<html> <body> I'm showing my ignorance here, but what is DMSO? Avery At 04:26 PM 4/25/05, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Joe --   Yow! I had no idea. Freaky how stuff like this happens. Who'ld a thunk that DMSO would give one the power to make things rust. A power that can only be used for good, or evil.   She does have arthritis so I'll ask her if DMSO is in her arsenal of pain relievers.   Thanks --   -- Geoff Sykes Assoc. Los Angeles -----Original Message----- From: Joe Garrett Sent: Apr 25, 2005 10:23 AM To: pianotech Subject: DMSO Geoff asked: "DMSO is applied directly to the skin, is it not? How would that promote = rust in a piano?"   Geoff, Yes, DMSO is applied directly to the skin. HOWEVER, the darned stuff goes through the system and is expelled through the pores. You can smell it and it permeates the whole house environment! One incident, I had, was a lady was using it and had a nice Everett Conslole. Called me to tune and trouble shoot some problems. When I opened it up, the whole piano, (everything that was iron/steel) was a mass of RUST!! Yikes! (said I) After some conversation, she told me she had the same problem with her sewing machine! I took the piano into the shop for a thorough de-rusting and restringing. One month after delivery, it started to get rusty again!!! (even though I was very fastidious in the de-rusting, etc.) I took humidity readings at the initial visit and on each one after delivery. Nothing out of the ordinary was detected. I put a damp-chaser in the piano and that seemed to slow it down, but not completely eliminate it! BTW, DMSO was originated to clean metal, specifically steel. It does that. In fact, it does it so well, that it makes steel, in normal humidity conditions, extremely susceptable to rusting. Not a fun gig! I v'e had other instances with that stuff. Because there is a Dr. at the OHSU, medical facility, in Portland, who specializes in the use of DMSO, there are probably more cases than I'm aware of, in this area. Regards, Joe Garrett, R.P.T. Captain, Tool Police Squares R I</blockquote></body> </html>