Pianos are creatures of humidity. I’m constantly talking to my customers about humidity, as it’s the single biggest factor in tuning, regulation, and piano lifespan. It’s difficult to overstate the importance.
Here in Maine, we see dry indoor air in the winter, sticky summers, and plenty of older houses that don’t make life easy for instruments. When I’m discussing humidity with a customer, I’m usually asking three questions:
- Do we know what the humidity is doing?
- Can we control the humidity in the piano room?
- Do we need to further protect the piano with a Dampp-Chaser?
The sections below follow that same order, with links out to the full articles.
Start by measuring the humidity
If you don’t already have a hygrometer you trust, that’s the place to start. Furnace humidistats, cheap digital weather stations, and the humidity readout on a portable humidifier are often “optimistic.” It’s also much better to have a hygrometer located near the piano.
I keep an up-to-date guide on the best hygrometers for pianos and why cheap ones can put your piano at risk. That article covers the specific models I like. It also shows how to place them on or near the instrument, and the humidity ranges I’m aiming for in most homes.
Improve the humidity in the room, if possible
Controlling the humidity in the room is one of the most important steps in piano care. In a lot of houses—especially once the heat starts up for the winter—the humidity runs too low for most of the season. In others—finished basements, lakeside homes, certain churches—we’re concerned with dampness and mold. Frequently, both are an issue.
For situations where a room humidifier makes sense, I’ve put together a guide to choosing the best humidifier for piano care. That article walks through the console units and room humidifiers I see working well in Maine homes. It includes placement tips and information on what to avoid.
Humidity is also one of the big reasons pianos won’t stay in tune. In my piano tuning FAQ, I talk more about how seasonal swings, wood movement, and room placement affect tuning stability and how often most instruments need attention.
Control humidity with a Dampp-Chaser
The Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver System provides local humidity protection to the piano itself. Some spaces are just difficult. Maybe the piano sits in a big open living room, a drafty old farmhouse, a church that’s only heated on weekends, or a seasonal home that sits empty for months. In those cases, humidifying the room might not be an option. That’s where a Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver System comes in.
I have an overview of the system on my Dampp-Chaser FAQ, where I explain what these systems do, what they don’t, and share humidity graphs from installations around Maine.
If you’re weighing whether it’s worth the investment, I break down typical costs by piano type in “What does a Dampp-Chaser cost?” You’ll also find my own current pricing on my general price list.
Owners who already have a system regularly wind up with the same questions about care and maintenance, so I put together “The 10 most common Dampp-Chaser mistakes” and a separate article on a long-term humidifier water supply for seasonal homes.
If you’re working with a player piano or an instrument with a lot of electronics in the way, there’s a case study on installing a Dampp-Chaser in a Yamaha HQ100 Disklavier upright. This article shows what a backside installation looks like in practice.
Mold and musty odors deserve their own mention: In my piano cleaning guide I talk through what’s realistic to clean yourself, when to consider a dehumidifier-only setup, and how humidity control fits into keeping the interior of the piano safe.