cleaning...

[JohnB]

how do i clean the mouthpiece and reed? some unwelcome aromas are beginning to arrive..

thanks
John

 

[Linky Lee]

Luke warm water and a soft scrub for the mouthpiece. You can get a 'mouthpiece brush' which will fit down it to scrub.

I've never cleaned a reed in my life.

 

[philthd]

i dry my reeds off on my sleeve when i take them off the piece - does that count?

getting lipstick on reeds is a nightmare - really deadens them and you just cant clean it off - thats the only other time ive tried to clean one

and i find if you give your piece a bit of a dry after use you only rarely have to do more significant cleaning

 

[Pete Thomas]

An old toothbrush is good for the mouthpiece - a soak in warm water and detergent first. No harm in using a bit of antiseptic mouthwash.

If really dried on crud, apply vinegar on a small pad to the inside affected bits and leave for a while (don't bathe the mouthpiece in vinegar or you'll be sorry)

More

 

[Thaumaturge]

I agree with Lee for cleaning. I also recommend drying the mouthpiece with a chamois after every use. Similarly wipe the reed on the chamois and return it to its holder. For me mouthpiece hygiene is part of personal hygiene. Think about it - you're going to stick that thing in your mouth every time you play!

 

[nick_cook]

getting lipstick on reeds is a nightmare - really deadens them and you just cant clean it off - thats the only other time ive tried to clean one

[color:green] I stopped using lipstick for that very reason!!!!
[/color]
😀

 

[Linky Lee]

try Maybellene New York. They've got a new smear free model 😉

 

[RedBottom]

I have an old, soft-bristled power toothbrush that I use to clean the outside and the 'fiddly' bits of my Lawton mouthpiece. I'm reluctant to push anything other than a damp cloth through the inside, though, because I was once told that even the tiniest scratches build up over time and can damage the bore.

Not sure whether a cloth soaked in a dilute sterilising solution wouldn't be OK though - for metal. Ebonite might be a different matter.

 

[Bobby G]

My mouthpieces get nothing more than a good dry with one of those caterpillar things made specifically for that purpose - I tend to pull it through a few times as well as give it a good agitate. The stuff on the outside gets wiped off as and when with whatever's to hand. Reeds just get dried quickly on a cloth, and my favourite one is always kept in my prized Mr Lucky 'Sax-o-Glue' reedholder, which also has absorbent tendencies. Smell-wise, nothing too overpowering as yet.

 

[sharon]

I've got a little piece of absorbent cloth that I use to swab through the mouthpiece and crook. Its a bit heath robinson as it is attached to some fly fishing line with a small lead weight to carry it down the neck. :S actually that's not very good is it. (seems to do the job though.

I don't clean my reeds though so perhaps I should as lots of mine have lipstick on them - didn't think it made a difference but perhaps it does. I'm off to clean them now with an old toothbrush I've got knocking around and we shall see.

Sharon

 

[Pauline]

I have the same problem with lipstick!
Even the super duper stuff like that made by Maybelline gets on - amazing as it is normally very very resistant!

I didn't know it might affect the sound though.......

 

[philthd]

perhaps this was the fault of my cheap, soapy "brands" of choice (ahh, hypervalue - ooh, tramms) but i know all my post-gig black-blue-and/or-silver-smeared reeds never played the same again once all that gunk had got itself embedded in the fibres of the cane.

it was like adding several hours playing wear in seconds - even worse than chips of nail varnish all over guitar strings (i just resigned myself to having undecorated fingers)

perhaps if id bought plasticovers they would have been protected

still - in many contexts "style" is at least as important as tone, right?

 

[suethesax]

Any lipstick not just your cheap stuff (or even lip balm) will get into the reed. A soft toothbrush helps but not if it's too clogged. If it's too clogged just chuck it 🙁

 

[Bobby G]

Also do not play too soon after consuming tomato soup

 

[rubies31]

Pete Thomas wrote:
(don't bathe the mouthpiece in vinegar or you'll be sorry)

can you exlain why?

TIA
Becky

 

[Pete Thomas]

It will attack the outside of your mouthpiece. Not a complete disaster but will make it look rather nasty, a bad thing if you ever want to sell it.

 

[nosaxyet]

I bought a silk pull through that I use after removing the reed and it works well to dry the whole sax including the mouthpiece.

As for cleaning, I use warm soapy water and a little mouthpiece brush and then once a week I soak the mouthpiece in Listerine for 5 minutes and scrub again with the brush. I also use listerine on me regularly!

As for the reeds, they get a good 'swill' in 'tap' hot water after use every time before going back into the reed case. Seems to work for me. 🙂