The Piano Life Saver
Humidity Control System
Five Benefits of Owning One

Blog Post 12-3-2012

The Piano Life Saver humidity control dehumidifier and humidifier system.

Once long term exposure to moisture sets into wood and metal - that is, a piano - owners should only expect for the worst to come. One of the worst enemies a piano could have is humidity.

[This is one of several reasons why pianos should not be placed in a warm and moist environment, and in no way should they be placed under direct sunlight.]

It would be very beneficial to have your piano inspected, by an expert technician in your area, to see if a Dampp Chaser / dehumidifier system is needed. If the answer turns out to be unquestionably “yes”, now is the time to investigate one of the best humidity control systems available on the planet.

One of the most trusted names in the piano industry is Dampp-Chaser. This corporation has been in existence for over 60 years, and has a solid reputation for manufacturing hand-made climate control systems. The Piano Life Saver system is a registered brand for this very purpose. Why purchase a piano dehumidifier climate control system?

No piano will ever function in an excellent capacity unless the proper amount of humidity becomes its ally.

Once humidity gets the better of your piano, tuning stability begins to go out of bounds and physical deterioration sets in. Installing the Piano Life Saver System is one of the best possible guarantees you can have so that your piano remains protected constantly against the perpetual rise and fall [threat] of humidity.

1 - Minimum Humidity Guaranteed

The Piano Life Saver System’s Dehumidifier rods work to minimize humidity, first and foremost, by sensing if the internal environment is too moist or too dry. Once it’s been confirmed via the humidistat, the cycling process begins. The humidistat moves into action to establish an isolated environment right inside of the piano.

The result is the piano’s internal climate becoming stabilized, and more specifically, the soundboard. This repeated cycling action eventually stabilizes the piano’s humidity levels, thus, making sure the soundboard and other wooden components do not deteriorate.

Once the piano’s humidity is kept at a stable level (42% relative humidity), the piano will eventually experience:

2 - Keys that don’t stick and a more responsive action

High humidity levels usually follow keys that stick down each time you press them. This is easily prevented with a dehumidifier. Observe how a piano is responsive when placed in an environment with little to no moisture. But observe also how sluggish keys respond when moisture levels are too high (above 42% relative humidity). A dehumidifier can prevent these drastic climatic swings from engulfing your piano’s sensitive wooden parts.

3 - Minimum to less soundboard damage

The soundboard is the second largest piece of wood in the piano, second to the case and beams. It vibrates so as to reflect the sound the strings release. With a sturdy soundboard, your piano is likely to go out of tune – hence less money spent on piano tunings by a technician. The bridges of your piano are joined to the soundboard, supporting the strings. Less fluctuation of the soundboard means the bridges stay in one place – not rising up and down - causing your piano to stay in tune substantially for longer periods of time.

4 - Stable pinblock

The pinblock is responsible for holding in the tuning pins of your piano, essentially, the strings, holding your piano in tune during its existence. But with swings in humidity, swings in temperature, and swings and changing of the seasons, the pinblock – much like the soundboard - swells and destabilizes whenever wood fibers go against the pin.

Tuning pins loose their grip, as the pinblock becomes worn out through these atmospheric changes. Suppose a piano was not to be played at all during its lifetime. These climatic and seasonal changes would cause physical deterioration of a piano's pinblock, hence the need to install a Dampp Chaser system.

5 - Rust-free strings and tuning pins

Audible musical sound is produced by the strings, transmitted and amplified through the soundboard. Piano music wire (“strings”) only sound their best when kept ‘rust and dust free’. A humidity control system is imperative to longer string life in your piano. As strings are exposed to moisture throughout their lifetime, rust eventually shows up and corrodes ('eats at') the strings.

Strings kept 'rust free' mean a better sounding piano overall.

These are but five reasons why it’s in YOUR best interests to have a Dampp Chaser Humidity Control System installed in your piano. Each unit comes with a 5 year guarantee, which rounds out to pennies per day, to protect the life and years of your beloved piano.

Purchase one today and experience the benefits the Piano Life Saver System has to offer your piano’s long term future.

More benefits can be found here on the Dampp-Chaser website, here.

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