Water in the Basement

Recently at my home, we got so much rain that water ended up in the basement carpet, where my piano is located. Sadly that meant ripping out all the carpet, and the humidity level down there got way up close to 90%. Instantly, the piano sounded terrible, and there were two things going on.

1. Big humidity change put the piano way out of tune. Pianos go out of tune primarily from the changes of humidity in their environment. If you're able to keep the room at a stable humidity level, the piano is going to have a great chance to stay in tune. Ideally, the humidity level should be between 40-50% for a piano. But when the humidity level in my basement rose up close to 90%, the piano immediately began to sound horrible, as the moisture in the air had pulled the piano sharp of where it should be. When the wood in the piano absorbs the moisture in the air, that's going to happen.

2. The lack of carpet hurt the piano's tone. The carpet was now ripped out, leaving the piano on a concrete floor. With this new floor, the piano sounded louder and brighter. The nice warm tone that I'm accustomed to from this instrument was gone. The sound waves basically bounce off the hard concrete floor in a harsh way that is mitigated by the carpet that was under it before. This is why in university practice rooms, for example, soft acoustic paneling is installed. Carpet, curtains, and other soft surfaces in the room can be really helpful to provide a softer tone from your piano.

The basement is now dry, and I have the humidity level back to where it should be. Addressing the new flooring will come soon as well. After the humidity level down there has been stable for a while, I'll get it back into tune, and will be able to enjoy playing my own instrument again.