleyel and would expect that they would have a used a Pleyel to support the French make? The grand Pleyel’s made today are not cheap beater pianos. I appreciate you bringing up this topic. Thanks. Michael Feisthammel
Sadly, Pleyel stopped manufacturing pianos a few years ago.