When the need comes that you have to store a piano, for example when moving homes, travelling or remodeling your house. You may also need to store a piano temporarily before selling it, especially if you’ve inherited one and don’t as of yet have the space to accommodate it.
A piano is a significant investment and also very dear to your heart, so it’s important to take steps to protect it when it’s in storage. Dirt, damp, heat and humidity can all cause irreparable damage to both the appearance and mechanics of the instrument.
We recommend professional piano moving and their storage facilities for storage. This is what they do, they specialize in piano moving and storing them so there no questions about do they know how to do this properly, and that’s not something you want to find out later when it could be to late.
Things to look for when storing your piano, the warehouse should be above ground, concrete, temperature controlled, secure with alarms, and is fully insured. All this is to keep your piano secured from weather conditions, wind, rain, snow, leakage and anything else that could wreak havoc on the outside that it doesn’t come to the inside.
As a rule of thumb, keep your piano stored in a space separate from your documents, personal documents, and other stored valuables. An ideal temperature range for piano storage is between 60°F and 78°F. Again, we always suggest a storage facility that specializes in piano and or instrument equipment storage.
When preparing your piano for storage—whether it’s short-term or long-term storage—you want to make sure that every precaution is taken to ensure that your piano is in working order when it comes out of storage.
Piano experts stress the importance of storing your piano in a climate-controlled unit to protect the instrument from fluctuating temperatures that could have a negative effect on the strings, keys, and wood, as we have already stated but always a good reminder to always keep in mind.
Humidity is a piano’s worst enemy, with the average piano having approximately 15,000 glued joints, it isn’t glue anymore if the piano is stored in a humid climate. The strings are also not rust-proof by any means. If not stored in a climate-controlled unit, they can become rusted and corroded.
A climate-controlled storage unit is important for a piano because it can affect the shape and condition of the instrument. For example, if it is made of wood, the wood will expand or contract in either hot or cold weather.
Another rule of thumb is the humidity should be in the vicinity of 50%, and whatever storage unit you choose make sure they allow you in to see and feel all this before settling on them, so you can experience this for yourself and know their word is good.
Pianos will go out of tune whether or not they are being played. Time is typically the biggest factor…If it will be in storage for longer than one year, the cost of the tuning services could be higher because the piano tuner might need to spend more time increasing the tension on the strings to bring it to the correct pitch.
We spoke about making sure the moving and storage is insured, however it doesn’t hurt for you to have full coverage on your piano under all conditions, in home, moving and in storage to back up anything so nothing slips through the cracks with a full range of coverage for your treasure.
Any piano from a grand to a upright to an organ or a keyboard, you want them to be cared for as you care for them, so please do your homework and again I cannot emphasize it enough, professional movers and professional piano keyboard storage facilities are a must for secure and proper handling of your instrument.