Humidity Control 101

If you're a first-time piano owner, it can be intimidating to take on the responsibility of such an expensive instrument. Pianos more closely resemble cars than typically musical instruments. Thankfully, your Aurelia technicians (or “piano mechanics”!) are here to give you some guidelines on taking care of your instrument.

There are many habits you can maintain to protect your instrument cosmetically and functionally, but before we get into some of the more nuanced rules, we need to cover the most important rule of all: humidity control.

Controlling indoor climates can be especially difficult in the DMV area where we experience all four seasons so distinctly and intensely. As you’ll soon learn, large wooden instruments present different challenges in high and low humidity. They’re at their happiest when kept within a range of 40%-65% RH (relative humidity), without experiencing abrupt or aggressive changes to their environment.

If you’re a normal human who isn’t paying very close attention to how weather conditions affect your home, let’s do a quick run-through of an average year of weather conditions in the DMV area: 

December-February is cold and dry with temperatures typically ranging from 50º down into the teens. Since we’re all running the heat in our houses, however, it’s usually 65º-73º indoors. March-May is… soggy. We get lots of rain, and temperatures fluctuate from 30º-60º. Sometimes we have the heat on, sometimes the windows are open. June-September is HOT and HUMID (Hannah and Kelly aren’t happy in this season - McKinley does okay though!), so most people are running their AC consistently throughout this season. September-November is lovely – usually with mild temperatures around 50º-70º, but we also get a lot of rain during this season, and it tends to be quite humid. Sometimes the AC is still on, but a lot of times, windows are open. 

So what does this mean for your home environment? In the winter months when the heat is running, your house is incredibly dry. A home without a humidification system can hang out around 10-25% humidity. In the spring, when the windows are open because it’s a balmy 60º outside? Well, that’s because it rained the day before, bringing warmer temperatures along with it, which means the indoor humidity can spike up to 50%. Already from February to April, relative humidity has fluctuated within a 30% range! And in the summer, when we turn on the AC? Surprise! The humidity DROPS to 40-45%. Then for the rainier fall season? Again, it’s nice outside, and the windows are open, and if it rained yesterday (or for the past two weeks straight), your indoor humidity can be 75%. By the time November rolls around, we usually have our first cold snap, and just like that, the humidity inside will drop right back down to 40% when the heat turns on for the first time. 

It’s chaos! And did we already mention yet that your poor piano really needs it to be around 40%-65% humidity? (We did… because it’s very important!) Humidity affects the tuning of your piano, but more importantly, pianos that experience lots of fluctuation develop “old age issues” earlier than they should, which ultimately shortens the lifespan of your piano. To protect critical wooden structures and increase the tuning stability of your piano, here are a few simple steps that you can take to ensure its long-term health.

Buy a Hygrometer

If you do nothing else, at least grab a cheap hygrometer to keep in the general vicinity of your piano. If you’re in the first year of piano ownership, we always recommend a year of observation before determining a course of action for humidity control. You can start with simple things that come with more humidity awareness: If you see the humidity reading spike to 70%, maybe don’t open the window right by the piano when it’s raining outside. If the humidity is down to 15% in the winter, think twice before turning on the fireplace directly by the piano… 

Consider Your Climate Control Options

Many homeowners are fortunate enough to have an HVAC system that can maintain a relatively consistent level of humidity year-round. A whole-house humidification system gets a huge A+ rating from us. Our clients with these systems have consistently stable pianos. If your home is not equipped with this feature, you still have some options to choose from.

If your piano is in a closed room without too many windows, you can get a portable, refillable humidifier designed to handle the square footage of the room, vice versa with a dehumidifier in the rainy months. Depending on the size of the room and strength of the humidifier, you may have to refill the water tank as often as twice a day, but this way, you can keep your piano in a climate-controlled environment during the winter months -- all for the cost of a humidifier, which you can simply put into storage when the weather warms up.

However, aggressive fluctuations in humidity levels can be even more damaging to pianos than exposure to long-term dryness. If you’re not able to consistently fill a room humidifier, you may actually cause more harm than good with this method of humidity control. And realistically, who can fill a humidifier twice a day every day all winter? (Hannah tried - it was really hard.)

The best way to maintain consistent humidity levels in a piano is to install a climate control system in the piano. There are two climate-control systems that have been specifically designed for pianos: Piano Guard and the Piano Life Saver System (PLSS).

The systems are installed in the piano so that they are almost entirely out of sight from the homeowner. On a grand, the system sits on the underside of the instrument. For uprights, the system sits inside the bottom cabinet. These systems humidify and dehumidify, keeping the piano inside its preferred range of 40%-65%.  

While slightly more expensive, we recommend the Piano Guard system for piano owners who like seeing data and getting watering notices on their phone. The app integration makes it easy to see trends, spikes, and changes in the humidity. They're also great for institutions that may make committee-based decisions about piano maintenance. Seeing a graph of what's really happening around the piano is super helpful!

Depending on your climate, you may have to refill the water tank every 2-3 weeks in the winter and 6-8 weeks in the summer. Not only does this ensure the piano stays more consistently in tune itself, it also protects the wood from cracking or warping from humidity fluctuations. If you can keep a plant alive, the piano will be much easier for you to maintain. The rest of the maintenance for these systems is handled by us!

If you’re interested in installing one of these systems, contact us to set up an appointment or a consultation! Otherwise, here are some other steps you can take to protect your piano.

Watch Out for Air Vents and Exterior Doors

It doesn't matter if the air vent is for intake or output -- placing your piano over a vent can be detrimental to its tuning and longevity.

This can be particularly dangerous for upright pianos because the soundboard -- the resonant, reverberating heart of the instrument -- is often mistakenly positioned against a wall with an air vent. Many older pianos can survive just fine with a slim soundboard crack or two, but if your home's intake vent has been sucking all the humidity out of the piano, those cracks will expand and eventually lead to permanent buzzing.

So before you plop that new piano down into your home, make sure that there won't be any vents hiding behind or underneath the instrument. If you are dead set on a certain spot, however, many home supply stores sell air vent covers to block off air flow. We really like this one because it provides thorough coverage. 

It’s also not a great idea to place the instrument close to an exterior door, since opening and closing doors to the outside climate can cause significant shifts in humidity.

Keep Away From Direct Sunlight

Similar to the aforementioned rule, the sun's heat can quickly turn perfect piano tunings and regulations into a hot mess. Additionally, UV rays can cause discoloration or degradation to the case finish. If the piano is near a window, at least have some kind of light filtration, such as a blind or curtain, in place to protect from the afternoon light.

---

Feeling overwhelmed? Don't stress about it. We can make a recommendation for you at your next service appointment and simplify the process. If you're in your first year of piano ownership, we recommend a year of observation before making a decision (don't worry - one year of exposure won't be enough to harm the piano long-term). We like to see the piano at least twice in the first year of residence in your home, preferably in the months of more extreme heat and cold. We measure the piano's pitch to see how it responds in each season and record the humidity in your home. After we have a year of data, we can make an informed decision that will set your piano up for long-term stability. Sometimes, no action is necessary at all! Some homes are naturally more stable, and some pianos are more resilient than others (unfortunately, it's not really brand-specific).

In general, we have found that about 60% of our clients require humidity control, so if you're in the 40% who don't, you have one less item to water at home! That being said, a humidity control system is never a bad thing, even if your piano is already stable, so if you're purchasing a new piano and know that your home isn't well-regulated, there's also no reason not to make a preemptive decision to install a humidity control system. The choice is yours!