Humidity and Your Piano: What Every Chicago Piano Owner Should Know
By Eathan Janney, Founder — Floating Piano Factory
Of all the factors that affect a piano’s condition, humidity is the one most piano owners underestimate — and the one that causes the most long-term damage.
Chicago’s climate makes this especially relevant. Our winters are cold and dry. Our summers are humid. The swing between January and July can stress a piano significantly, and understanding how to manage it can make a real difference in how long your instrument lasts and how well it plays.
How Humidity Affects a Piano
A piano is primarily a wooden instrument. The soundboard, bridges, pin block, action parts, and cabinet are all made of wood, and wood responds to moisture in the air.
When humidity rises, wood absorbs moisture and swells. The soundboard increases its upward bow (called “crown”), which raises string tension — and pitch rises with it.
When humidity drops, wood releases moisture and contracts. The soundboard flattens, string tension decreases, and pitch falls.
This cycle — swelling in summer, contracting in winter — happens every year. Over time it stresses the glue joints, the soundboard itself, and the wooden components of the action. It is a primary driver of long-term deterioration in pianos that are not protected.
What the Ideal Humidity Range Is
The Pianoforte Foundation and most major manufacturers recommend maintaining relative humidity between 45 and 70 percent around your piano, with 45 to 55 percent being the sweet spot.
Sustained low humidity (below 30 percent) causes:
- Pitch to drop
- Soundboard cracking
- Glue joint failures
- Action parts to loosen or stick
Sustained high humidity (above 70 percent) causes:
- Pitch to rise and become unstable
- Keys to feel sluggish or stick
- Metal parts to corrode
- Felt and leather components to swell and bind
Why Chicago Is Particularly Hard on Pianos
Chicago winters are genuinely harsh for pianos.
When outdoor temperatures drop and we turn on the heat, indoor relative humidity often falls to 20 to 30 percent — well below the safe range for pianos. Forced-air heating is especially drying. The piano’s soundboard contracts, pitch drops, and the cumulative stress on wooden components accumulates.
In summer, Chicago’s humidity can swing the other direction — sometimes climbing to 70, 80, or even 90 percent during humid spells.
A piano in an untreated Chicago room is experiencing this full cycle every year. Without some form of humidity management, this accelerates wear.
What You Can Do
Room Humidifier or Dehumidifier
The most straightforward approach is to manage the humidity of the room your piano lives in.
A quality whole-room humidifier in winter can keep indoor humidity in a safer range. In summer, a dehumidifier or central air conditioning (which removes moisture) helps on the high end.
This approach protects not just the piano but the room, and it is the preferred solution for instruments in large or open spaces.
Watch for placement: do not place a humidifier directly next to the piano, and do not let humidifier mist blow directly onto the instrument. The goal is ambient room humidity, not targeted moisture.
Piano-Specific Humidity Control Systems
For pianos in rooms where whole-room humidity management is not practical, an in-piano humidity control system is worth considering.
The most established product in this category is the Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver System. It installs inside the piano and includes a humidifier element, a dehumidifier element, and a humidistat that activates each as needed. The system maintains stable humidity specifically around the piano’s soundboard and action — the parts that matter most.
These systems require some maintenance (the humidifier reservoir needs to be refilled) but are generally low-effort and effective. Many technicians, myself included, recommend them for Chicago clients with valuable instruments or instruments in poorly controlled rooms.
Where to Place the Piano
This matters more than most people realize.
Avoid exterior walls — walls that face outside absorb cold, creating temperature and humidity differentials that stress the instrument.
Avoid heating and cooling vents — direct airflow from HVAC systems causes rapid humidity swings right at the piano.
Avoid windows — particularly south- or west-facing windows where direct sunlight can heat the instrument and cause temperature-driven humidity swings.
Avoid fireplaces and radiators — the drying heat is concentrated and severe.
The ideal placement is on an interior wall, away from direct sunlight and direct HVAC airflow, in a room where the temperature stays relatively consistent year-round.
Signs Your Piano May Be Suffering from Humidity Problems
Watch for these signals:
- Pitch drifts noticeably between tunings — the piano that was well-tuned in October sounds flat by February
- Keys feel sluggish, stick, or are harder to press — especially in summer humidity
- The piano sounds dull or muffled — can indicate low-humidity soundboard flattening
- Cracks visible on the soundboard — usually visible when looking through the strings, this is a serious sign of long-term humidity neglect
- Squeaks or clicks from the action — can indicate swelling or shrinking of wooden action parts
None of these problems are necessarily catastrophic if caught early, but they signal that humidity management deserves attention.
What to Tell Your Piano Technician
When I visit a client’s piano, I always check for humidity-related conditions. If your piano shows signs of humidity stress, I will tell you — and I will give you practical recommendations for your specific room and instrument.
This is part of what distinguishes premium piano care from a routine tuning visit. The goal is not just to tune the piano today, but to help you understand how to protect the instrument for years to come.
Ready to Schedule?
If you are in Chicago or the surrounding area and want to have your piano evaluated — including a humidity assessment and care recommendations — I would be glad to help.
Eathan Janney is the founder of Floating Piano Factory and has been tuning pianos professionally since around 2000. He serves clients throughout Chicago, New York, and beyond.