Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Yamaha U3 in the kitchen? Bad idea?

A cover is a very good idea when you're cooking. Aerosolized grease can spread quite a long way! It depends on what kind of cooking you do.

You can also get a dehumidifier for the room.

Yeah maybe a dehumidifier would be a good idea. Is it best to have the humidity as low as possible? I wonder if I'd be ok with just a small one by the piano

As for grease I think a cover would be a good idea like you said. Maybe I don't need a super heavy duty one thats a hassle to remove and put on, but even a thin one would work

Not necessarily as low as possible, but try to keep the humidity as stable as possible if your cooking is creating steam. It'll help keep the tuning stable as well

I think my pianos do well between 40%RH and 60%RH, with 50% being ideal. I use a single dehumidifier in my small piano shop, (10'X20'), although I do get tired of emptying the bucket during periods of high humidity. But it maintains a consistent 55%RH, unless the humidity is low outside, in which case it does not add humidity. But I rarely have an issue with low humidity in my geographical location.

A thinner/lighter cover would be better than none at all.

Good luck!

Rick

I don't think I understand. Are you saying there is something special about bedrooms that makes the humidity increase overnight?

Or is it just that the heating is turned off overnight, and consequently the humidity goes up?

People breathing/sweating in an enclosed room tends to make the humidity go up.

Eh, might not be so bad

This subject could get complicated.

However, twocats is correct. Typically, in HVAC load calculations, one person in the room/house adds 300 BTUs of heat energy to the heat load, and the number of people living in the house is part of the heat load calculation.

So, the human body produces about 300 BTU of heat energy, multiplied by how many people are in the room/house. This is part of the sensible heat load (heat added or removed that can be measured with a thermometer).

Next, is the latent heat load, which is produced whenever condensation or evaporation occurs. Perspiration/sweat also adds to the latent load. So, latent heat is increased whenever physical activity is increased, regardless of what room in the house the person is located.

In all honesty, I don't think having a piano located in a bedroom would be any worse than having it located in a kitchen, and, it (bedroom) would likely be a more environmentally friendly location, as a general rule, but there are exceptions, I suppose.

Complicated or not, your latent heat output mileage may vary...

Rick

Buy a pressure cooker (such as instant pot).
Use it when you’d usually boil a lot of water (rice or pasta). More efficient, less steam, so less added humidity. Faster, too, so you have more time to practice. Win win.

Putting the piano where it fits but you can’t play it won’t be any fun.

"...This would be an ideal location, but I am worried about the effect cooking food in there could have on it, grease etc.
Would it be an issue?"

Yes. As you know, pianos cost money. Their care also costs money. Loathe though I am to discourage a piano player, I have to say, this is a bad idea, which could lead to costly maintenance or worse problems. Have you considered moving?

It's true, the living room has its problems. But, what would you say to moving the TV into the kitchen? TVs do not care much; they go everywhere. At the least, give the piano a total body covering, top to floor, and start saving to move to a more suitable place.

You certainly have my best wishes. You'll work it out.

Thanks everyone for your advice, it still seems people are quite divided on this subject. I think the best thing is as people say to test it out, check the humidity, see if there is any issue with grease from cooking (which I doubt at the distance), and if the humidity fluctuates too much or is too high I could move it to the living room. But if the humidity is relatively stable, then maybe it will be no worse than the living room.

@clef, I think moving house is more costly than using this U3 in the kitchen for 10 years and buying another one! Stamp Duty alone here in the Uk could buy me a few of these pianos

Kitchen, humidity, grease aside, a U3 is still going to be very loud, even louder in the kitchen, so I don't see how taking the risk of putting it in the kitchen will solve the original issue of having more opportunities to play while people are in the living room. They are still going to hear it enough that they would tell you to stop no matter where the piano is?

yeah they will hear me, but the main bedroom is directly above the sitting room, and just floorboards separating us, and he works nights and often sleeps in teh day, Im the opposite!

But also the clash of me wanting to play piano when others want to watch TV or sit and relax on sofas will be an issue

I will almost always be able to play in the Kitchen. Also there are two solid brick walls on either side of the stairs, which separate the kitchen from the upstairs bedroom, so the volume will much lower

Well... you make a compelling argument, Robodelfy. If only it were an old beater, I would feel so much better about this. But, what does that matter. So many homes these days are built on the "open plan" model. What does that mean but that there's no way to get your piano away from the kitchen.

The place we live now has one thing I have come to prize and cherish: a door to the kitchen that closes. And close it I do. The kitchen, and its garden, are a world unto themselves. When the fountain is running and the back door is open, it sounds like there is a trout stream just outside the door.

Still, it is no business of mine to discourage you. Play your heart out for the next ten years. It is entirely possible that the aromas of food might stimulate your creative imagination (I could have sworn I could hear the curry whispering in my ear, just last night). And once dinner is eaten and the dishes are done, you can count on some privacy to work on your technical skills, with no whining or complaining from your roomie... who will surely appreciate that you have gone as far as you possibly can to accommodate his schedule.

I don't know if this answer helps you any, but I hope so. Best of luck to you!

Robodelfy- it will be your U3 to place wherever you want. You sure don’t need our permission or anything. If the only place you can put the U3 is off the kitchen, then do it. If it were me I’d probably get the absolute best kitchen hood with exhaust fan made and use panels to separate the piano nook from the cooking area of the kitchen. Best Wishes. Keep us posted.

Thanks for the post and encouragement! I am trying to weigh up the pros and cons, and its not an easy decision

No matter where you place your piano, you need to monitor it and inspect it regularly to see how it's doing. Especially when you 1st place it. Things can look like they are ok, and then you go back and look a few months later and find out you have an issue.

What kind of issue should I be looking out for? is it mainly to do with humidity and temperature fluctuations?

While both temperature and humidity can and will affect the life-span of a piano, it is more important to try to maintain as small a swing as possible between maximum and minimum humidity levels. Occasional and very short-lived larger swings may not have a deleterious effect overall, but extreme long-term low humidity from one season to high humidity of another season can certainly affect tuning and possibly even shorten the enjoyable lifetime of a piano.

Every effort - within reason - should be made to keep humidity stable, most recommendations suggest between 40% and 50% relative humidity as being the ideal range. Slightly lower or slightly higher shouldn't have adverse effects if maintained, but maintaining a stable humidity is the ideal.

Very frequently it is said that what is comfortable for humans with respect to temperature and humidity is often "comfortable" for a piano.

Regards,

A piano in a kitchen is not going to just have heat and humidity problems. The part of your piano that creates the tone you enjoy is partially the solid spruce sounding board but more importantly the 100% wool felt hammers that are VERY susceptible to humidity, especially steam! You made a comment earlier about the cabinet would probably protect the strings and other parts inside the piano. I have been tuning/repairing pianos for 50+ years as a professional technician, your cabinet will protect the insides of your piano from NOTHING! I have been in homes where they covered the piano while they installed new walls, drywall/sheetrock including mudding & taping then sanding. When I came to tune, the piano was full of drywall dust, I find homes that have fireplaces with hardened dampers(the felt that stops the strings from vibrating when you release the sustain pedal). Believe me cooking grease will get into your piano, from what I have read you have no choice except to place it in the kitchen but get a good quality cover that covers it COMPLETLY all the way to the floor. After that do NOT be like most of my customers who leave the cover folded up in a corner after a few uses because "its such a pain to take off & put on again"! Yamaha U3's are NICE pianos, one of my favorite uprights, so give it the care it deserves 20 years old is barely broken in for a U3, care for it & it will give you many, many enjoyable playing years.