Few things in a cleanout cause as much hand-wringing as a piano. It is enormous, it is heavy, someone in the family learned to play on it, and at some point a relative is sure to say that it must be worth something. Usually, sadly, it is not.
This guide covers piano disposal honestly. It starts with how to tell whether your piano has any value, then works through rehoming it, why moving it is the real cost, how to take one apart safely if it has reached the end, and where each part goes. It also covers digital pianos and organs, and a few ideas for keeping a piece of a piano that meant something.
The hard truth about old pianos
The market for used acoustic pianos has changed a lot. Digital pianos are cheaper, never need tuning, and fit in an apartment, so most beginners start on one. Meanwhile, generations of upright pianos bought in the twentieth century are reaching the market at the same time, as homes are downsized and estates are settled.
The result is that many older uprights, especially ones that need work, have little or no resale value. Free piano listings are common in most Ontario communities, and plenty of them sit for weeks.
There are exceptions. Pianos from well-known makers in good condition, newer instruments, well-kept grands, and working player pianos can still attract interest. But it is better to go in with realistic expectations than to spend months waiting for a buyer.
How to tell whether yours is worth anything
Start with the basics. The maker's name is usually on the fallboard, the hinged cover over the keys. The serial number is usually stamped on the cast iron plate inside the piano, visible when you lift the lid. Searching the maker and serial number tells you roughly when the piano was built.
Then look at condition:
- Does it hold a tune, and when was it last tuned?
- Are any keys sticking, silent, or uneven?
- Is the soundboard, the large wooden panel behind the strings, cracked?
- Are there signs of moths in the felt, water damage, or rust on the strings?
For a real answer, have a piano technician look at it. An assessment costs a fee, but it can save you paying movers to deliver a piano that the new owner will regret, or keep you from giving away one that deserves a good home. Look for a technician with the Registered Piano Technician designation.
Rehoming a piano
If the piano is playable, there are a few routes to a new home.
Free or low-cost listings work for decent instruments. Include the maker, model, and serial number, a photo of the inside with the lid open, the date of the last tuning, and an honest description of any problems. Say clearly that the buyer arranges and pays for the movers, and mention any stairs.
Schools, churches, community centres, and seniors' residences sometimes take pianos, but many already have one and turn donations down. Call before you assume, and expect them to ask about condition.
Piano dealers and rebuilders occasionally take good instruments, and some will take a trade-in when you buy a new piano or a digital one.
Family members get first refusal. Give them a deadline, though, or the piano will sit in limbo for a year.
Moving a piano is the real cost
Whatever happens to the piano, it has to be moved, and that is where most of the money and risk lie.
Most upright pianos weigh 300 to 500 pounds, and tall antique uprights can weigh more. Grand pianos range from about 500 pounds for a small baby grand to well over 1,000 pounds for a full-size grand. Weight is only part of the problem. Pianos are top-heavy, their weight is concentrated in the cast iron plate, and grand piano legs are not built for being dragged.
Piano movers have the equipment for this: padded skid boards, straps, and dollies, plus the experience to get a piano down a staircase without anyone getting hurt. For anything involving stairs, hire them. Carrying a piano down a flight of stairs with a few friends is how people get badly injured, and how floors and walls get damaged.
Pianos in condos and apartments
A piano on an upper floor adds a layer of building rules. Talk to the property manager before you book anyone. You will usually need to reserve the service elevator, sometimes with a deposit, and many buildings only allow moves during set hours. Many condo buildings also ask movers for a certificate of insurance before they can work in the building, which is one more reason to hire professionals.
Measure the elevator, the doorways, and any tight corners on the route. An upright is tall, deep, and heavy all at once, and a piano that fits through the apartment door may not fit in the elevator. Movers will ask for these measurements anyway, so having them ready speeds up the quote.
Timing a piano in an estate cleanout
In an estate or downsizing cleanout, deal with the piano first. Rehoming takes weeks, movers book up, and a piano sitting in the living room blocks everything around it.
A sensible order works like this. Decide early whether the piano will be kept, rehomed, or disposed of. If it is being rehomed, list it right away, with a firm deadline. If it is being disposed of, book the movers or plan the dismantling before the bin arrives, so the heavy parts can go in first and the rest of the cleanout fills in around them.
