I have never seen pollen like we have this year. It is awful. I can go outside and look against a dark background and you can see this cloud of fine grains moving with the breeze. This occurs for several days! We are breathing that stuff in, no way around it.

I went to my storage room, which I rent from a place. Typical storage unit with the door that rolls up and down. Thus, the seal at the bottom is not exactly flush. Pollen gets in there. I wonder about gear. Have you ever had a concern for pollen? I don't have covers for... an old keyboard, some speakers, a mixer or two, etc. What would you do?

Pollen terrible here too. Mostly Red Oak. You can see tracks in the road through it. I've had to stay indoors mostly because of allergies. I keep my gear well covered. Pollen is silica (think ground glass). Do what you must to keep it out of your gear even if you have to move your best stuff home and stack it up.

In fact, I just went and got the things I could haul home. I wonder about using compressed air to blow it out but... take a speaker or keyboard apart?

generally dust isn't too much of a problem except in the case of electro mechanical parts (switches, contacts and controls). Compressed air (not too high PSI) is a good idea.

The only time I can recall pollen causing a problem was when it plugged the air-intake filters on an amp's cooling system. It was a monster, fan-cooled amp that drew air in from the outside, blew it across the tubes and out a grill in the bottom of the amp. The filter plugged and everything overheated. Keep in mind, however, that this took place after playing a nightly Tiki Bar during the height of pollen season. I seriously doubt that there would be a problem for those performing indoors.

Also a good reason to keep your gear stored in zippered cases.

Good luck,

Gary

Pollen, unless blown by high wind, only tends to settle on things. Even a plastic garbage bag over your uncovered keyboards (not a cloth of any kind) will stop the pollen (and dust) settling down inside the keyboard, getting on key contacts, switches, sliders (especially vulnerable to contaminants), wheels etc..

Long term, you can get two plastic bags (I like the heavy duty garden leaf or big garbage can size), slip the keyboard in one, slip the other end in another (if the one is not big enough to close) and duct tape the two shut.

Pretty cheap long term storage, and proof against roaches and other creepy crawlys, too...

Funny you should mention this semilivemusic, as I have been thinking about starting a similar thread. Everytime spring I get ants that love my tyros 2. Very wierd! They don't like any other keyboard in my studio. Anyways I've been spraying alot which has helped but i can't help but wonder "why?"

Ants are a problem several times a year here in Florida. While I haven't had the problem in my keyboards, the household problem has been solved by a product called "Terro" available at most hardware stores.
Eddie

According to Ian, it's because of all the 'sweet' sounds that reside in the Tyros 2.



chas

Your treasured equipment should be stored *covered* in that environment.

Zipper bags, boxes, toad cases, in a pinch, large plastic trash bags can protect your gear from dust, moisture and even pollen intrusion.

Years ago we had a problem with two species of ants here in the People's Republic of Maryland--sweet ants and carpenter ants. We tried everything we knew to keep them out of the house, but nothing, including a very expensive exterminator program, worked. Then I tried a diluted solution of Avon Skin So Soft, sprayed it around the foundation, and that was the end of the ants. Apparently, ants, and many other insects, breath through their thorax. The vapor from Skin So Soft was such that when they approached it they could not breathe. Been using it every spring since then and the problem has been solved--bugs are gone.

Unfortunately, we now have a problem with squirrels, which eat everything in site, especially if the item has some sodium content. The only thing that repels squirrels is lead fired from a rifle or shotgun barrel. Just a few years ago I had my car's brake line gnawed by a squirrel, which damned near caused an accident. I put on the brakes and they went to the floor. The mechanic showed me where they had been gnawed through. We've also had wiring, plastic gas cans, gas can caps, flower pots and a host of other things gnawed by those nasty tree rats. I'm sure that if your keyboard were stored in a garage, shed, etc.., that was not squirrel proof they would eat the damned thing down to the keyboard stand.

Gary