 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2006-08-21 16:50
I have seen many people mention, especially in the confessions thread, that they swab out their mouthpiece along with the rest of the instrument. I am among that number, and since it appears to be about the most common "confession", I would suspect it is not the recommended cleaning method.
Hans recently told me about washing my mouthpiece with warm soapy water (and I assume keeping the cork end out of the water), but that would seem to be a periodic (monthly?) maintenance thing. It doesn't tell me how to clean it out following band practice/performance or as part of my daily post-practice routine.
What is the way to clean the mouthpiece when putting away the clarinet?
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2006-08-21 17:07
Here is what I do.
After finishing each practice session I simply run cool water through the mouthpiece. Since I practice often I usually don't bother with that after rehearsals. Every now and then I will wash with some hand soap using tissue to clean inside. Be sure to rinse well. Once I must not have rinsed good enough and entertained the wind section by having bubbles blowing from under some of the pads. Maybe this should be in the confessions post.
Running a swab through takes the risk of gradually altering the mouthpiece dimensions.
I wouldn't worry about keeping the cork out of the cleaning.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-21 17:13
Since your mouthpiece cork should be well greased anyway, water won't do it any harm.
I usually run lukewarm water through from the tenon end and dry with kitchen roll. But don't keep rubbing the facing or rails or you'll wear these out over time.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: susieray
Date: 2006-08-21 17:24
I rinse it with water maybe once a month and dry it with Q tips. I never use a swab.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-08-21 17:41
I use glass mps on sop, alto and bass cls, so facing wear is no problem [to worry about}. I dry my mps with a clean white handkerchief after reh./conc., swab the bores with chamois and silk, and about once a week, immerse the mp up to just below the cork in white vinegar to loosen/remove white deposits [both of carbonate and organic [lip] character]. No problems from simple solutions. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: BelgianClarinet
Date: 2006-08-21 19:52
Do you really think that moutpiece surface wears by pulling a swab through/over it ? are you using sanding paper ;-)
It looks to me that my nice soft piece swab can't harm that much.
Anyhow I'l check with my collegues (some 25 clarinetist - mostly amatures and a few pro's) what the 'standard' method is here, but I think most just swab.
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2006-08-21 20:13
I have always used silk swabs as they seem to soak up the water better than those cotton swabs or brushes, or those ersatz "chamois" (actually a cloth or felt-like stuff -- not real leather) swabs. I understand that cotton and that imitation chamois are abrasive, where as silk and real chamois are not. Is this wrong?
Eu
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Author: BobD
Date: 2006-08-21 22:50
Rinse with water as soon after playing as is convenient and wash it when you wash your hands...with your hands. Don't worry about the cork. Unless it's a wood one don't bother to dry it. That's for routine after playing cleaning. Mouthpieces probably! eventually get tartar just like your teeth, or tobacco crud. If you see such deposits do a search here for opinions.
Bob Draznik
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Author: pzaur
Date: 2006-08-22 00:20
I just through it in the dishwasher. If it can clean dishes, it can clean my mouthpiece.
-pat
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2006-08-22 01:14
(Disclaimer - I sell a mouthpiece cleaner)
This may be an old and tired explanation for many BB'ders. Accumulations on mouthpieces are generally of two types - the inorganic mineral deposits on the outside and inside most commonly noticed as white or brown and the miniscule food particles inside the mouthpiece. Some people are more prone to forming these deposits because of their saliva content than others.
Rinsing out a mouthpiece after every use with cool water, and not eating shortly before playing are good practices that cut down on build up. It sounds as if many practice good cleaning techniques but those on the fringes - including many professionals do not. Playing a show-bar gig where you are hot (which concentrates saliva) and get a band break at 12:00 A.M. and are hungry for a small nosh and finishing at 2:00 A.M. does not lead to cleaning anything thoroughly - -- just sleep.
