Dear Piano Technicians,
I seem to have caused a great controvery over my little tech tip
on smoke removal by putting dryer sheets in the piano. It has worked
wonderfully everytime I have done it (including a fire damaged car) but
truthfully I don't know why it works. In cases of minor smoke damage
(like being in the home of a smoker) it has always worked fine for me.
Simply put a few dryer sheets inside the cabinet for about 3 weeks.
This is fine under most cases however if a piano were seriously damaged
by smoke such as in a house fire, I would be surprised if it did work at
all.
Now I must interject that I live in a small town and yes, I am on
the local volunteer fire department. It should be noted, that in cases
of house fires vs tobacco smoke, there are 2 real culprits, not one:
Toxic vapors and heat. In cases like this, a professional company
specializing in smoke removal should be used to remove the smell. My
next question is what about the strings and plate? Depending upon the
extent of the fire, the heat could have damaged the strings or heaven
forbid, the plate. If so, even if it were restrung, once brought up to
tension, it could break. May I submit, that any technician who takes on
a job of a fire damaged piano, should worry as much about the heat damage
to the plate as they do the smoke and odor damage to the cabinet. As for
myself, I would do my homework before I ever took on a job like that and
I would not be afraid to turn down a job like that. Due to the amount
of E-mail flying through cyberspace over my seeminly innocent little
remark, I'll leave my remark about dryer sheets as it stands and no, I
am not an authority on the subject of smoke removal.
By way of note, in April, I attended a fire training school. To
help us understand what happens in a house fire... they gave us a paper
describing in great detail what actually happens in a house fire,
starting with a burning cigarette and going through each stage until the
house is totally involved. While this subject is totally off course from
the intent of BYU's pianotech, for those technicians who are dealing with
fire damaged pianos (and there seems to be a lot), you'll find this
article most helpful and facsinating since you'll know first hand what
the piano is actually exposed to. With that in mind, you'll be better
off as you search for a solution. If anyone is interested they can
write me. Anyone wanting me to quiet down and stick to the subject of
pianos can write me too.
Sincerely,
Ron Shiflet, RPT
Phoenix Chapter
Ron_and_Lorene@Juno.com
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