Short answer
Yes, but use a climate-controlled unit, because humidity swings are what damage pianos. The soundboard swells and shrinks as the air changes, which knocks the piano out of tune and can crack the wood. Plan on a tuning once it's back home.
A piano can sit in storage for months and come out fine, as long as the air around it stays steady. A regular unit, with summer damp and winter dryness, is a real risk to a piano’s soundboard and glue joints.
Why pianos are sensitive
A piano is mostly wood, and wood moves with humidity. A piano maintenance handout from Southern Utah University explains that changing humidity is “the most common reason pianos go out of tune.” In humid months the soundboard swells and pushes pitch sharp. In dry winter air the pitch goes flat.
Sudden swings do lasting damage. The University of Delaware’s art conservation program warns that quick, dramatic swings in temperature and humidity “can cause lasting damage to an instrument,” and pianos are one of the instruments it names. It describes a long crack in a spruce soundboard caused by that kind of wood movement.
The conditions to aim for
The same Southern Utah University handout cites the Piano Technicians Guild’s recommendation of about 68°F and 42% relative humidity, held steady. That’s close to the National Park Service target for wooden objects of 50%, plus or minus 5%.
No storage facility will hold 42% exactly. What matters most is avoiding large swings, which is what humidity-controlled storage is for.
How to prepare a piano for storage
- Hire piano movers. Pianos are heavy and top-heavy. Upright pianos should stay upright, and grands are usually moved on their side on a piano board.
- Close the lid and fallboard. The University of Delaware program recommends keeping the keyboard covered with the fallboard closed.
- Cover it with a breathable cloth or padded piano cover, not plastic sheeting, which can trap moisture.
- Keep it off the concrete. Set it on a pallet or the movers’ dolly boards.
- Leave space around it. Keep it away from the unit walls and the door, and don’t stack boxes on it.
Choosing the unit
- Climate-controlled, with humidity control. Ask what humidity the building holds in summer and winter.
- Ground floor or elevator access. A ground-floor unit near a loading door makes the move far easier.
- Big enough to walk around. A spinet or upright needs less space than a grand. Measure the piano and add room for access.
When it comes home
Give the piano time indoors before tuning, so the wood can settle to your home’s humidity. Then have a technician tune it and check the action.
Ground-floor access matters most for a piano. Read whether a ground-floor unit is worth paying for, then compare verified options near you, for example climate-controlled storage in Philadelphia.