The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jeeves
Date: 2009-06-09 02:44
How exactly do you clean a silk swab. I used very dilute dish soap. Is this too harsh?
Jeeves
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Author: pewd
Date: 2009-06-09 03:42
a few drops of dish soap in the kitchen sink, swish around in warm water. rinse and hang it over my stand to let it dry.
i do this maybe once every , oh, 4 months or so. 2-3 times a year.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2009-06-09 05:26
I pull the chain weight off of the drop string and toss the swab in the normal laundry cycle. Silk is tough stuff.
Bob Phillips
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2009-06-09 21:58
I never wash my swabs; I like to carry a little "history" around with me.
Besides, there's a certain "yuck factor" that's impressive to my younger students.
(No, there have never been any virulent disease outbreaks in my vicinity.)
B.
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Author: jeeves
Date: 2009-06-10 03:08
ewww...well I am forced to wash mine because it slowly becomes more shriveled up due to spit and absorbs less over time. Thanks for teh suggestions.
Jeeves
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2009-06-10 14:40
When my swabs start getting over-ripe, I wash them out in Woolite with cool water, in the sink, and line-dry them. It's probably true that they'd go through the washer without problems. Grocery stores and dollar stores sell little bags made of lightweight net, for laundering things like shoelaces, so that they don't get all tangled up around other clothes. Putting the swab with its string into one of those bags would probably work out well.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-06-10 14:46
I must be a Neanderthal - I never thought about washing my shoelaces.
By the time I wash my swabs (cotton), they are so ripe that the missus refuses to put them in the same laundry cycle as the kids' gym socks. So I wash them by hand in the bathroom sink.
--
Ben
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Author: Lynn
Date: 2009-06-12 23:55
Bruce M.
I'd wager that your unwashed swabs smell like either a pig pen or ripe roadkill. Do your students (those who tolerate the "Yuck Factor") a favor, and invest in a little antibacterial soap from time to time. It does wonders for the smells that eminate from a "historical" swab like yours. You also might consider teaching those students how to wash their own swabs from time to time. Those students might gain a little more appreciation for their teacher. It ain't rocket science!
Lynn
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2009-06-13 15:57
Lynn,
Points and a question:
- Thanks for the unsolicited advice.
- My swabs don't smell like a pig pen.
- My swabs don't smell like ripe road kill.
- My students generally appreciate me and do very well.
- I'm not going to give them swab washing lessons.
- Do I need to wash the ones already in my gallery, then?
- That was a joke.
B.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2009-06-14 02:35
(Disclaimer - I am maker and seller of the Black Legend Silk Swab)
My experience is that you treat a very high quality silk swab with the same care as a silk shirt or blouse which means no harsh detergents and cold water and air dry. The run of the mill handkerchief silk swabs may not visibly suffer too much with hot water and harsh detergent but heavy weight silk will shrink and "pucker" with hot water and harsh soap treatment. Any detergent meant for silk or other delicate clothing - e.g. Woolite - and cool water is best. Silk does loose absorbency with accumulated oil from the bore and other detritus. Absorbency of silk is great but based on the absolute mass and thickness of the silk (design a little too).
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2009-06-20 00:12
(There's a lot that Lynn doesn't need to know about my clarinet accessories, then.)
I do, however, brush my teeth and gargle before I play my horn.
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