Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Need advice on the maintenance of my brand new grand piano

Dear all,
I finally got a new grand piano for my kids. I don’t play piano and totally new with having a grand piano in my home.
Do I keep the lid up (open) or close when it’s not being used? My kids only practice one hour a day each and not necessarily back to back. How to maintain the instrument so it will sound and look great forever? Is there things that’s a no-no when it comes to grand piano.
Pls advise.
Thank you

Avoid humidity swings, proximity to heat sources, sunlight, think about what pets might do, keep drinks away. Get a tuner, tune it as often as advised.

If you leave the lid open it will get dusty inside and it's pretty hard to clean because of all the hardware. Also kids and pets seem to get into trouble with open lids. You could let them practice with the lid down. Also keep the fallboard down, if anything gets in the keys it can be tough to get clean.
That area is really dry, you'll need a humidifier either for the room the piano is in or the whole house. Keeping the humidity constant is probably the single most important thing to do.

Yes, yes, there are no-no's for pianos.
1. never put any liquid or food on the piano
2. have a tech see it at LEAST yearly
3. keep it out of direct sunlight or heater draft
4. Never touch the strings with your hands
5. Don't trust a tech that touches the strings with their hands
6. don 't expect it to look and sound great, forever. They collect history on their cases, and the sound will always be changing.
7. Be aware of the return on investment; it isn't the monetary value of the piano, it is the access to a good one in a critical, and un-recoverable, period of your children's musical development. This yields returns for a lifetime, and that is the value of the instrument.

Regards,

If I kept the lid closed always after use on my old Kawai grand
I could have slowed down the effects of rust on the piano strings.
Another thing wrong was keeping the piano near an open window
where the breeze from the bay would drift through the window.
Be careful of accidentally dropping things in the open piano.
I once dropped a pencil in and had to call a technician.
Look out for moths and silverfish as well.
I still occasionally use mothballs.They are not good for ones
health though,so not sure of recommending those.

Happy in Walnut I much prefer your new name.I am happy that your
piano is such a success !

Don't EVER use furniture polish on the case.

I disagree with the furniture polish suggestion. It seems to be geared (by the trade) towards using a fear tactic designed to make you buy an expensive piano related product. I have tried every product known on the market, and I prefer Orange Pledge on both Lacquer and Polyester finishes. Another great one that is quite inexpensive in using a very diltuted in water, Murphys Oil Soap. Use a micro fiber cloth.
Enjoy your piano.

I think a good suggestion would be never spray anything around the piano: air freshener, bug sprays, furniture polish or what have you.

Also, I have seen some used pianos in stores with warped lids after being left open for a long period of time; for how long or what other environmental factors played into that I don't know.

If you plan on keeping the lid open a lot, you might think about a felt cloth to cover the strings with. They are acoustically transparent and will keep the dust off your strings. etc.

YAMAHA would have given you a booklet on how to care for it - if not, here it is (at least what they supply for Australia):

https://au.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/5/322685/PS11_OM_e_YC717B0.pdf

Just for interest - this is what Schimmel advises:

https://www.schimmelpianos.com.au/owners-lounge/piano-care-tips/

My experience is that it is good to have it serviced after it's settled to your environment - about 6-8 weeks - sometimes this will be included with the piano price. Grotrian suggest another service after 6 months, then every 6 months.

But, sometimes it's good to have it serviced a little more often for the first couple of years till it stabilises. I had mine serviced 3 times a year for the first few years.

As far as the lid is concerned, I rarely put my lid up, and have a cloth cover over that end of it almost all the time. I also close it up overnight. A lot of other good advice by others above.

I recommend having the regulation of the action touched up after about a year of playing, and then a couple of years thereafter. More often if it is played a lot.

Dear Happy in Walnut,

All good suggestions so far. I think they can all be encapsulated in one recommendation - choose a professional piano technician and follow their advice. The easiest way to find a tech. is to use this website - PTG.ORG - click on the box that says "find a technician" and follow the prompts. A well chosen piano technician will help you keep your piano in the best shape it can be in.

Not all great technicians are RPTs (Registered Piano Technician) and not all RPTs are great technicians, but it is an easy way to find someone who has a professional foundation and has put time into achieving a professional certification.

I hope that is helpful,

My comment was not meant as a fear tactic, but based on years of seeing many piano finsihes with cloudy, furniture polish buildup.

First congratulations on your new piano. Post some pics!
I have a Yamaha with polished ebony finish. I was told to use ammonia free glass cleaner sprayed on a microfiber cloth to clean the shiny ebony finish and the ivorite keys. All the other advice should be applied.
I would keep the lid down nearly all the time to prevent dirt and dust.
I don’t know the age of your grandchildren but here’s some things to think about.
1) No running or jumping or wrestling in the piano room.
2) No toys anywhere near the piano, especially cars or trucks running across the keyboard.
3) No drinks or food near the piano
4) close the fallboard after each practice session
5) keep pets off the piano (cats walking on piano keys make adorable videos but cat hair and dander can wreak havoc in the keyboard.

My mother was super strict about her piano but our next door neighbor was not. As her kids were playing around they knocked the piano bench over into the piano where it left a huge dent in the wood underneath the keyboard. And there were wet drink stains near the music rack. 😱