Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum climate control during absence of tbd duration.

Dear Collective Wisdom,

My M & H A is about 90 yrs old.

It is in an apt. in MN. Said dwelling has a wall-AC-unit in each bedroom and one which we do not use in the main room by the piano. We use the two bedroom AC units, with bedroom doors open, to control heat & humidity in the entire place, which has an open ground plan (and serious western exposure cooks the place from 4-8:30 pm).

It is now July. I am going out of town. I do not know when I will return, but hope for two weeks. I think that could mean three. Worst case, a full month (please Lord, no).

Do I: power down the bedroom AC units before I head out? Or do I leave both on low?

Given the age of the instrument I believe things are fairly stable. But wood is wood. I feel bad enough abandoning it unplayed for so long.

??

Many years ago, I had a window unit catch fire while I was in the shower, fortunately only a moment before I got out, so I was able to put out the fire quickly. (I generally try to minimize fire danger even on short outings, turning off fans and TVs before departing, as they account for a high percentage of home fires.)

I was gone an entire hot Oklahoma summer about 10 years ago. I left AC off. When I returned, my then-109 Chickering concert grand needed tuning moreso than at any time before or since, but there were no lasting effects otherwise.

I'd rather tune than sweep up ashes.

Air conditioners primarily control temperature -- not humidity. Humidity is what matters, not temperature.

Humidity control installed on the piano is the most cost-effective approach to moderating humidity fluctuations.

+1