I do not put any object in my mouthpiece to clean it (just my mantra) Will a silk swab wear away the window or rails ? ... probably not for a long time. Food dried in the MP or mineral deposits dried on and in the mouthpiece may become pretty immune to swabbing after a while however. Many mineral deposits can be removed by soaking in a 50% acetic acid (white vinegar is good) solution for 15 min. now and again - some use lemon juice (citric acid) - but this only removes calcium carbonate and not all mineral deposits. Some mineral deposits need a more strong chemical or physical removal (a soft toothbrush works sometimes) if they are allowed to build up over time. Stronger treatments may damage hard rubber so be careful.
My experience from giving free mouthpiece cleaning clinics at ClarinetFests over the years is that many players are not good about keeping deposits and organic build up inside their MP at bay. The dried food particles soften to some extent with playing and become an ideal breeding ground for mold, mildew, and bacterial growth. If your mouthpiece smells (other than an old sulphur smell from some vintage mouthpieces) you may have this incubator going in your MP.
Routinely cleaning with soapy water and rinsing after playing are good preventative measures. Physical removal with a swab or fingernail around you MP patch helps too. Some people who are "depositors" may need some extra cleaning help.
L. Omar Henderson
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-22 06:10
"I just through it in the dishwasher. If it can clean dishes, it can clean my mouthpiece."
Blimey O'Riley! I hope you're joking! This should be on the 'Confessions...' thread!
Dishwashers heat the water around 80°C+, and this will do damage to your mouthpiece, and after the water has gone, the heater element comes on to 'dry' everything, and this can soften and distort your mouthpiece.
I use kettle descaler from time to time to clean my (metal) sax mouthpieces with - I haven't used it on my ebonite clarinet mouthpieces - though there's very little mineral build-up in them.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2006-08-22 06:17)
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Author: 2E
Date: 2006-08-22 06:53
The way to clean an ebonite mouthpiece is with luke-warm soapy water. Dont worry about getting the cork wet, itll be fine. As for the mouthpiece - pat dry the outside with a towel, i normally would do ONE pull through to dry the inside but this is a bad thing. Sticking anything in ur mouthpiece from a swab to a toothbrush risks slowly but surely wearing away the tip rails over time. I dont know how youd dry the inside of the mouthpiece without pulling it through, just be very careful.
Crystal mouthpiece? no worries, pull through as much as you like.
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Author: Pathik
Date: 2006-08-22 11:14
To clean my mouthpiece, I take a moist tissue, like Kleenex or whatever, and rub gently around the outside of it, and also very carefully a bit inside, then carefully dry it with a bit of dry tissue. I do this after every time I've been playing. I never pull the swab through the mouthpiece.....that might be a perfectly harmless thing to do, but I just don't feel inclined to do it. It just seems like a rather brutal way of treating my wonderful mouthpiece (it's an Eddie Daniels mouthpiece - and I love it!)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-08-22 13:51
Well summarized, L O H, yes, a [re]tired subject. I'll take this opportunity to correct my description of the suggested vinegar, its not white [a color?mixture], its colorLESS, clear, and usually 3-5% HAc in concentration, quite harmless, just slightly acidic. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: hans
Date: 2006-08-22 14:13
Don,
I think you are right in both of your descriptions ("white" and "colorless, clear") of the vinegar you use in that the container is labeled "White Vinegar" - at least that's the way it's labeled where I live.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-22 14:41
It's opaque vs. transparent.
Can 'opaque' also be 'translucent', or is translucent still almost clear to see through, but a bit on the foggy or cloudy side?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-22 14:52
I might try that with an old knackered mouthpiece just to see the damage a dishwasher can do - I know my plastic knife handles have gone all funny through bunging them in the dishwasher, but I wouldn't have done that if they had ebony handles like the older Sabatier knives once had (and they were made from mild steel, not stainless steel which blunts easily).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-08-22 14:57
Chris P wrote:
> I might try that with an old knackered mouthpiece just to see
> the damage a dishwasher can do
Been there, done that. The mpc was plastic, not ebonite. The cork looked a bit pale after the treatment, but some grease brought it back to reasonable shape. The mpc looked no different before or after, maybe a bit pale round the edges, but it didn't really look damaged. The cork glue was still okay. So either this was a friendly dishwasher (washes only at some 55°C in the default setting) or the material and craftsmanship of the mouthpiece were impeccable, or both.
