Pianotech

  • 1.  Ozone treatment

    Posted 08-07-2020 04:47

    Good morning,

     

     I work for Robertlyon surveyors. We have in our possession 3 pianos which are suffering from a lingering odour. We were curious whether any of you had any suggested solutions and or can point me in the direction of any company or persons who have the equipment and facility to do a full ozone clean on all 3 pianos. We would organise the transportation to and from.

     

    Best regards

     

    Ashley Wylde



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    ashley Wylde
    robertlyon
    west tilbury
    07895469252
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  • 2.  RE: Ozone treatment

    Posted 08-07-2020 05:13
    West Tilbury and your phone number look UK based - are you?

    What is the lingering odour? It's unusual for a piece of furniture to have an odour. Presumably the felts must have been contaminated with a very pungent gaseous condition. As you are a surveyor am I guessing you might be dealing with fire smoke damage? 

    One of the major enemies of pianos is moth. A friend keeps soap or lavatory disinfectant tablets in his boxes of felt. On one instruments of mine for which moth could be catastrophic I have taken to keeping a couple of these tablets inside and closed the lid. The instrument smells of disinfectant when opened but that's a small price to pay.

    Depending on the contaminant ozone may or may not be the best solution. 

    Best wishes

    David P

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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594



    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Ozone treatment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2020 21:21
    Companies that do fire and smoke remediation for homes generally have ozone equipment.

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    Steven Rosenthal
    Honolulu HI
    808-521-7129
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Ozone treatment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2020 11:09
    DO NOT - DO NOT - DO NOT use an ozone generator on an assembled piano. Here is an excerpt from David Swartz of CORY care products that specializes in smoke damage restoration:

    "Ozone works by oxidation known to be corrosive and will adversely affect piano strings, plate, metal parts, paint rubber parts (grommets) & moisture content=bleaching. Ozone has proven to be effective in the removal of smoke odors in natural substances (i.e. porous materials) such as soft woods, paper, felt, etc.  Should the piano be in a rebuild state (i.e. plate, action, strings, etc. removed), one may find the ozone generator a useful tool."

    My suggestion would be to contact the Pianoforte Tuners' Association and inquire who specializes in piano smoke & fire restoration.



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    Jim Fariss, RPT
    PTG Secretary/Treasurer
    (719) 425-8845
    Sec@PTG.org
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Ozone treatment

    Member
    Posted 08-08-2020 12:43
    You need to describe the odor in more detail. Is it a musty smell ? where the pianos in a place that had flooding or water damage ? Is the smell like fire smoke or cigarette smoke ?/ Ozone would not be a good option because of some of the effects it has on materials. If the pianos where in storage or not being used its possible rodents could have gotten in them and done all types of damage including urinating and even dying in there. 


    As for getting tobacco odors out of pianos I have heard that exposure to sunlight can help. What type  of pianos are these ? If uprights its a good idea to remove the topa and bottom panels and air them out. Look for the presence of things in the piano at the same time. Do not rub or try to clean any mold/mildew until you know what it is. Its best to have an experienced piano tech inspect the pianos

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    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Ozone treatment

    Posted 08-09-2020 12:23
    I recently used an ozone generator on a 1860s melodian and an 1810 square piano prior to full restoration. I was a bit nervous about it, but after some research I decided it would likely be safe. A friend uses one in his business to rid houses of mold and bacteria and he said that it would be safe to use. Both instruments had terrible mold issues. I figured that the ozone generator would be the only way to safely work on these instruments and get rid of the smell. I bagged them in plastic and ran the ozone machine for several hours. I was amazed at its ability to get rid of the mold smell! Nothing I have ever tried could remove these old musty smells nearly as good as the ozone. I did not notice any corrosion on the metal parts at all. However, there was some old rubber in the melodian that seemed to have been slightly damaged. Also, I have read that it may have a negative effect on leather and possibly hide glue. I planned to replace all the leather so I wasn't too worried. Afterwards it seemed that there was very minimal effect if any that I could notice to the leather or the glue joints. At this point I would still only recommend ozone treatment prior to full restorations, or in cases where a valuable piano has serious mold issues. Also be careful NOT to breathe ozone. I recommend doing the procedure outside, and if done inside stay out of the room for several hours after the machine is done running.

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    Jason Leininger
    Pittsburgh PA
    412-874-6992
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    Original Message