Cleaning Soot from pianos

Vanderhoofven dkvander@clandjop.com
Sun, 13 Oct 1996 01:45:29 -0500


At 03:14 PM 10/12/96 +0000, you wrote:
>I have a customer with a studio that has been through fire damage. No heat or
>water, but a lot of soot.
>
>Is there any PTG Jrnl articles from the past that cover this subject or offer
>some insights into the most efficient way of cleaning out the action and
>soundboard & interior case where soot resides?
>
>Gratefull for any input.
>
>Thanks Much!
>
>Lorlin B., RPT :-)


Dear Lorlin,

Funny you should ask!

Just yesterday I had a fire damage restoration company call me about a
spinet that was smoke damaged.  I called Dave Swartz, RPT, (Majestic Piano
Company)and he kindly e-mailed me a very thorough form to fill out that asks
all kinds of questions about the extent of the damage to the piano.  If you
call him, I am sure that he would be happy to help you with your situation.
I examined the piano today and the form that he sent to me via e-mail told
me exactly what to look for.

I am NOT an expert in this area, but will refer you to Dave Swartz, who is.
His web page on the subject of fire and smoke damage restoration is hosted
on The Piano Page at http://www.prairienet.org/arts/ptg/homepage.htm.

Just a few pointers: always wear latex gloves when touching a smoke damaged
piano to avoid leaving PERMANENT fingerprints, and it is very important that
a piano be removed from the scene of the fire as soon as it is safe to move
it.  This will reduce some of the damage that is caused by the extreme
humidity levels found at the scene of the fire.

Dave Swartz can be contacted at
E-MAIL ADDRESS---<dms2000@pioneerplanet.infi.net>

I don't know of any PTG JOURNAL articles on the subject.  But, I hope this
is helpful!

Sincerely,


David A. Vanderhoofven
dkvander@clandjop.com
Joplin, Missouri, USA
Associate Member, Piano Technicians Guild
web page:  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/





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