Dampp Chaser question

[Dean May]

Thanks for the clarification on what happens when water is softened.
Your explanation makes sense. But it still is not making sense to me
that using it will cause corrosion in a piano. 

First, I haven't seen it on pianos that have used soft water for many
years. 

Next, having used soft water in my home for many years, I can say
anecdotally that soft water is much less corrosive on plumbing fixtures
than hard water is. Hard water still has reactive elements (calcium,
chlorine, manganese, etc) and they ruin plumbing fixtures way worse than
sodium chloride. And for pianos that use hard water I don't see these
elements making it to the piano wire any more than the sodium chloride. 

I'd appreciate Roger Wheeler weighing in on the discussion to let us
know what DampChaser's official position is on using soft water. Also if
there are any chemists (maybe you are one, Don) who can quantify the
impact of using soft water in DampChasers. Can those reactive elements
migrate out of the bucket into the action and piano wire? 

Dean
Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
Terre Haute IN  47802


-----Original Message-----
From: Don [mailto:pianotuna@yahoo.com] 
Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2005 3:48 PM
To: deanmay@pianorebuilders.com; Pianotech
Subject: RE: Dampp Chaser question

Hi Dean,

Salt water does nasty things to metal Dean.

At 04:26 PM 12/4/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>I've had really good success with recommending soft water for DChaser
>systems. The combination of soft water and treatment leaves pads soft
>even after a year. I've seen no adverse effects from such a
combination.
>
>
>How is it hard on the pianos? 
>
>Dean
>Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
>PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
>Terre Haute IN  47802
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
>Behalf Of Don
>Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2005 2:22 PM
>To: Pianotech
>Subject: RE: Dampp Chaser question
>
>Hi Mark,
>
>Water softners work by replacing calcium ions with sodium ions (salt).
>This
>is very hard on DC systems and on pianos in general--the clients should
>not
>use softened water in their units.
>
>At 02:00 PM 12/4/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>>        I use the humidifier treatment only occasionally on my own
>piano at
>>home where the water has a fairly high mineral content. I get very
>little
>>buildup on the heater bars and the pads seem to last forever. OTOH, I
>have
>>had customers with water softening systems where the pads were shot
>after 4
>>months and the crud had to be scraped off with a knife.     - Mark
>Dierauf 
>
>Regards,
>Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.
>Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat
>
>mailto:pianotuna@yahoo.com	http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/
>
>3004 Grant Rd. REGINA, SK, S4S 5G7
>306-539-0716 or 1-888-29t-uner
>
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Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat

mailto:pianotuna@yahoo.com	http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/

3004 Grant Rd. REGINA, SK, S4S 5G7
306-539-0716 or 1-888-29t-uner