Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Do I have to cover the keys with the felt cloth?

Has no technician in 41 years done more than tune the piano? Every few years (10 at very most!) a piano requires a more in-depth servicing, of which the first step is a thorough cleaning.

I would not bother with the key cover felt if you want - just have your piano serviced the way it deserves to be.

Good idea! I might do that. :-)

I have also heard that one should not cover the ivory keys to prevent yellowing. They are not exposed to direct sunlight, but just natural indirect light. I do close the fallboard when I leave for an extended period of time.

Can anyone verify if this is in fact correct about keeping the keys exposed?

I think that has more to do with lack of cleaning them than anything else Morodiene.

Finger dirt and grime gets on the keys especially from kids and, many not so clean adult fingers too and if not cleaned, the air cannot get at them and then they become yellowed and discolored. At least that's what I was told. Keeping the keys clean is more important than if the cover is left up or down.

Although my own piano is a digital, I still wouldn't let anyone loose on it unless they'd washed their hands first. When I was a child having piano lessons at my teacher's (my second teacher; the first one came to our home), she always inspected my hands before letting me near her piano....

I had plenty of experience of sticky keys playing on the little vertical that was my piano in my childhood, but that wasn't due to dirty fingers or dust accumulating between the keys (my parents saw to that, and I always had to replace the felt and close the fallboard after finishing practice). It was the poor build quality of the piano.

The felt strip with the cover closed helps to avoid sluggish and sticking keys. For 'Sticky' keys you might want to relocate the candy dish.

I'm sure some would disagree with the first sentence but Faust Harrison Pianos has this recommendation on their website. Of course, I assume this doesn't apply if one has a particularly dusty environment.

"The fallboard should always be open to allow free circulation of air around the keys. Keys should be cleaned only with a soft cloth, dampened very slightly with water or club soda (or Windex if the keys are really dirty). Never put fluid directly on the keys."

I just ditched the felt cover, and I'm at peace now. :-)

My first new piano, a Yamaha UX in 1979 was covered and lid down every time for the first 5 years - till the children started learning. We worked out that they would be far more likely to play if the keys were visible. The cover (with Yamaha advertising) was stored, and the lid was only put down on the day the piano was dusted - and re-opened. The piano was extensively used by 4 of us for 27 years when I upgraded to my first grand.

I laboriously covered and close that grand and my new grand daily. And the grandchildren are supervised (hands washed etc) when they play!!!!

But my old UX went to my daughter's place with 3 grandchildren. My daughter never saw the lid down or the cover, so it's still open. Unfortunately it's closer to her kitchen, so when I visit, I wipe the sticky etc off the keys.

The thing is, a piano keyboard is incredibly beautiful and inviting. I can't bring myself to cover it up and then miss seeing it whenever I'm in the room or walking by. My tuner/tech has always cleaned absolutely everything during a tuning visit. I might start dusting the keys myself more often, say, once a week, but close the fallboard? Can't do.