Pianotech

  • 1.  Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Posted 05-03-2024 17:38
    I'm on a remote island where instruments haven't been looked after very well for years and today was called in to see if I could rescue a piano that had been kept in a damp place. I've asked the owner to brush and hoover it. Is there any anti-fungal liquid that one can spray which won't corrode strings or soften felts? Or is it best to hoover and brush and thereafter keep in an especially dry place?
    Many thanks
    David P


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    David Pinnegar BSc ARCS
    Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK
    +44 1342 850594
    "High Definition" Tuning
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  • 2.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-03-2024 20:59

    Hello David,

    I have used Concrobium Mold Control Spray on the action. First remove the action, brush and vacuum the action, then blow it out with compressed air, spray, and let dry in the sun.  You can purchase it on Amazon.  You would not use this on the strings, just the action. 

    • Use to eliminate mold, mildew and musty odors and prevent regrowth
    • EPA-registered formula crushes mold spores as it dries and leaves an invisible barrier
    • Odorless solution cleans between 100-150 sq. ft. per 14 oz. can
    • Unique mold spray contains no bleach or harsh chemicals, safe for use on a wide range of surfaces
    • Simply spray onto effected area and allow to dry - no scrubbing or rising required


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    Gina Bonfietti, RPT
    Connecticut
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  • 3.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-11-2024 03:07

    This should work, it looks like the main ingredients are washing soda and sodium phosphate (another strong washing ingredient).

    Borates might also work for a case like this.  Boron is not corrosive to iron or copper (though it reacts with aluminum) so it could be used with relative safety and it is a mold inhibitor.

    None of these are dangerous or toxic as they are recommended to use.



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    Blaine Hebert RPT
    Duarte CA
    (626) 390-0512
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-04-2024 17:16
    I wish you luck with this project. The photos actually show the fruiting body of the mold, not the mycelium. So this means the spores have spread already…..

    I’ve never tried the spray suggested by Gina, but from the looks, you’ve nothing to lose.

    Joe Wiencek
    RPT




  • 5.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Posted 05-04-2024 18:13
    Thanks so much

    In another place people recommended dumping the instrument  - but I'm currently on a small remote island with population of 2500 and to where shipping of new instruments is prohibitively expensive. Someone has said that dry cleaning fluid can be effective and certainly this won't corrode the strings.

    Has anyone any idea of whether dry cleaning fluid would affect felt on hammers or dampers?

    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


  • 6.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Member
    Posted 05-10-2024 00:24

    Not so sure about dry cleaning fluid use on hammer or damper felt although I have heard about using it on knuckles and leather/buckskin. You need to be very careful with it since I believe it is highly flammable and also dangerous to your lungs, skin, eyes.

    I have used the mold control that Gina mentioned and it works well . You need to protect yourself against the mold spores . It seems as if the piano is loaded with whatever all that white stuff is. You should try to get it positively identified by using a test kit or mold service. Everytime the piano is played mold spores are apt to get released.  



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


  • 7.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Posted 05-10-2024 08:51
    Thanks to all who have contributed here. The island of Alderney in the Channel Islands off the coast of France is a place where everything has to come in and out by boat impacted by Atlantic tides 
    and this is a particular incentive for nothing to be wasted on the island and maximum effort to salvage all that can be salvaged. If anyone's making a trip to the UK it's well worth visiting https://www.google.com/search?q=alderney and in many ways like other places perhaps were in the 1950s to 1970s.
    Dry cleaning fluid used to be flammable but Perchloroethylene isn't. However, not only was there none on the island, but I told the piano owners to brush it, hoover it and put the action in the sunshine for a day or two and upon returning I was utterly amazed at the success they'd achieved. There were a couple of "issues" with the jacks on a couple of notes at top and bottom of the action which I put down to potential damage but didn't need to investigate further as the purpose of the instrument was simply to sound "nice" for a young child to be introduced to music.
    With repair of a string broken at the entrance to the tuning peg coil the tuning was successful although being introduced to a dry atmosphere some pins might need CA treatment in the future. 
    It's an interesting instrument, a Regent miniature piano strung all bicord above the wound strings, and other than inharmonicity of short strings, ended up sounding quite nice.
    So this instrument was saved from waste disposal. With the dryness of the house I don't think that the fungus will grow ever again.
    Best wishes

    David P


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    David Pinnegar BSc ARCS
    Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK
    +44 1342 850594
    "High Definition" Tuning
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-12-2024 00:40

    You do have to remember that this mold is growing on more than just these piano parts.  That species of mold is probably growing on every wood and vegetative object in the environment and the local human population is probably getting a daily dose of it.  If it was dangerous the island wouldn't be inhabited.



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    Blaine Hebert RPT
    Duarte CA
    (626) 390-0512
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Treating mycelium without softening felt or corroding strings

    Member
    Posted 05-12-2024 12:42

    It seems to me that the environment would not be that dry year round. Mold will thrive and return if the conditions are right. Darkness, organic matter/material and moisture are ideal conditions for mold. Inside of a piano is a great environment . Not sure if you can get some partial dampp chasers in this piano but it would be worth investigating. 



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