The True Cost of Neglecting Piano Maintenance and How Regular Care Saves You Money

Photo by Diogo Fagundes

Pianos are made to last a long time, but they need regular care to stay in good shape.

I often get called in to look at pianos that have been sitting untouched for years, even decades. Frequently, these instruments just need a bit of extra care to get them back in shape. But in other cases, the cost of repairs can outweigh the value of the piano itself.

Let me share a recent experience that illustrates why regular service matters.

A Real-Life Example: When It’s Too Late to Save a Piano Not long ago, a customer reached out to ask if she should accept a piano that a dear friend had bequeathed to her. She hoped to enjoy an instrument that had strong sentimental value, but she had a limited budget. She wanted to know if it would be worth the cost to move and repair. I inspected the piano and, unfortunately, the news wasn’t good.

While it looked fine from the outside, years of neglect had taken their toll on the piano. In addition to being way out of tune, the strings were heavily rusted and moths had done serious damage to the felt inside the piano, including the hammers. The moving parts inside were so tight that they barely worked (and some didn't). A similar piano in good shape could be purchased for half the cost of the repairs needed to make this one playable again.

In the end, she decided not to take the piano and found a better one elsewhere, saving herself thousands of dollars and a lot of frustration.

The Hidden Costs of Deferring Maintenance

Skipping regular service may seem like a way to save money in the short term. But over time, it almost always ends up costing more. Here’s why:

• Pitch Drift: When a piano hasn’t been tuned for years, the pitch often drifts too far to be corrected in a single tuning. It may need two or more tunings, sometimes requiring multiple visits to ensure the pitch remains stable.

• Increased Mechanical Wear: When keys or action parts aren’t maintained, small issues turn into big ones: hammers that are slow to return from the strings, heavy touch, or sticky keys that make playing more difficult.

• Structural Damage: Fluctuations in humidity can cause glue joints to fail, tuning pins to loosen, and cracks to develop in the soundboard or pinblock. These problems are easy to fix if they’re caught early, but left alone can grow into expensive repairs.

• Decreased Value: A well-maintained piano keeps its value. A neglected one becomes a costly project or, in some cases, a total loss.

Regular Care Makes All the Difference

Routine maintenance helps catch small problems before they become big repairs. Most of my customers tune their pianos every six months. This helps the piano stay stable and sound great, even with Minnesota’s changing weather.

If you are curious about how often you should have your piano tuned, I go into more detail in this blog post: How Often Should You Tune Your Piano (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)

Why This Matters in Minnesota

The weather here in Minnesota puts some unique stresses on a piano. Our summers are hot and humid, and our winters are bitterly cold and dry. These dramatic shifts cause the wood in a piano to expand and contract as humidity levels rise and fall.  This changes the tension of the strings, eventually causing the overall pitch of the piano to drop significantly. 

The swelling and shrinking affects other parts of the piano besides pitch as well. Most of the parts in a piano’s action are made of wood. As these parts expand and contract, the piano’s touch can become inconsistent or feel heavy. Sometimes they swell enough to get stuck on a neighboring part, causing poor repetition or a sticky key.

My Comprehensive Approach

Tuning is important, but it’s only one part of what keeps a piano in great shape. Every piano also needs regular care to keep its action working smoothly, and its tone balanced and beautiful. These additional steps often get skipped because they require extra skills or more time than a typical tuning includes. Sometimes they're offered as separate add-ons, which are easy to miss unless the customer knows to ask.

That’s why I created the Five Point Piano Tune-Up, to make sure your piano gets all the care it needs in a single, stress-free visit.  This all-inclusive service includes a fine tuning, light cleaning, touch-up voicing and regulation, and minor repairs (if needed), with no surprise fees. It’s designed to ensure your piano is well cared for, so you can enjoy a piano that sounds great and feels wonderful to play.

For pianos that have not been tuned for a long time, I also offer my Catch-Up Piano Care service. It is an extended service that includes everything in the Five Point Piano Tune up, plus additional time to bring your piano back to the correct pitch again.

Your Piano Deserves Better Than “Wait and See” It’s never too late to start taking good care of your piano. If it’s been more than a year since your last piano service, or if you’re considering buying a used piano, I’d be happy to help. I can assess its condition and give you a clear, honest recommendation. Click here to schedule your Five Point Piano Tune-Up 

(or, if you have questions, get in touch with me here. I’m here to help!)

I am proud to serve Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Chanhassen, Chaska, Mound, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, and the surrounding cities.