Piano room humidity min/max
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Some 20 years ago visiting the (old) Bluthner showrooms on a sunny summers day they had humidifiers steaming the place. The manager, now retired, said "When the relative humidity falls below 50% we turn them on".
I failed to ask what they considered a maximum RH before dehumidifiers were used.We live in a wet weather area; last winter we actually had a sticky key and a slightly sluggish action.
So we've bought two humidistats, one for upstairs window condensation, the other to control the sitting(piano) room, and a small hygrometer which is accurate to within 2%.
When the RH reaches about 65 the machine automatically starts up to dehumidify, down to about 50%. The difference to the piano is noticeable
.I wondered if folk here had been given professional advice on upper and lower limits?
What is an acceptible RH range?It would truly be interesting to know what people do to protect their beloved pianos!
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@AndyD
Humidity in the 50s is what is typical in Germany. So the answer is it depends on where you live. If you are on the humid East Coast, 50 percent should be fine. If you live in a more arid part of the country, you'll go crazy and spend a fortune on electricity trying to keep your piano in a German climate.In New York, the ideal is considered to be 68 degrees F temperature and 42 percent humidity. And try to keep it within a 10 percent range, so humidity no lower than 37 % and no higher than 47%.
Out West, so long as you don't let the humidity drop to 30 % and also keep it in a 10 percent range, you should be fine.
If it is a German piano or has been recently moved from a more humid to a drier climate, try to temporarily create a more humid climate by keeping the piano in a room with doors that close, and then gradually reduce the humidity to a range that is manageable in your climate.
Range is more important than the number, though you absolutely do not ever want to let the humidity drop below 30 or get above 60. I personally freak out if it is below 35 or above 55. In Montana, a more arid climate, I like to see a range of 38 to 48. If it is lower, I add another humidifier. And if it is higher, I turn on a dehumidifier or turn up the heat a degree or two.
Managing humidity is easier if you keep your house cold. We keep our house at 60F. The strings react to the room temperature--warmer temps make the strings go flat.
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Yes, range is the more important variable. Some hygrometers can be calibrated - I try to calibrate mine 2x/year to verify that it still is accurate. Since you live in a wet weather area, it is possible to add a 1/2 Dampp-Chaser system if you pursue route - the drying bars and a controller to turn them off and on to help stabilize room humidity.
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I’m in NYC. As soon as my piano arrived, I had a Dampp-Chaser installed. I just don’t have the mental bandwidth for the care and feeding of humidifiers (although I have done that). So far so good (24 years).
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My understanding is that even with a Dampp Chaser you still need to manage the humidity of the room. The piano action and case are not protected by a Dampp Chaser. Has that changed?
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@pique said in Piano room humidity min/max:
you absolutely do not ever want to let the humidity drop below 30 or get above 60. I personally freak out if it is below 35 or above 55
Why not above 60%?
When I got a sticky key last year a RH reading in the room was 78% (though of doubtful accuracy, probably +/- 5). -
@pique That’s true. Dampp-Chasers are not ideal.
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Dampp-Chasers are an assist to room control, although with bottom and top covers, I've seen massive improvements in a few of my church/institutional clients where the room varies between around 15% in the winter and over 60% in the summer...
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Room has fitted doors which we generally keep closed
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Piano is kept with top open; that's our music arranged under the window seat (all we need is new carpet, curtains & cushions
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Because the room has the half-height 4 pane window above the window seat and two full height 4 panes as well, it is flooded with light. The piano is on the North wall.
We live on a hill which is often windy, and foggy. Two days this week we were living in cloudy drizzle and the RH was around 60-65.
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Those doors are spectacular!
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@AndyD above 60 percent strings will rust
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Now having seen your room setup, I urge you to get a dehumidifier and keep the doors closed. But as this looks to be an ancient American upright, it has probably been through far worse. Does it stay in tune?
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@AndyD - The piano in the photo - that's the Bluthner B upright you talked about in the piano buying thread you started a few months ago on WTF, right? The one you bought in the early 2000s?
Speaking of piano buying...are you still shopping?
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Yes wtg, that's our golden sounding Bluthner which has not been tuned since 2019 and also moved 300 miles north.
Yet according to my digital guitar tuner (and ear when playing along e.g. with Stephanie Trick) it is still in tune. But it's going to get TLC very soon.The grand piano search will probably take significant time, don't hold your breath, especially as the house still needs thousands spent on it.
Steve, thanks, the doors were installed by a pro carpenter, a cousin of mine who took a week to make a frame etc and fit them... perfectly. It's a real pleasure watching someone with traditional skills.
Pique, that's one of the new dehumidifiers placed (temporarily) to the left of the piano. Good point about strings and other metal bits like the tuning pegs potentially rusting. You obviously take great care over your piano.
The RH advice found on the internet is mostly about stability. Basically "keep the RH as constant as possible", one adding "anywhere between 40-70% depending on where you live".
I've just found the advice "don't use a humidifier blowing steam directly onto the piano as it could cause rust".
Guitars apparently like 50-55%.So I'll aim for a narrower 50-60% range.
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[quote]You obviously take great care over your piano.[/quote]
ahahahahahahaha! (I can't find a rothflol emoji)
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Fantastic, you wrote a book about your hobby, what, like learning to play and then the search to find 'the one', and building a mini-concert hall home extension
Was it a best seller?
But your fallboard, what's really written there?
