26 May How do I clean my keys?
Piano keys, especially ivories and ebony sharps (as compared to plastic) can become quite dirty over time. Once a layer of finger oil and your childrens’ pre-practice afternoon snacks begin to accumulate the ‘dedritis’ becomes increasingly difficult to remove. Up until now my clients have been fairly casual about cleaning their keys, but for teachers and households with multiple pianists it has become increasingly important to clean and sanitize keyboards between users.
Soap and water has been the best traditional method, but before describing my time-proven process there is a new method that has become my favorite: Baby Wipes!
Not only do they contain mild detergents but they also have a bit of castor bean oil which is an effective solvent for other dried oils (for example Vaseline can help remove pine tar from your car finish). The castor bean is famous for that old home remedy castor oil and the residue mash from the pressing is the source of the deadly poison ricin famously sent in letters to Barack Obama and other legislators in 2003 and in several assassinations of Soviet defectors.
It is a rather involved process to clean all surfaces equally (especially the sides of the sharps) and to get into all the narrow spaces between and at the far ends of the keys.
On the first pass, moisten the tops and sides of the sharps and the narrow portion of the white keys. Then, with a sweeping motion from bass to treble for lefties or treble to bass for right handers moisten the fronts of the white keys. Take a moment to let the wipe’s liquid do its work and make a plan how you’re going to systematically get into all those nooks and crannies between the keys. Plan on making a few successive passes to loosen and remove all the dirt, changing wipes when necessary. Work from the top down: sharps first, then naturals.
Once the dirt is removed, wipe with a damp cloth and then dry. For those with newer plastic keys you will find the task much less challenging but you will most likely still be surprised by how dirty you keyboard has become from years of playing.
For those without wipes use this procedure:
Take a durable cotton rag, wet it with warm water and wring it out well. Add 3 or 4 drops of dishwashing liquid and work it into the rag. You want the cloth wet enough to easily moisten the keys but dry enough that no drips fall between. Proceed as described above.
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Your keys can now be effectively sanitized between players or by your piano technician after your piano has been tuned. Chlorox wipes, Lysol spray or my favorite: a light mist of hydrogen peroxide are all safe to use. Hydrogen peroxide, like alcohol, can destroy viruses after about a minute of contact (apparently one can’t “kill” viruses because they are not truly alive!).
What not to use:
Alcohol: It can remove shellac finish sometimes found on old ebony sharps. It can also damage your piano finish.
Milk: Recommended in decades past for cleaning ivory – the fat in whole milk can loosen the hardened finger oils and “feed” the ivory. This is no longer recommended as it can leak between the keys and the residue can sour and both smell and attract insects, bacteria and other undesirable creatures.
Happy cleaning!