What is hiding under your keys?  Keyboard cleaning should go hand-in-hand with tuning and other piano maintenance.

It’s amazing what gets through the keys and hides underneath them.

A regular inspection and cleaning, though not typically an annual event is just good form.  Sometimes an inspection required because of a problem such as a stuck key or one that won’t strike.  An inspection of the action of this piano revealed the source of an odd buzzing noise – 7 dislodged hammer butt springs that were resting upon the wooden hammer shanks. That done and vacuuming complete, on to the keys.  Using a gentle cleaner and a rag, I wiped off the key tops.  The rag was clean when I started……

I just wiped the keytops ; and they didn’t look that dirty!

This was a fifty year old piano, so it has had a few years to collect debris.  A keybed cleanout takes about an hour.  This one was longer as the keys took extra work.  But all better…..

 

If there are a lot of mouse droppings, the process is more complex as to the handling of them.

 

Even if it is once in a blue moon, it pays to take a peek under the keys.  Many times I use the analogy of cars with pianos; they both need periodic maintenance, tune ups and the like.  Don’t neglect your piano’s maintenance!