October 26th, 2007 - Smoke and piano
The piano arrived yesterday morning. Luckily, Eric was sick so I stayed home–because I had to clean it! And very unfortunately, it smells of cigarette smoke. Not sure yet what we’ll do. I’m trying to clean it, but am not sure I should clean the interior of course, and so probably can get rid of the smell. I don’t think it’s too bad, but it did smell worse this morning. Perhaps yesterday was better because I’d been cleaning it! The previous owner said she had done a lot of cleaning with Murphy’s Oil Soap. So did I! If we can’t stand the smell, and we’re pretty sensitive to cigarette smoke, I will try to sell it for $300 (which would cover the movers and the supplies to fix it;l maybe I’ll shoot for $50 over if I can. Someone can always offer less.). All cleaned up, I might be able to get that, I hope. We’ll see.
It already looks better with a couple hours of cleaning. I also got the permanent marker letters off the front of the keys, and am over 1/7th of the way through getting the taped letters off the tops. Apparently, a past owner needed many reminders of what key is what. I used Ink-Away from the makers of Goo-Gone for the permanent marker. Was very slick! I’m using elbow grease for the tape residue. I could use Goo-Gone, but I hate that it’s a petroleum product. So far, elbow grease, a rag, and some soap and water is working just fine, albeit a bit more slowly. I also need to find two knobs for the key cover (the screws are still there, just not the knobs), and fix the music stand. Looks like someone ripped it off, and the screws aren’t there anymore. I wonder if I can fix where the screws went in the stand with some wood glue and clamps? The front left roller is not well-attached the leg ends in duct tape. Not sure what we’ll find when we take the tape off. Hoping that’s fixable as well. It sits just fine in the current shape, although it leans quite a bit to the right. I only noticed when looking at it from the living room.
Luckily, it’s in tune! I think the first B above middle C might be a bit out of tune, but not much and the other keys sound fine. A couple are a bit sticky. I fixed some of them by pulling out a photo that had fallen in. Maybe the others will get better with more cleaning. I intend to vacuum the interior as much as possible next.
This weekend I’ll go over it all again with Murphy’s, including the side I couldn’t reach yesterday and hopefully also the back. Or, I found a website that recommended mineral spirits for cleaning then Lemon Pledge to mask the smell. Another site suggested sprinkling baking soda on for a few days, although I hesitate to do that to a piano. I put some cups out on top (although in the past, Pi has been known to try to eat baking soda, making him look rabid). I might buy some fridge/freezer ones, which have covered vents, to put inside. I’m afraid of putting anything open inside in case I forget and hit keys, or Maggie does, and it gets knocked over. I might also sprinkle some areas with b’soda at night, and vacuum it up before cats can walk through it.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:06 am EDT
you might try picking up one of the citrus magic plastic odor absorbers. it can be set inside the case, and will help with the smoke absorbed by the wood over the years. We moved into a house where the smoke smell crept out after the first couple of weeks. They worked wonders with the wooden cabinets and linen closet. I also set one into the back of a barrister bookcase I picked up at a garage sale. After a couple of weeks, the gas/oil and musty smells were gone.