Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Cleaning the inside of an upright

What is the best way to clean the inside of an upright piano? Mine is very old and is truly filthy. I have cleaned it with a damp rag and sprayed some bleach into it so far.

If you're very comfortable removing the case parts and action and putting them all back again, that would be a good first step.

Maybe a shop vac, if you have one, next.

So long as you don't do more than dust the soundboard, I'd think any cleaner would be ok, for the rest of the interior, so long as you wipe it off. Maybe start with dish detergent/water solution. For anything that still won't come off, maybe a spray cleaner or fake TSP.

It is best not to use any liquids inside a piano unless you really know what you are doing.

I cleaned my old upright quite effectively using the narrow-nozzle tool on my vacuum cleaner - being extremely careful!

If you want to have fun- and make a mess- put the vacuum on reverse and let it fly!
Of course, if someone used rat poison at some point in there, well then- you might wish you hadn't
Seriously- be careful cleaning (protect your airway) for those very reasons--- you never know what's been in those oldies.

I agree with BDB - if you don't know what you are doing, using wet rags is a bad idea.
If you do, bleach water is still not a very good idea.

Distilled white vinegar and water for all the wood is what I use (wrung out good- don't go splashing around in there!).
Tooth brushes are good for grime...As well as the fine tip kits for shop-vacs (as already mentioned)...
A very fine (0000) steel wool with a light touch, for the bass strings-- to remove the old grime in there (do that, if you are going to, before cleaning the rest).

I would think that that should be good enough.
If you do not know how to deal with piano parts- I do not suggest trying to blow out the action- since, on old pianos, it is easy to destroy those old felts and break parts. I would suggest leaving that for your tuner.

Yes to Rick's suggestion for blowing dust out of the piano! In two days, a vertical piano will be moved to our house. I arranged to have it professionally moved, and when I made the arrangements, I said that I wanted a few minutes with the piano parked on the walkway to our front door so I could blow dust out of it. I'll have the vacuum ready to go, and before I blow it out I will remove the action and set it inside. (After the piano is inside I'll tighten all the action screws and then then take it outside and blow dust out of it.) I'm guessing the movers will wait less than 10 minutes for me to be done. I consider this a golden opportunity.

I realize my response doesn't specifically address the topic's question, but I thought it worth mentioning to have it in mind when it is a possibility. This week I cleaned a grand in a school. I moved the piano to an open area of room, sucked in what I could, and then blew out dust from the inaccessible places. I had told a custodian what I wanted to do, and she was fine with it because the carpet was going to be vacuumed that night.

I will try this.

Using any of the Vacuum to clean the inside of an upright. Have anyone tried to use vacuum cleaners? They are the most effective one.

I use a cotton rag soaked in denatured alcohol initially. After I to wiping with a dry cloth here.

I would strong advise against bleach, certainly if it is old fashioned bleach containing chlorine. If chlorine ions come into contact with steel under tension they can cause stress corrosion cracking which is likely to lead to failure.

Outside (of the house) I use my backpack leaf blower. 200 mph makes quick work of it. (You will still need to remove the keys to effectively clean under them). Inside the house I use a strong vacuum AND a long bristled brush (as used in faux finishing for faking grain...called flogger). A standard paintbrush will also suffice for the accessible, but the 6" bristles of the flogger cannot be beat for getting into tight places WITHOUT doing damage.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

Air Compressor with filter (to filter out humidity) with air nozzle. A similar solution to PW's leaf blower.