Do not use a chlorine based bleach ANYWHERE inside a piano, lest you wish the inducement of rust---even years after application. Chlorine bonds with most anything, and will create chlorinated compounds in the wood which will outgass and promote corrosion very actively on strings, keypins, etc.. On the other hand, an oxalic acid wipe could be just the thing for keys and keybed...... And I find no reason not to lacquer keys and keybeds to hold in odor, create a cleanable surface and promote stability. I did this on the keys in an upright for a church recently, and it was a real pleasure(?) just to wipe the goo from unwashed hands off the keysticks (semi-gloss white epoxy) rather than scrape it off with a razor, etc.! The sides are less glossy than the tops, barely visible and not at all offensive looking. So what if its not traditional? Neither was overstringing when first implemented. I put an old set of cauls in the bushing slots, masked off the tops with that blue "easy-release" tape, laid the keys on a rack and sprayed away. All sides. Could be done with clear, semi gloss or flat, too. Bet these keys never warp! And I always lacquer keybeds & rails after a thorough scrubbing. Really holds in odors. Put soda straws over keypins. But if an interior is actually black with ammonia degeneration, I will burn the piano ( after removing key leads) as the odor will have permeated everything, and few people with the $$$ to afford the piano fully restored would want it in their parlor ( I sure wouldn't! ) There are plenty of other diseases one gets from mice besides hanta virus, and a quick search under "rodents-diseases" will bring up several web sites on the subject. Please "do unto others". Don't sell people pianos which are a hazard to their health. Thump --- Don <pianotuna@yahoo.com> wrote: > Hi, > > I think that spraying the surfaces with bleach would > be the ultimate in prevention. > > My concern is that many viri do have the ablity to > "dry" to a spore state--where they are inactive > until > moisturized--like the nice wet dark interior of your > lungs. > > At 10:47 AM 1/27/2003 -0500, you wrote: > >Hi Don! > > > >Thanks for the site referral. > > > >A couple of thoughts ..... > > > >The viruses are surrounded by a fatty envelope that > is easily destroyed by > >fat solvents, such as alcohol and disinfectants. > This in turn kills the > >virus. > > > >The viruses live for only a few days outside of a > host organism. The risk > >of being infected is greatest in closed spaces > where > rodents are actively > >living. > > > >So ..... does this mean if we can isolate a piano > from rodent access for at > >least a week a so before cleaning it out, the > chances > of getting sick are > >greatly reduced? > > > >Also, the actual occurrence of the hanta virus in > humans is still less than > >500 cases nationwide. Still doesn't sound like > anything I would want to > >mess with. > > > >Z! Reinhardt RPT > > > ===== > Regards, > Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. > > Tuner for the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts > > http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/ > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up > now. > http://mailplus.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC