Dusting Pricey Wood and Pianos
For Dusting I again chose to utilize a natural fiber rag/dust cloth. Diaper Services will sell their older, cloth Diapers, which make nearly perfect dust cloths. If you have any hesitation, recall the times you have paid for your Auto’s Washing/Detailing. These professional automobile detailers are the #1 clients for Diaper Services, when selling their slightly worn cloths.
If your Porsche, Volvo, or Olds shimmers to satisfaction, than the idea of home use with diaper rags, as a prime cleaning tool, is surely applicable.
DUSTING DRY
For fine wood, such as a piano, I recommend dry dusting with cotton or cotton flannel. Dust all antique or pricey woods following the grain of the (natural) wood. Newer/Modern pianos and their technological advances on finishing’s should require much less care. Older, expensive models with basic finishes, therefore, will require more external care. Always dust prior to polishing your prized possession.
CLEANING KEYS:
The “key” to cleaning your Piano’s keys is cleaning one to two keys at a time. Again, your soft cotton dust rags will be used. Slightly dampened the cloth with water and a drop of natural dish/hand friendly soap. Very little soap is to be used. I recommend METHOD, ECOVER, or SEVENTH GENERATION. Have an additional dry cloth adjacent, drying each key precisely after cleaning.
The interior of the piano/case should be professionally cleaned every few years, or more if you are in a high humidity or severely dusty/windy locale. Once clean, “Wool String cover kits” can be purchased for longer-term storage or homes that again see high humidity or dust.
TUNING:
A new piano, during its first year of life, should be meticulously tuned four times, in ideal environmental settings, by a piano specialist only!
Remember:
For all wood cleaning, lightly dry dust
prior to polishing wood to avoid ingraining the dirt.
by Europa Pirate
