| Your Steinway piano may be a cherished gift that you | | | | hardwood case, use a clean piece of cheesecloth and |
| inherited from family or a purchase you made yourself. | | | | follow the directions of the product you are using. |
| Either way, it is a gift of beauty to be hold and to hear. | | | | Wipe only with the grain of the wood, which is like the |
| When your Steinway piano arrives at home, the first | | | | factory finish. If you rub in circles, you run the risk of |
| thing to consider is location, just like real estate, where | | | | losing that great luster the factory created. |
| it will be located is very important. You neither want to | | | | When caring for the keys, extreme care should be |
| put it in a direct sunlight nor you want it in a room | | | | taken to avoid liquids of any kind getting in between |
| where the temperature will be extremely hot or cold. | | | | the keys, as it could cause the wood underneath to |
| So avoid air conditioning vents or heating ducts. By | | | | swell. A very lightly dampened piece of cheesecloth |
| keeping a hygrometer nearby, you can ensure the | | | | can be used to wipe the keys, nothing else is |
| humidity is kept between 45% to 65% range which is | | | | necessary. |
| recommended by the manufacturer. | | | | Nothing should be placed on top of its keyboard, no |
| If you have purchased it, then you will have documents | | | | matter what the model is. The reason for this is two |
| listing the serial number, store where it is purchased | | | | fold; you run the risk of damaging the finish on it. |
| and other details. If you inherited it, you can locate the | | | | Hence, it will affect the sound it produces. Let its |
| serial number on the cast iron plate on the lower inside. | | | | beauty stand on its own. |
| When Steinway crafts a piano, its details are kept, | | | | Depending on the environment the piano is kept in, you |
| such as the craftsman who made it, the type of wood | | | | may need to have the interior cleaned professionally to |
| used, the day it was finished and to whom it was sold. | | | | remove dust and dirt every few years. The interior |
| By checking the serial number you will have an | | | | workings of Steinway can be damaged, if dirt and dust |
| approximate age (within a year) of when your piano | | | | particles are present when playing. Should a foreign |
| was crafted. Also, you may receive with it a detailed | | | | object (coin, pencil, paper-clip etc.) fall into it, stop |
| accounting of what maintenance has been done and | | | | playing and remove it by a professional. Remember, |
| by whom. The maintenance of the interior of a | | | | your Steinway is much like an exotic sports car; its |
| Steinway should be entrusted to a qualified piano | | | | workings need to be cared for by the experts! Under |
| technician. No one else should have access to the | | | | normal situations, it should be tuned every three or four |
| interior workings of it. | | | | months; however, your ear and how it sounds to you |
| Taking care of your piano doesn't take a lot of time or | | | | will determine the frequency of tuning. |
| money, but the records of its care can increase the | | | | The voicing of your piano will depend on your personal |
| value, should you choose to part with it. When it was | | | | preferences also. Voicing and action regulation are |
| crafted, it was done so with the same hand crafted | | | | extremely intricate procedures and should only be |
| method followed by generation after generation of | | | | done by a professional. You can always contact your |
| craftsmen. No step is rushed, hurried or pushed along. | | | | local Steinway & Son's dealer as they have been |
| The wood components are cured at the factory, will | | | | helping customers and taking care of their cherished |
| not be used until the exact moisture levels are met. | | | | pianos since they started making them in 1853. With |
| The exterior wood should never be waxed or wiped in | | | | proper care and maintenance, your Steinway piano will |
| circular motion. Steinway offers their own line of | | | | last for generations to come and enhance many lives |
| cleaners and polishers who know better and will | | | | with its melodious music. |
| produce the best results. When caring for the | | | | |