--
Ben
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-08-22 15:24
TKS, Hans, prob. "white" [?mis-labelled?] just distinguishes from red, brown, purple? [fancy] vinegars. I consider that translucent [as in lampshades] permits light passage, without detail as to source, Chris, but am no optical expert [still trying to understand the particle/wave explanations !!]. Will add "knackered" [meaning no-good-nick over here?] to my vocabulary. TKS, Chris . Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-22 16:19
'Knackered' is a good all-round (and not offensive) desciptive word we like to use to describe things like: feeling tired, anything that's worn out, destroyed, in a state of disrepair, or any sort of damage rendering anything useless.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2006-08-22 16:22)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-08-22 16:32
Chris P wrote:
> 'Knackered' is a good all-round (and not offensive) desciptive
> word we like to use to describe things like:
fubar
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-22 17:03
"fubar" - Yeah, I got the first 4 letters of that acronym right!
Had to look it up for the 'r' - I thought it was 'recognition'.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-08-22 17:25
Chris P wrote:
> 'Knackered' is a good all-round (and not offensive) desciptive
> word we like to use to describe things like:
It wasn't too nice a word to use when it originated ... see the OED.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-08-22 17:27
Chris P wrote:
> Had to look it up for the 'r' - I thought it was 'recognition'.
It is, along with 'repair' and a few others.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-22 17:42
Knacker "a person who disposes of dead or unwanted animals" - hence 'Knacker's Yard'.
And the word 'knackers' is also slang for testicles as well.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Alex M.
Date: 2006-08-22 21:05
I think the word 'knacker' had the additional connotation of disposing animals for the production of glue (from the gelatin in hooves, etc.).
Alex M.
Massachusetts
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-08-22 21:26
[ To all - let's get the thread back to the original question - GBK ]
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Author: Wayne
Date: 2006-08-23 02:08
I've been using the Doctor's MP cleaner with good results. His product helps to loosen most of the junk on my mouthpiece and I'm able to get it very nearly back to new looking with a single application - I'm guessing if I used it more often it would work even better - I generally use the product about once a month or so. Just stocked up on his cork grease - also a terrific product that seems to last forever !
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Author: Cuisleannach
Date: 2006-08-23 04:51
The more you clean your mouth the less you'll need to clean the inside of your mouthpiece....I use a gentle fingernail for the "tongue scabs" on the outside.
-Randy
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2006-08-24 01:02
(Disclaimer- I sell a mouthpiece cleaner)
Drug store hydrogen peroxide 3% H2O2 (higher in some countries outside the US) should not be used on a regular basis on hard rubber mouthpieces because it will oxidize the rubber surface and it will eventually craze or crack. The infrequent use may be OK but the chemical action remains the same and probably is cumulative. The oxidized surface may allow sulfur to come in contact with atmospheric conditions and turn your favorite shade of green or brown more quickly. Oxidized surfaces are also more sensitive to sunlight - UV rays which accelerate the process.
L. Omar Henderson
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Author: strBean
Date: 2015-02-20 00:28
Hi - jumping on an old thread here:
My hard rubber bass clarinet mouthpiece gets deposits on it quickly, maybe because I like to drink beer while I practice. (Confession?) I have been using a homemade swab (leather chamois) and lately simply a cotton terry rag to swab it. Now I'm worried I'm changing the mouthpiece. It's a Bay and I chose it from among about 10 of the most renowned artisan rubber mouthpieces about 10 years ago. Visually, it never looked perfect, I always assumed because the artist finishing the mouthpiece stopped when it sounded right - didn't keep going to make it look good. So visual inspection doesn't tell me anything really.
I'm going to be gentler on it from now on...
Anything I should listen for in particular that would tell me the mouthpiece is wearing out?
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Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2015-02-20 21:43
If your mouthpiece gradually becomes more reed-finicky, lacks solidity of tonal propagation and looses some of its reliability with respect to response, then your mouthpiece may be changing for the worse.
Ten years of use would also indicate that it is time for a refacing to bring it back to its ideal playing characteristics.
I have never had issue in swabbing a mouthpiece - just make sure you do it carefully and with a good swab (no sharp or hard bits).
Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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