If you have a piano, then you have something in your possession that is usually very expensive to buy. Therefore it would make good sense for you to look after your investment. By taking care of it, you not only keep it looking beautiful, but you ensure it keeps playing music to its full potential for years to come – you never know, it may even become a family heirloom some day. Below are some tips for taking care of your piano.

• Keep the piano tuned. Call in a technician on a regular basis (usually about twice a year) so that they can keep the instrument fully tuned in. A piano will go out of tune even if it hasn’t been played for some time, so regular tuning is essential.
• Following on from this, if you actually own a new piano then the strings will not be stretched properly, therefore they will not have been broken in properly. This will mean the instrument going out of tune quite often during its first year. Have it tuned about four or five times in the first year to allow the strings to get broken in properly.
• Keep the piano away from anything that gives off heat. Heat not only affects the tuning, but it can also cause cracks to appear in the wood of the piano. The same would apply for sunlight.
• Never use furniture polish to clean the piano. There are piano polishes that are available for purchase that you can use, or alternatively a damp micro-fibre cloth is also ideal.
• Use a damp cloth to clean the keys, but if they prove rather stubborn to clean then a mild, soapy solution can be used. Just make sure no water goes down the sides of the keys and be sure you dry them thoroughly after the cleaning.
• Do not attempt to clean the pianos interior – always get a technician to do this for you. There are many parts to the interior of a piano, and one false move can have a catastrophic affect when you go to play it afterwards. A technician will be able to put everything back together as it should.

Following these tips will ensure that your piano will enjoy a long life, giving you many years of musical enjoyment. It will not only play perfect notes, but will look fantastic and be the centre of attention in whatever room it is housed.