•Howdy -- At this time of year, the piano becomes a little loose due to the inside air only being 25-35% humidity. As my electric bill essentially doubled last month (utility price hike 2x), leaving the heat up at all times to stabilize the humidity is not an option. In fact, an automatic set-back t...

•We who heat our homes in cold weather face the effects of extreme dryness. I wish that I had a good answer to this problem. Unless one lives in a museum with climate control, we will always be plagued with variations in humidity. As I mentioned last year, I made some humidifiers from quart pop bott...

•HI, Leaving the "heat up all the time to stabilize the humidity" isn't a very good idea, but not for the reason given. Given a constant amount of moisture in the building and the outside air, raising the temperature will make the humidity _lower_, not higher. A better approach would be to _lower_ t...

•Hi All, Low humidity can certainly be a major problem, especially to player pianos that haven't been "totally" restored. One of the most common problems I encounter while working on such units is general looseness throughout the entire unit. This situation is exacerbated by forced-hot air heating s...

•[ Karl Ellison wrote about the problems of low relative humidity. ] Controlling the temperature in your home will do nothing to control the humidity in your home. A constant temperature does not mean that the humidity is constant. Leaving your heat up will not stabilize the humidity. But, it is bet...

•Several private responses to my humidity application question implored me to investigate the "Dampp-Chaser" system. The company is now sending me literature on their BSV9PS model (Backside Vertical 9-Part System) which they claim will fit in my tightly-packed 1917 Autopiano; we'll see when I review...

•My Weber Duo-Art piano has one oddity related to humidity. Since it was fully repinned and partially restrung five years ago, it keeps the tuning very well within 40-60% relative humidity. Near 40% and lower, it gets somewhat out of tune however, but this is not a major problem, it feels like a "ne...

•I've been reading with interest the various postings about humidity and home heating systems during cold weather. This has been an unusually cold winter especially here in the Midwest and home heating systems have been working overtime. Placing containers of water inside the piano does effectively ...

•I do not have any pianos here yet (they are being restored) but I am working to get the humidity under control in this large steam-heated house with no air conditioning and no ducts. Although I have much to learn, I thought I'd pass on some information that MMD readers may find useful. Mr. Vanderho...

•I've been reading about the humidity problems recently. Most of the posts seem to be coming out of the colder parts of the US and, I believe, some from the UK. I live in northern Florida and am curious to know if people in these parts experience the same problem. This year seems to be the coldest w...

•I won't argue with Kim Bunker's discussion about using wax to seal screws, but in Palm Springs, with the elevated (and extremely dry) temperatures and refrigeration for air conditioning inside the house, the relative humidity inside becomes extremely low and all wood furniture dries out and shrinks...

•Hi All, During my time as an apprentice, I worked in a store that sold Steinway grands. One day I asked the owner why Steinway had such an odd hinge on the lid (the part that flips over). He said that the hinge was designed to allow for changes in temperature and relative humidity. Not really belie...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- Hi -- Does anyone have a suggestion about a satisfactory humidity level for a room with a 1920's player piano? Mine seems to play better at a higher level. I'm keeping mine at 65% humidity at present, but I don't want to go too high. Thank you, T...

•A relative humidity of 40% for _all_ pianos works best for me. I have had great success keeping the room where the piano is located at 40%, yet it requires a humidifier in winter, de-humidifiers and air conditioning in summer. The cost is well worth it. I am not fond of electrical devices attached ...

•[ Tom Hutchinson wrote in 080209 MMDigest: > After putting in the humidifier, I have been able to keep > the humidity at 50-60%. It has taken over a month, but the > problems have disappeared. I caution everyone about raising the relative humidity too high. I wrote about this problem before, but I ...

In a message dated 96-09-26 02:47:54 EDT, you write: > ..., I live here on Long Island by the ocean and the humidity > problems are terrible. In the summer there's 100% and when the heat is > on, there's 10%. Other than the bucket-in-the-bottom-of-the-Violano > route or the heat stick, does anyone h...

•Hi All, In answer to Rich Lazar's request for information about the optimum temperature and humidity levels for a fine instrument, I offer the criteria established by Steinway as best as I can recall them from my days as a Steinway salesman. This is not a quote from the Steinway guarantee. 1) 68-72...

•After Matthew Caulfield's posting in 000713 MMD about the Ontario Beach band organ here in Rochester, I recall some other accounts of humidity affecting band organs. I visited the carousel at the Public Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan in July, 1997. The Wurlitzer 157 on the carousel was out of ser...

•In my (limited) experience, it's _low_ humidity that causes wooden constructions to crack, or at least open up and leak. High humidity should not crack wood, but may cause glue joints to loosen and let go. Cycling of humidity, between extreme moisture and dryness, after a few seasons may cause glue...

•Yesterday John Tuttle asked what to do with a piano, kept in an unheated and unattended place during the winter. In my opinion, the best thing to do would be to leave the piano itself unheated, rather than to try to keep it warm by some local heating method, such as using an electric blanket. The p...