 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: msroboto
Date: 2003-06-29 03:31
I have recently acquired a wooden instrument. The case smells but I am going to replace that so no worries there.
The instrument smells as well any advice on cleaning it to get rid of that funky smell.
I searched the board and found some stuff on cleaning a plastic instrument but not a wooden one.
Thanks
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2003-06-29 04:44
There is help on this site:
Try:
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Equipment/Care/Cleaning.html
Also, search the Klarinet archives for "murphy oil soap" without the quotes. I use the procedure recommended by Steve Prescott and Gary Hopkins.
Also check the Doctor's website. He might have something.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: leonardA
Date: 2003-06-29 05:11
I had some luck with swabbing the bore with listerine mint flavored mouthwash. I only left it in about a minute and then swabbed it out with a dry swab and oiled the bore immediately, which it needed anyway. I don't know if it would hurt the bore if you left it in too long, but I wouldn't take a chance. Also freshed up the case with Fabreze and let it dry in the sun, which eliminated the case odor.
Leonard
Post Edited (2003-06-29 05:12)
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Author: jbutler ★2017
Date: 2003-06-29 13:57
The smell permeates almost everything. Some clarinets are so bad that I can even detect the odor when buffing keys after the pads are take out. The heat from friction of the buffing wheel enhances this wonderful odor.
The good Dr has a product for odorous cases. I also buy a product from the local vacuum dealer for carpets. It has an enzyme that eats bacteria. I top that off with a product called Odo-Ban. I think the best solution is to buy a new case since some of the smell always creeps back.
I agree with BobD. The odor will not go away unless the clarinet has a repad at the least.
jbutler
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Author: msroboto
Date: 2003-06-29 14:35
I have a new case on order. I am concerned about transferring the smell from the clarinet into the new case.
I will have to think about the pad job. It seems like it could help. I really can smell it in the wood too.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-06-29 19:01
That is, remove the bell, take it in another room and give it a sniff. My opinion is that "most" of the horn smell comes from the pads but the tone holes can hold some too....as well as the bore. I certainly wouldn't put the horn in a new case without changing pads and cleaning the wood properly.
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-06-30 01:46
funky! - nice use of the word!!
The OED's definition:
funky adj. (-ier, -iest) slang (esp. of jazz or rock music) earthy, bluesy, with a heavy rhythm.
I'm gathering you meaned that the clarinet smells earthy - which gives me instant imagery!! LOL
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Author: msroboto
Date: 2003-06-30 02:37
I would say earthy does describe it. The song that was going through my head as I was writing this was Lynyrd Skynyrd "That Smell"
.....
Ooh, ooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, ooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you.
.....
The smell might not be as bad as death. It definitely is earthy. I left it out of the case over the weekend and it seems a bit better. We'll see. I would like to not do too much to it. I little baking soda maybe. The pads actually look really new but of course they have been in the funky case. There may be no alternative but to repad it.
Thanks everybody. I will look and see what the doctor might have too.
P.S.
The definition of funky from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online. It does mean offensive odor too.
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): funk·i·er; -est
Etymology: funk (offensive odor)
Date: circa 1899
1 : having an offensive odor : FOUL
2 : having an earthy unsophisticated style and feeling; especially : having the style and feeling of older black American music (as blues or gospel) or of funk <a slick, heavy beat that is unmistakably contemporary and irresistibly funky -- Jay Cocks>
3 a : odd or quaint in appearance or feeling b : lacking style or taste c : unconventionally stylish : HIP
- funk·i·ness noun
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2003-06-30 02:59
So what of the Grand Funk Railroad
And Funk and Wagnalls dictionary???
I think corks and cork grease have a lot to do with the smell.
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Author: Dawne
Date: 2003-06-30 08:59
Alseq asked, "what of the Grand Funk Railroad?" The members of Grand Funk Railroad went to my high school...or at least some did. The were from Flint, MI. Back then, I-69 did not skirt Lansing. If you wanted to continue south on 69 after arriving to the Lansing area from Flint ,you had to snake your way around town on some old roads to pick up I-69 south again. Over one of these little old 2 lane cracked roads, was an old rusty, peeling railroad bridge that had "Grand Funk" painted on it. That is where they got their name...I was told by someone who played in the band before it became famous.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-06-30 10:51
What about the product:
"Doctor’s Case Odor Eliminator™ - DT7"
in "Technicians Corner" at
http://www.doctorsprod.com/technician.html, from our sponsor.
Many of us have learnt to put complete trust in Doctor's Products.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2003-06-30 12:28
You should attack each of the problems separately. I would not use mouthwash on the wood. (Disclaimer - I sell wood cleaner, pad cleaner, cork cleaner, and case odor eliminator). The wood should be cleaned with a solution that will remove the dirt and grime (the wood probably is not porous enough to hold the odor causing agents) with a product that will not remove oil from the wood and will not raise the grain, and then reoil. The pads can be cleaned with a product designed to clean instrument pads (such as the new citrus based solvents that convert odor causing agents into non-odor compounds) but there is no guarantee that the agents causing the smell have not penetrated into the support under the outer surface of the pad. Unless it is a vintage case that you must keep then I would get a new case. Some of the new technologies including enzymes and citrus (d-limonene) based deodorizers will actually remove odor causing agents or change them chemically into non-odor compounds.
In order to be an odor the agent must be volatile and there are new products that combine with volitile chemicals to make them non-volatile and "smell" inert. Old cases often used horsehide glue to attach the covering and hold the structural components. Over time this type of glue is attacked by oxidizing agents in the air or bacteria (or as a food source for mold) and produces the characteristic "old case smell". Some of the new enzyme technologies will react with horsehide glue and remove this smell. In my experience the case must be retreated yearly to render the case smell free and help stabilize the glue remaining so that your covering does not fall off.
The Doctor
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-06-30 12:53
New product suggestion: Odor Eaters for clarinets
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Author: msroboto
Date: 2003-06-30 13:51
Thanks everybody and doc...
I have a new case on order. It should be here this week. I have left the clarinet out of the case over the weekend and it already seems much better. I am going to leave it out until I get the new case. I was and am worried about transferring the smell from the clarinet into the new case.
It is not totally odor free but the "taste" is mostly gone. Did I forget to mention the taste?
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