 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Signe
Date: 2000-05-15 04:19
Does anybody know how to get the foul smell out of an old hard rubber mouthpiece? I've tried mild detergent, vinegar, and toothpaste. Nothing works. If there are no good answers, is there a way to prevent it from occuring?
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Author: drew
Date: 2000-05-15 14:11
Try soaking the mouthpiece in lemon juice overnight. I use a small juice glass and put the mouthpiece in tip down, filling the glass just short of the cork. Be sure to grease the cork before you start. Depending on how bad the smell is, it may take several treatments to reduce it to an acceptable level. Also wipe the mouthpiece down, inside and out, with a soft cloth. Often the hard rubber the mouthpiece is made of will oxidize, by wiping it you will remove the oxidation (will leave the cloth with a brown smudge).
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-05-15 16:46
It may be that the smell comes from the cork! Replacing it should not be over $10, hopefully!! Don
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Author: James
Date: 2000-05-16 02:11
Try Lime-Away. I use it to clean mouthpieces and it seems to work well. Let it soak in the Lime-Away for about 10 minutes. Use a mouthpiece brush to clean it with the Lime-Away and let it soak more. Do this about 3 or four times then rinse it with lukewarm water. Hopefully this will help. Good luck,
James
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-05-16 02:42
James,
Is Lime-Away safe for human consumption? We had this discussion before, and I don't believe that it is safe at all. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Lemon juice & vinegar are safe - I'd suggest either of those before I'd even think of using a chemical cleaner unless it's FDA approved for consumption.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-05-16 05:43
Like Drew, I prefer lime or lemon juice. Citric acid is a good strong cleaner and not a health hazard so long as you don't have any unusual allergy to citrus products. A tall skinny medicine bottle is perfect to soak in. If you use a brush with a metal core to scrub after soaking, be careful not to scratch the bore with the metal tip. I've found that an eyelash brush with plastic core and handle is good for tight places. Don't rinse with hot water, as this could warp the facing.
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Author: James
Date: 2000-05-16 20:58
Mark,
No, Lime-Away is not safe for human comsumption. You MUST wash the mouthpiece out with soap and water and rinse it well after you do the Lime-Away treatment. I should have written that in the response. DO NOT take your mouthpiece out of the Lime-Away and play it without washing the Lime-Away off. If you do this, there will not be any health dangers. Thanks for the prompt, Mark.
James
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Author: robin
Date: 2000-05-17 14:26
Make sure you clean out the shit from the tight spots of the mouthpiece, especially the chamber. I use a cotton tip, like one might use in their ears. I was amazed how much stuff was in there - it was red as well!
As soon as I'd cleaned it out - my tone was so much clearer!
I couldn't believe it had got so festy!
Robin
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Author: C. Hogue
Date: 2000-05-17 16:09
My favorite de-stink soak is that blue Listerine. It is *seriously* minty and it also disinfects. And the mint smell lasts for several weeks. Definitely safe for human consumption. I use the name brand Listerine, not the generics.
When I'm scrubbing nasty mouthpieces for bass & alto clarinets and for saxes, I use a child's small toothbrush to remove the crud.
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Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-05-18 06:27
Subjectively, I like the term crud better than that other stuff. Uninitiated folks who browse this board may wonder from which end you blow your horn.
ron b.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-05-18 13:09
Don Berger wrote:
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It may be that the smell comes from the cork! Replacing it should not be over $10, hopefully!! Don
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Thank you! This never even occurred to me, and certainly should have, given my flea market habits. I almost always have to replace deteriorated cork on a verminous old mpc anyway, so I strip it off before I disinfect the mpc. I use a mouthpiece brush, which is horsehair, to scrub inside and outside of the mpc with lukewarm water and dish detergent; then I soak the mpc in strong mouthwash; then rinse in plain water. After reading your message, I think I'll make replacing cork a priority on all smelly clarinets, even when the cork seems sound enough to salvage.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-05-18 17:44
Yure velcome, Lelia, the thought may have come from my recovery of "junker" cl's, when vinegar and/or rubbing alcohol treatment plus sunlight-exposure failed to make odors tolerable. Keep at it! Don
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