Taking a piano apart safely
If a piano has truly reached the end of its life, taking it apart where it stands is often easier than moving it whole. The pieces are manageable, and they can be carried out one at a time. But there is real danger in a piano, and you need to respect it.
The strings hold an enormous amount of combined tension. In a typical upright, it is commonly estimated at 35,000 to 40,000 pounds pulling on the frame. A string cut at full tension can whip out with real force.
Before you start:
- Wear safety glasses or a face shield, heavy gloves, and long sleeves.
- Have a helper for the heavy parts.
- Clear the area around the piano.
Then work in this order:
- Remove the lid, the fallboard, the music desk, and the front panels. Most lift off or are held by a few screws.
- Remove the action, the assembly of hammers that sits behind the keys, and then the keys themselves. The action is held in place by a few bolts or nuts.
- Release the string tension gradually and evenly, by loosening the tuning pins with a tuning lever, working back and forth across the piano rather than finishing one side first. Releasing tension unevenly puts uneven stress on the cast iron plate.
- Once the strings are slack, cut and remove them.
- Unbolt the cast iron plate. It is the heaviest single part, often well over 100 pounds, and needs at least two people to lift.
- Break down the wooden case.
If that sounds like more than you want to take on, it is perfectly reasonable to hire it out. There is no prize for doing it yourself.
Where each part goes
A dismantled piano breaks down into a few streams:
- The cast iron plate goes to a scrap yard as ferrous metal. Our scrap metal recycling guide explains how scrap yards work.
- The strings are steel, and the bass strings are wound with copper. They are worth a little as scrap.
- Pedals and hinges are often brass or brass plated. A magnet tells you which.
- The wooden case, soundboard, keys, and action go in a bin. Do not burn piano wood in a fireplace or wood stove, since the finishes and glues are not meant to be burned.
Older pianos may have ivory keytops. If you plan to sell the keys separately, look into the rules first, since trade in ivory is restricted, especially across borders.
Some parts are popular with crafters: keys, hammers, and decorative panels sometimes find takers through local listings. People have turned old piano cases into bookshelves, bars, and benches. If you have the inclination, it is a satisfying project.
Putting a piano in a bin
A piano can go in a rental bin, whole or in pieces. An upright fits in a 10-yard bin either way, but getting it in whole is the hard part, since lifting several hundred pounds over the side of a bin is not something to attempt by hand. Taking it apart first, or having movers place it, is much safer.
Plan for the weight. A standard rental includes 1 metric tonne of disposal, and an upright uses a sizable share of it. If the piano is part of a bigger cleanout, take the cast iron plate to a scrap yard instead to save weight for everything else.
Many municipal bulky item programs will not collect pianos at all because of the weight, so check before you leave one at the curb.
Our residential rentals put the bin on boards in your driveway, and our junk removal service works the same way: we deliver the bin, you or your movers load it, and we haul it away for one flat rate.
Digital pianos, keyboards, and organs
Digital pianos and electronic keyboards are electronics, so they belong in Ontario's electronics recycling system rather than the garbage. Working ones are easy to donate or sell. Our guide to e-waste disposal explains where they go.
Electronic organs are similar: the electronics go to e-waste recycling, while the wooden cabinet can go in a bin. Old pump organs and reed organs are lighter than pianos and are taken apart much the same way, minus the string tension.
Keeping a piece of it
When a piano carried a family's history, letting it go can sting. A few small gestures help.
Record someone playing it one last time. Keep the fallboard with the maker's name, a single key, or the music desk, which makes a lovely shelf. The bench is the easiest part to keep or rehome, since benches are useful long after the piano is gone. A photo of the serial number and the date it was built makes a good note for a family album.
Where we help
We help families with piano disposal as part of estate cleanouts, downsizing, and renovations across southern and eastern Ontario, including Port Hope, Picton, and the cities with their own junk removal pages, like Kingston and Hamilton. Our estate cleanout guide and furniture disposal guide cover the rest of the house. Tell us what is going, and we will help you pick the right bin.
