Piano Video Lesson: Dealing with a Bad Smelling Piano

Hi, I'm Robert Estrin here at livingpianos.com and virtualsheetmusic.com. Delores asks, "How do you deal with a smelly piano?" Now, I know that's kind of...almost sounds like a funny question there, but it is an issue that I've had a number of people ask me about that. Well, unfortunately, there is no easy answer. The first thing you do want to do though, which can sometimes make a dramatic difference, is to clean out the piano thoroughly. Now, this has to be done by a professional who will, if it's a grand piano, they will pull the action. If it's an upright, they'll take all the boards off and even remove the top stack, and get in there and vacuum everything out, and with a brush, and brush any debris. You'd be surprised, by the way, when you look at pianos that have sat in somebody's home over a period of years, what you can find in pianos.

Next time, if you're getting your piano tuned, ask your piano tuner what's the strangest thing they ever found in a piano. And I welcome by the way, I can share with viewers, put it on the video in the comments, the strangest things you've ever found inside a piano. You might be shocked at some of the answers. So, that's the first thing you do, but if the piano had been in a home, let's say with somebody who chain-smoked cigarettes and they kept the windows closed a lot. You know, even vacuuming and doing all of that will not really help as much as you think. You could rub everything down. Another thing you can do, believe it or not, and I've had this recommendation from piano technicians, is to actually put some perfume. You can mask the smell more easily than you can eradicate it.

So, these are some tricks and tips. If it really smells bad and you're looking at getting a piano and you're concerned about that, you might just walk away and consider another instrument for yourself because it's not really possible to completely get rid of certain smells in pianos, but you can certainly diminish them by cleaning them and you can mask them further by putting some pleasant scent on your piano. Thanks so much for the question, Delores. And keep them coming in. I'm Robert, here at livingpianos.com and virtualsheetmusic.com.

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