Disinfecting Piano: ( Sorry Bill, but "bleach" might not be such a good idea.)

[Euphonious Thumpe]

Not if it's chlorine-based, anyway. ( Hydrogen-peroxide might be OK, but if you're Super-Cleaning(TM) the keybed, frames, etc. that will kill all the germs, anyway. I'd clean all the direct-contact stuff with that, then blast trhe remainder with naptha ona  piano not TOO filthy, that I deemed "salvageable". ) 
     But you'll STILL have a stinky piano, just from "odor-creep", 
on pianos that are rodent-infested in any way.  
     I tried chlorine bleach, once, and 6 months later, great globs of rust were all over the keypins, strings, etc.. Chlorine bleach is extremely reactive, and the chlorine gas which helps comprise it gets into, and then seeps out of, all sorts of materials.

Euphonious Thumpe


--- On Mon, 9/15/08, Willem Blees <wimblees at aol.com> wrote:

> From: Willem Blees <wimblees at aol.com>
> Subject: Re: Disinfecting Piano
> To: hardman at hiwaay.net, pianotech at ptg.org
> Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 4:09 PM
> Wes
> 
> First of all, wear plastic gloves and a face mask when
> cleaning the piano. 
> 
> I would use a cleaning liquid that contains bleach. After
> sucking up the big stuff, (and throwing away the bag), spray
> the areas effected, and clean it thoroughly with rags. If
> the area is under the keys, and the punchings are
> contaminated,?I would throw them away, and install new ones.
> If the area is under the trap system, Remove the levers, and
> thoroughly clean the bottom board. You should also clean off
> the screws and trap system with steel wool. 
> 
> All of this, of course, involves more than just cleaning.
> You'll have to do some regulating, etc.?
> 
> I don't know how bad it is, but I would charge a
> minimum of $250, plus regulation, tuning, etc. 
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> 
> Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> Honolulu, HI
> 808-349-2943
> www.bleespiano.com
> Author of 
> The Business of Piano Tuning
> available from Potter Press
> www.pianotuning.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wesley Hardman <hardman at hiwaay.net>
> To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 9:44 am
> Subject: Disinfecting Piano
> 
> 
> 
> List,
> 
> ?
> 
> I'm sure this has been addressed in the past, but?what
> can be used to effectively?disinfect a rat-infested piano,
> particularly one in which a couple of dead rats, rat beds,
> droppings, etc.?have been removed?
> 
> ?
> 
> Wesley Hardman
> 
> Alabama
> 
> ?
> 
> ?