“Piano Life Saver” from Dampp-Chaser

Swings in the humidity level in a room can be detrimental to your piano. An inconsistent moisture content can cause your piano to quickly drop out of tune and cause damage to the wooden piano components. Here at Stryke Tuning we highly recommend protecting your beloved instrument with a Piano Life Saver System from Dampp-Chaser. This dual humidifier/dehumidifier is one of the best ways to ensure your piano stays in top working order.

The Piano Life Saver System is an internal humidity control system that is engineered to protect what is arguably one of the world’s most complex musical instrument. The vast majority of the many parts of a piano are made of wood. It’s a remarkable piece of engineering and a wonder of construction. Many of the world’s most respected piano makers build their instruments today in almost exactly the same manner as they did over 100 years ago. They go to great lengths to assure that the many species of wood used in the construction of their instruments are carefully chosen and dried to the proper moisture content. It is extremely important that this moisture content is maintained throughout the life of the piano. Piano makers deem this so important that they usually include a clause in their warranties that excludes coverage to instruments that have been subjected to extremes of temperature and humidity.

The most critical step in piano care and maintenance is keeping it in an environment where the relative humidity (RH) and temperature are stable at approximately 45% and 70 F respectively. Ambient humidity levels determine the moisture content of the wooden parts in your piano, and the moisture content determines the dimension and integrity of the wood.

Unfortunately, creating and maintaining that environment is difficult, even impossible in some areas. The world is a very diverse place climatically. In the driest areas, like the southwestern US, getting the humidity level up to 45% is difficult, while in regions of higher humidity like the Gulf Coast, getting it down to that level is nearly impossible. Many areas like Central Texas have both of these problems, depending on which season it is! Humidity levels can be all over the charts!

Attempting to keep the humidity in your entire home at a constant 45% is extremely challenging and may not even be desirable. Every time you walk out the door, the humidity level you worked so hard to achieve goes right out with you. The same thing happens when you come in from outside. You bring the uncontrolled outdoors in with you. During the hot humid time of year, your air conditioner, while it is running, will lower the humidity somewhat. The second it stops, the humidity starts to climb again until the air conditioner comes back on.  Since it is designed to regulate temperature, not humidity, it turns off once the set temperature is reached, with no regard for the humidity level.

The Piano Life Saver System is an easy to maintain solution to the problems listed above. No other system can achieve the results of the Piano Life Saver System for a comparable cost or expenditure of effort. We highly recommend these systems to our customers!

When the Humidistat senses that the humidity level is too low, it activates the Humidifier adding to the moisture in the air inside the piano. When it senses that the level is too high, it activates the Dehumidifier. The Humidistat is the brain of the system. It senses whether the micro-climate inside the piano is optimal and automatically switches the system to function as a Dehumidifier or Humidifier to protect your piano from damage caused by changes in humidity. This shallow cycle continues day after day, year after year, protecting your piano from external conditions. Please note that installation of the Piano Life Saver System is NOT intended to supplant regular tuning and maintenance by your piano technician. It is designed to increase the serviceable life of your instrument and keep it playing and sounding its best between regular service intervals.

Maintaining your Piano Life Saver system is easy! When the water light starts blinking, you'll add a certain amount of water and pad treatment solution through a hidden watering tube. This occurs about every 2-3 weeks usually. When the pads light starts blinking, the humidifier pads need to be changed.  That's usually every 6 months or so.  That's it!

Protect your prized instrument, and stabilize your piano's pitch! Don't wait until rust or cracks occur to take this step. A Piano Life Saver system is a sound investment that will pay for itself over time due to pitch stabilization and prevented damage from humidity fluctuations.

Purchase comes with a 5-year warranty from Dampp-Chaser that covers all parts of the system. Stryke Tuning is a certified installer of the Piano Life Saver system.

Because this system stabilizes the climate for your instrument, installation of this product requires a follow-up tuning for your piano 3-4 weeks later after it has had time to adjust to its new environment. One (1) FREE fine-tuning is included with the purchase and installation of this system. That's a $199 value! If it happens to need a pitch correction (hopefully the last one!) with that fine-tuning, that is a separate charge.

Request a quote for the Piano Life Saver, and let’s protect your piano while making it even more enjoyable with longer lasting tunings!