[pianotech] mold!

Noah Frere noahfrere at gmail.com
Wed Sep 26 13:20:16 MDT 2012


I picked up an old Conover upright, about 100 years old give or take, a
couple years ago. Yes it was in the rain before I picked it up. Yes I
should have prepped it and sold it long before now. Yes, while I was gone
all summer my shop (basement) grew millions of mold spores and covered the
inside and outside of the piano. Yes I should probably throw it in the dump.

However, I don't really want to. Here are some pictures showing what the
mold looked like, before I cleaned most of it off with a vacuum (on the
inside) and air compressor for the action (which does a little only). I
sprayed the soundboard, back posts and ribs with white distilled vinegar
and then scrubbed it with vinegar/baking soda (as i did with the floor
joists comprising the basement ceiling), and wiped it down. That part looks
pretty good now. The pictures show the parts I missed. Some of what you see
is also just dust/dirt.

I don't really want to brush off every little piece of wood and whippen
with a toothbrush and vinegar or soaply water, etc., but I think I need to
be really thorough here. I have now see the power of mold as a reproducing
organism, and it is not to be trifled with. I read the short article in the
Journal about mold and pianos (thank you PTG Journal dvd, you are amazing),
which wasn't really thorough enough. So my thought is buy, or build a
sandblasting cabinet and blast the whippens and keys, etc. I have not read
the sand-blasting articles yet in the Journal from the 80's or 90's I
guess, though I have found them and plan to read them soon.

SO, my question is, is everyone in agreement I should junk the piano? The
mold was quite bad. Will sandblasting work? I know it's not a monetarily
wise investment at this point, but I feel responsible for it.
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