3 simple steps to safely cleaning your digital piano
There are thousands of different cleaning products on the market these days, all with different purposes.
Many contain high levels of bleach, alcohol and other substances. While these ingredients may do the trick for your bathroom and kitchen, they are going to cause a lot of damage if used on your digital piano.
Step 1: Give the piano an initial wipe-down
Give the whole piano, both the finish and the keys, a light dust-over first and foremost. We'd recommend using just a simple feather duster.
This especially helps to brush off larger bits of dust. Going straight in with a cloth before a duster may cause some of the biggest dust particles to become lodged in the keys.
Step 2: Cleaning the finish
To clean the finish, use a soft microfiber cloth – slightly dampened, if necessary – followed by a soft dry cloth to remove any remaining moisture. It's important that you use a soft microfiber cloth, or something similar, and not just any old cloth if you want to be thorough. This type of cloth picks up a lot more dirt than a regular cloth – it even picks up bacteria.
You shouldn't need to use any liquid products when cleaning your piano. However, if there is a mark or stain that is deeming tricky to remove with a damp cloth, we recommend the following:
- Mix together a few drops of soap liquid with some warm water
- Dip a damp clean microfiber cloth into the solution, making sure to ring out the majority of the liquid before applying it to the finish.
This simple cleaning solution should be more than enough to remove any mark on the finish of your piano.
Step 3: Cleaning the keys
Cleaning the keys of a digital piano needs to be done with care. Using the wrong cleaning product can cause damage to the mechanisms of the keys, altering their functionality completely.
You want to use as little moisture as possible. Here's a three-step process to follow from piano maker Yamaha:
1. Dampen one of the microfiber cloths with lukewarm water and a small amount of dishwashing liquid, then wring it out enough so that water does not drip on the keys. Use the cloth to gently wipe down several keys at a time in a “toward-the-player” motion (i.e., from the part of the keys farthest from you to the part closest to you).
2. Take the second microfiber cloth and dampen it with lukewarm water only, then wring it out enough so that water does not drip on the keys. Use it to wipe down the keys again in the same “toward-the-player” motion.
3. Using the third microfiber cloth (but keeping it completely dry), wipe down the keys one more time in that same “toward-the-player” motion until all the keys are dry.
In essence, it's better to keep your cleaning as simple as possible, with as few products as possible to avoid damaging the instrument. If in doubt, get in touch with the manufacturer of your piano for further advice.
