Klarinet Archive - Posting 000011.txt from 2004/10

From: ormondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: Re: [kl] Playing while sick
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2004 21:32:28 -0400

Audrey=A0Travis wrote:

> How do I kill germs on the reed and
> mouthpiece after playing when I have a bad
> cold?

Many 'germs' leave you with antibodies (and thus immunity) that endure
for a while.

A well-known sterilizer whose label promises not to damage hard rubber
--- some disinfectants warn you against using them on hard rubber --- is
"Sterisol". I've used it on my mouthpiece, which is now 5-6 years old,
without any harmful effect that I can observe. Soaking the mouthpiece
in a diluted solution for one minute will (according to the label)
"sanitize", and for ten minutes will "disinfect".

I would *not* use a disinfectant on a reed however. If I was worried
about re-infection, I'd trash the reed and play with a new one. Why?
The label instructs you to rinse the mouthpiece thoroughly before
putting it in back in your mouth. A reed presumably would absorb some
disinfectant that couldn't be rinsed away, and therefore you may (???)
end up with a burned or blistered lip ????

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org