 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: leonard a
Date: 2003-02-16 19:26
I am rather new to the clarinet so this may seem like a silly question, but I'm wondering why one needs to use germicide to clean your mouthpiece if you're the only one using it. I gather that a lot of people do use it.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2003-02-16 21:55
I would say that most people do not use a germacide regularily on their own mouthpieces but only clean mouthpieces to remove build up of organic materials (food particles and bacteria and mold that grow on this medium) and the mineral deposits (often noted as a white material on the outside of the rails and inside the MP. A thorough rinsing with tepid water after use will usually make both kinds of build-up negligible for long periods of time. Some people have larger build-up of mineral deposits than others and these are sometimes difficult to remove.
Germacides - as sold for killing germs on mouthpieces are often either quaternary ammonium compounds or solutions that contain alcohol. It is important to note the wording - i.e. germacide will kill germs, presumably bacteria, but there must be a time and temperature component to know to what extent the product will render the mouthpiece either "sanitized" - usually physical removal and perhaps some killing of germs, or "sterilized" - the complete absence of germs.
The term germs itself is pretty generic and may or may not include viruses or some of the more hardy pathogenic bacteria. Most products that sterilize are much too harsh for mouthpieces and IMHO even the frequent casual exposure to quaternary ammonium compounds or alcohol is probalbly not good for mouthpieces in the long term.
The Doctor
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-02-17 02:04
So what would be the best chemical to use? Also, is it possible that some germicides could possibly change the make-up of the baffle, etc. by breaking down the rubber? I'm leary of using a bristled brush on a mouthpiece for this reason.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2003-02-17 02:29
Dear PJ - if you are just using the mouthpiece yourself there is no need to disinfect it since it is your own normal throat flora that is found in the mouthpiece. Just rinsing it with plain water between uses, then shake out the excess water and perhaps wipe the surface with a silk or microfiber cloth to remove any excess water droplets. As indicated, both alcohol and quaternary ammonium solutions can react (depending on the concentration, temperature, and length of exposure) with some of the vulcanized crosslinks (not so much in today's rubber but older vulcanized rubber). One might say that the damage is minimal but I would not like to have any damage at all. You can check the BB for past postings about cleaning mouthpieces for more information. Disclaimer - I sell a mouthpiece cleaning product.
The Doctor
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-02-17 02:37
I've used the same mouthpiece for the past 10 years and have only used water to clean it periocically (any of my m/p's, actually) as I've never let anyone else play on it. However, I had wondered in the event of a some sort of epidemic (i.e. flu, etc.) if one shouldn't clean their mouthpieces with germicides after recovery. Any thoughts on this?
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2003-02-17 12:14
Other than the organism that causes "strep throat" which you can re-infect yourself with, you have already built up a tolerence to the microganisms that normally live in your naso-pharyngeal cavity and once you have recovered, you have build up a defense of antibodies to the flu virus that you may have had.
Many of the germacidal sprays and solutions on the market will not kill viruses anyway.
The Doctor
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