Klarinet Archive - Posting 000322.txt from 1998/03

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: Mould on reeds
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 14:43:05 -0500

I've partly forgotten what the first contributor said about this,
but I don' t think anyone's mentioned fumigating his/her instrument case
yet. This was the obvious course of action for the chap with the mouldy
French horn I mentioned a few days ago.
Clarinet reeds sometimes bite the lip, if it's a hard reed, and you are in
a
great hurry. I think the potted papyrus in my living-room will soon be
eating me - it's well over 6 feet high, apart from the horizontal bits
.....
Roger Shilcock
P.S. Did the person concerned ever carry sandwiches in the case?
It *is* done.

On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, Scott Morrow
wrote:

> Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 10:23:22 -0500
> From: Scott Morrow <sdm@-----.edu>
> To: klarinet <klarinet@-----.us>
> Subject: Re: Mould on reeds
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Takashi Kawai <kawai@-----.jp>
> To: klarinet@-----.us>
> Date: Thursday, March 05, 1998 4:55 AM
> Subject: Re: Mould on reeds
>
>
> >Several suggestions: (though you may already try them...)
> >
> > 1) Wash mouth and teeth before playing a clarinet.
> > 2) Wash the reed under running water after playing a clarinet.
> > 3) Dry the reed after washing the reed.
> > 4) Don't eat and drink while playing a clarinet.
> >
> > The mould needs humidity, warm temperature and foods.
> >So, the simplest method to prevent the mould from growing on reed is,
> >removing their foods from the reeds.
> >
> > To remove the mould, the commertial bleach works, as posted in the
> >past. However, if do so, be carefull to wash the reed well under
> >running water. The commertial bleach is poisonous and strong alkali.
> >It will harm your mouth.
> >
> --------- If you are going to use bleach, do not use it "straight out of the
> bottle"! Make a dilute solution (try the most dilute you can get away with
> that will work.) Some bottles of bleach actually do have "recipes" on the
> bottle telling the proper concentration for specific jobs. I've never seen
> one talk about reed mould, but I HAVE seen one that gave the procedure for
> making water safe for drinking in the event of an emergency (I think it was
> one teasoon of bleach per gallon of water). This is probably more the type
> of dilution you'd want to try.
> (Name brand bleaches are more likely to have this type of information on
> the label, but that doesn't mean you have to buy that brand for it to work!)
>
> -Scott
>
> PS. Incidentally, what DO reeds eat?
>
> -SDM
>
> Scott D. Morrow
> DNA Synthesis Core Facility
> Department of Biochemistry
> The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
> Baltimore, MD 21205
> (410) 955-3631
>
>