 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: C@p
Date: 2002-05-25 21:33
Going through the basement today I found an old “The Edgeware” Boosey & Hawks (London) clarinet with a lot of little moldy things spotted in and about the grain of the clarinet. It has a serial number of 434xx and I picked it up at a flea market for $10.00 about 8 years I go or so because it only cost $10.00. It was worth every penny of it (and no more) at that time.
My questions are:
Is there a web site someone already knows and will share which will let me trace the history of the horn, and
How do I get rid of the little moldy spotty things? I have checked under “mold” in the archives and it seems that the posts on the first 6 pages of the archive relate to mold on reeds, mouthpieces and/or cases, molded cases, orange peels and putting clarinets in the freezer to prevent mold, but not on mold on and perhaps in the body of the clarinet and how to clean it up.
Also, any other comments about this clarinet will also be appreciated.
Thanks
C@p
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Author: Monica
Date: 2002-05-26 00:55
I checked the Boosey and Hawks website but i didn't find anything on this clarinet so i emailed them and i'll let you know what they say.i also checked on mildew on/in the clarinet but couldn't find anything but i recomend taking it to an instrument repair shop.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-05-26 02:00
C@p wrote:
...
> Is there a web site someone already knows and will share which
> will let me trace the history of the horn, and
...
> Also, any other comments about this clarinet will also be
> appreciated.
There's a gazillion comments on this model if you try a search right here.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-05-26 02:10
I had a moldy clarinet come to me once. I stripped the keys off it and mixed a solution of 10% bleach and water. I sat the clarinet down in it and waited a while until the mold disappeared. Afterwards I dried it thoroughly with compressed air, let it stand a day or two then oiled with the famous Dr's oil inside and out. I let it soak up as much oil as it could and then waxed the outside with Bee's wax. It turned out great. I think it was a Noblet, but hey, it worked.
jbutler
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Author: Willie
Date: 2002-05-26 05:52
I agree with JButler on this as we both live in an area (subtropical) known for fungi surprises when you open a case. I recently opened my old Jeffrey up and found it FULL of fungi. Since it was my own horn, I knew it had been swabbed and cleaned before putting away.
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-05-26 16:41
Righton JButler! It certainly is mildew and it's undoubtedly on the pads and corks and in the case. As far as I know household bleach(sodium hypochlorite) is the only thing that kills it. Sunlight will eventually kill it but it's not foolproof. Personally I'd be careful not to inhale strongly around it. As regards the case either throw it away or remove and throw away all the insides and expose the shell to the sun's light or an ultraviolet lamp for an extended period of time.
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Author: C@p
Date: 2002-05-26 17:09
Thanks to all for responding and keep it up if you get more info or tips for me.
Mark. I did try the archives first but like I posted in my start of this thread and found many many pages with none of the inital one's addressing my specific inquiry.
JButler, you write: "I stripped the keys off it and mixed a solution of 10% bleach and water."
While I know that the horn if full of moisture when played on a regular basis, that is somewhat different than soaking a piece of wood in liquid. Normally, one would expect serious warping. On the other hand, I have heard that clarinet wood is so dense it sinks and will not absorbe water like a piece of pine.
I guess my question is to confirm that soaking will not cause the basic finished structure of the wood to warp.
As to the case, I once used Lysol, bleach solution, and water and a wet vac to suck up the cleainging fluieds and it did a good job on the case except that the glue underneath the felt "melted" and to some degree came up into the knap of the felt and it looked and felt like a punk rocker's crew cut.
Thanks again
C@p
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-05-27 15:32
C@p: We who are not professional technicians tend to get hung up about what you can and can't do to the wood. I am under the impression that immersing the bare stripped wood sections in various liquids is not uncommon.....when done by people who know what they're doing....that's where experience comes in...My novice experience so far has been that mildew once in/on a clarinet is very difficult to eliminate . The pads certainly are "infected" and I am of the opinion that replacement is the only option there. I tried Lysol spray on the velvet too...once. Better to trash it outright.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-05-27 17:09
John certainly has a drastic solution but he has enough experience to know what to do and end up with a good result. There are other treatments primarily used in hospitals to sterilize equipment (ethylene oxide gas, gamma irratiation, etc.) but these are not readily avialable to the lay person and should not be used by anyone not trained in their use. Once cleaned and disinfected to the best practical level then keeping the relative humidity level below 50% will not allow those pesky spores to fluorish into the vegetative state. A good tightly sealed case with desiccant should do the job. Good luck.
The Doctor
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-05-27 23:18
All,
Don't get too alarmed here. It would only take a few minutes and the wood would not, having natural oils, be harmed by such a procedure. Also, the wood is dense enough to avoid "warpage". Another approach might be to take a tooth brush and dip it into the solution, scrub parts of the clarinet, and then dry with toweling.
In extreme cases sometime extreme measures are necessary. Perhaps you could try "sun" bathing it.
jbutler
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-05-28 13:53
Omar, or anybody else with (bio)chemistry expertise ....
There is product used by washers of houses, claimed to be harmless to a wide range of plants, (I suppose relatively) non-hazardous and non-irritant.
It is alkyl-dimethyl-benzyl-ammonium chloride.
It "controls and helps to prevent re-establishment of algae, bacteria, fungi, yeasts, mosses and some liverworts"
Would that list cover mould on clarinets?
Would it be a preferable alternative to bleach?
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-05-29 13:24
doc...dessicant in the case versus some form of moisture level control? If you put dessicant in the case won't it remove moisture from the clarinet? seems confusing
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